Are you the kind of person who’d rather eat dessert first? Us too! That’s why Columbus Underground’s popular event Best Bites: Sweet Treats is returning this year to celebrate all things sugary and sweet in the City. We are bringing you a preview of our featured vendors before the event on February 23! From chocolates to waffles (and chocolate on waffles!), read below for a few treats you can taste at the event:
Lopaus Point is bringing a new kind of waffle to town! Founder and Owner Stacie Skinner developed a love of food and sharing it with others alongside her mother, years ago, in their kitchen on Lopaus Point in Maine. After seeing a gap in the market for delicious waffles free from gluten, dairy & soy and with no added sugar, Skinner new she had a something special. It’s more about what goes into the waffles, though (not what’s left out): organic bananas and sweet dates give their waffles a sweetness (and whole fruit nutrition!). At Best Bites: Sweet Treats Lopaus Point will be serving up chocolate chip waffles dressed up dessert style!
Three Kids and A Kitchen is a woman-owned, family-focused business committed to crafting delicious handmade treats to enjoy and share. They strive to create prosperous relationships with local, independent businesses and caramel fans. At Best Bites: Sweet Treats they will be giving out samples of their Maple Caramels with a hint a pure maple in their traditional caramels. Their caramels can be purchased at many local retailers and through their website.
Since 2015, Rime Time Curiously Crafted Pops has been peddling their cart around Columbus providing a new twist on a frozen treat. With a passion for healthy and local food, a nostalgia for childhood treats, and a desire to collaborate with other food artists around Columbus, Rime Time focuses on creating the most unique ice pop flavors using high-quality and local ingredients. At Best Bites: Sweet Treats they will be sampling their most popular flavor, Peanut Butter & Jelly. This pop is made with local Krema Nut Company peanut butter and a simple strawberry-vanilla jam filling.
Winans Chocolates and Coffees brings cutting edge flavors and time-tested quality in its fourth generation of family ownership. Winans owner, Joe, travels the world in search of consciously traded coffees and cacaos. Their products reflect a commitment to quality and sustainability across the globe, including purchasing local when they can. Winans will be sampling their Double Dark Meltaways at Best Bites: Sweet Treats, a creamy, melt-in-your-mouth dark chocolate center, enrobed in dark chocolate.
The third edition of Best Bites: Sweet Treats will be held on Thursday, February 23 from 7 p.m. – 10 p.m. at the Columbus Athenaeum. This year’s event will feature additional space and activities for new and returning guests to enjoy! Tickets to the event are on sale now! Entrance to the event includes samples of each featured sweet treat, live entertainment and a cash bar featuring Modelo Negra, St. Brendan’s Irish Cream and Meier’s Wine.
All participating treat makers include Three Kids and a Kitchen, MMELO, J-Pops Gourmet Ice Pops, Rime Time Curiously Crafted Pops, Velvet Ice Cream, Early Bird Food Truck, Elena’s Specialty Cakes, Mrs. Turbo’s Cookies, Lopaus Point, Winans Chocolates + Coffees, Bailey’s Drive Inn Donuts, Dough Mama,Short North Piece of Cake, Nellie’s Natural Ice Pops, Two Little Buckeyes, Fantasy Cupcake, Positively Sweet, LLC, Torlitas, Handel’s Ice Cream, The Guild House, Nothing Bundt Cakes,Coco Cat Bakery & Chocolates, Firebirds Wood Fired Grill, Pouf Cotton Candy, Donna’s Gourmet Cookies and Jeni’s Ice Cream.
A portion of the proceeds from all ticket sales will be donated to the The Columbus Foundation’s Gifts of Kindness Fund, a community-focused fund that helps Central Ohio families with emergency needs. The Columbus Underground Best Bites events have helped to raise over $16,000 for local charities in 2016!