3 products that baffle and delight

This Mast Brothers-Shake Shack bar (available at the cash registers at the Dupont Circle Shake Shack) perplexed me. Was there burger or bacon in the bar? No, it’s just dark chocolate. Apparently the only connection is that they’re both based in NYC.

The copy on the back of this ginger & chilli biscuit tin (really spicy gingersnaps from Fortnum & Mason) is as good as the cookies themselves. In fact, these were so tasty, they made Mr. X-sXe admit that maybe not all British sweets suck. (“Biscuits” courtesy of Ms. & Mr. Pie, who schlepped them across the pond.)

Beware your bowels, screams the label on the back of this chunk of red velvet fudge. Ms. Pie brought this gem back from Reading Terminal Market. Noteworthy because (1) it’s telling diabetics to talk to their doctor about incorporating it into their diet–like, reach for red velvet fudge when your blood sugar’s low? Dubious marketing. (2) I’ve never seen a diarrhea warning on candy that didn’t have artificial sweeteners. But I appreciate the heads up.

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philadelphia dos and don’ts

DO eat a delicious apple dumpling from the old dutch eating place in reading terminal market. I prefer the heavy cream to the whipped cream, but both will work.

DON’T get vegan cake from Gianna’s Grille. They put steroids or something in it, and it’s incredibly dense. I took three bites and had to stop.

DO enjoy any of the lovely foodstuffs from Vegan Treats bakery, which delivers to several locations in the Philadelphia area, even though the bakery is based in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Let me just say that the brownies are deliciously sinful, and rich enough for two.

DON’T expect to eat any dessert following a meal at Horizons Restaurant. Yes, the Peanut Butter Bomb cake may look lustrous, but after eating mushroom fritters and portobello carpaccio and a delicious cucumber-avacado soup, I was plumb stuffed.