Portland sweets

Portland is a city full of world class dining options. But its reputation is built on the backs of the artists that produce sweets in the Rose City as much as it on their savory counterparts.

Donuts may be the sweet that gets Portland the most attention. Almost everybody has heard of Voodoo Doughnut, the quirky shop that whips up breakfast pastries adorned with a Willy Wonka avalanche of candy and breakfast cereal. If you haven't, Google Kenneth "Cat Daddy" Pogson and Tres Shannon's shop - just about everybody has been there.

The house donut is the Voodoo Doughnut, a vegan anthropomorphic jelly-filled pastry complete with a pretzel pin to jab into its heart. About one third of the donuts are vegan, and they are marked on the shelves and on the menu boards.

A pink box of donuts is a great conversation starter. The $110 coffin full of donuts is even better.

Those who find Voodoo Doughnut too whimsical might find Blue Star Donuts more up their alley. Blue Star is haute where Voodoo is hilarious.

These donuts, which also have received a great deal of media coverage, are made for grown ups, with bourbon and Cointreau as two of the boozier ingredients. Blue Star features coffee from local stalwart Stumptown Coffee Roasters.

The can't-miss choice is the blueberry bourbon basil glazed donut. It is sweet, smoky and mildly herbaceous in the most addictive way possible.

If you are more in the mood for frozen dessert, Salt and Straw is worth a stop. There are multiple locations of the shop throughout the city.

Columbus residents are familiar with adventurous ice cream flavors from local star Jeni's. Salt and Straw takes the modern approach into the next gear with choices including bone marrow, green fennel with maple and pear with blue cheese.

The off kilter combos work. The honey balsamic strawberry with cracked pepper sounds like a salad, but tastes like a revelation. The sweetness of the fruit is brightened by the acidity of the vinegar, and the pepper adds a subtle spice that fades delicately on the finish.

Some of the flavors might be too bizarre for a full scoop. But samples allow you the chance to try any ice cream, no matter what crazy ingredients are used. You might even like it.

I only visited Portland for a short time. There were more great looking places to satisfy a sweet tooth than there were hours in the day.

Some other spots for sweets: Quin Candy Company. fancy candy with local ingredients. It looks good for all ages.

Cacao was a cool looking spot with artisan hot chocolate. Chocolates come from local producers and are sourced from international markets. It must draw people like a magnet when the temperature drops.

There were more fantastic bakeries than I could possible name. Highlights included Sweedeedee, St. Honore, The Sugar Cube and Roman Candle.

Chocolaterie Stam

Chocolaterie Stam is the new sweet stop in Uptown Westerville. It is one of three domestic locations for the Dutch chocolatier.

In addition to truffles and assorted candies, Stam also makes gelato. Flavors included chocolate, chocolate hazelnut, blackberry, raspberry, eggnog and peppermint. Flavors rotate with the season. Candies, syrups and fruit are hand stirred into the dense dessert.

The chocolate hazelnut gelato, called Donatella, was delightful. It was tan rather than the customary brown color of most chocolate ice cream. Ribbons of hazelnut add a rich layers of flavor to an Italian classic.

The milk chocolate at Stam is sweet and creamy. The dark chocolate has subtle roasted bitterness that marries nicely with nuts.

Stam also makes sugar free chocolate bars and candies, including toffee.

Although there is already a Graeter's in Uptown Westerville and Schneider's, the 24-hour donut shop, Chocolaterie Stam's candies gives greater variety for Westerville residents with a sweet tooth.

Yosick's Artisan Chocolates

Yosick's Artisan Chocolates is hidden in the brick streets and alleyways of German Village. In addition to delicious candies, cookies and pastries, Yosick's features a limited menu of vegetarian-friendly kosher food.

The bread and butter of Yosick's is candy. They make old favorites like the delightfully creamy buckeyes and almond bark, as well as more adventurous offerings like the Chinese five spice truffle, which is a bitter dark chocolate truffle with hints of clove, curry and cinnamon.

Yosick's also makes delicious looking cookies and cakes. The items that surprised me most, however, were the pizzas and salads and Mediterranean platter. You expect delicious kosher chocolate from an artisan chocolate maker. You don't expect delicious kosher lunch items to fill you up before you indulge in dessert.

But Yosick's pizza definitely hits the mark. It is a soft, floppy crust cut into four. The sauce is rich. The cheese is yellow and liberally applied. For $10, you get to pick any of three all vegetable toppings (the added benefit for lacto vegetarians eating kosher is that whenever you order food with cheese, kosher laws hold the meat for you automatically). There are many different toppings. I went for spinach, green olives and mushrooms, and it was delicious.

Yosick's also makes coffee and has a few other assorted beverage choices. Proprietor Kristy Yosick often works the counter in addition to making the candies.

There are tons of options for sweets in the German Village area, from Pistacia Vera to Bakery Gingham to Johnson's Ice Cream at Brown Bag. Yosick's is different enough from the others and delicious enough to make it work.

Yosick's

Cheryl & Co.

Tucked between ball bearing factories and the Westerville Post Office is Cheryl & Company, a cookie outlet that seeks to overpower your New Year's resolution to eat better and to lose weight. Don't worry...your weight gain will taste quite savory as you throw your best intentions right out the window.

As a diabetic, I might be the wrong person to review a cookie shop. Luckily for me, Cheryl was kind enough to whip up some sugar free cookies that are light years better than the crap you can buy at your local grocery store (I'm partial to the chocolate chip cookie...but there are usually at least three different options available).

The main business of Cheryl & Co. is on the internet. This holiday season, however, they experimented with a retail wing of their manufacturing facility in the Westerville industrial park. The holiday experiment was so successful that they decided to keep it open year round.

There are many other retail locations open throughout the area. There are a number of sales on the holiday cookies, which are still fresh but are priced to move. They also make a ton of Buckeye-themed cookies, which most fans are now trying to move to the deepest part of their subconscious after the third straight National Championship defeat at the hand of the SEC (football-basketball-football).

The frosted cookies are fantastic (don't tell my endocrinologist). If buying cookies directly from the source isn't fresh enough, you can also buy dough and bake the cookies at home. Check out the pictures, and I'll add additional ones as I eat them. So much for MY New Year's resolution!

Cheryl & Co