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14 Best Peanut Butter Treats In LA


I am a peanut butter fanatic, a peanut butter fiend, a peanut butter junkie. I am nuts about peanut butter and I love it more than almost anything else. If a restaurant or bakery has a peanut butter dessert on the menu, I automatically order it. And I always keep a jar at home in the fridge for snacking or adding to other desserts. After years of dedicated research, I share with you my 14 favorite peanut butter treats in Los Angeles (in no particular order).

Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cream Cookie from Xtreme Desserts

1. Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cream Cookie from Xtreme Desserts (11990 Ventura Blvd., Studio City) A peanut butter cream cheese filling sandwiched between two soft chocolate chip cookies with chocolate ganache drizzled on top. One of the best things ever!

Peanut Butter Meringue Pie from Pie 'n Burger

2. Peanut Butter Meringue Pie from Pie ‘n Burger (913 E. California in Pasadena) This is one awesome pie. Creamy and delicious peanut butter pudding in a delcious butter crust topped with meringue. They serve it every other day, alternating with Butterscotch Meringue Pie.

Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream from Mashti Malone's

3. Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream from Mashti Malone’s Ice Cream (1525 N. La Brea Ave. in Hollywood) Rich and creamy with chunks of peanut butter and chocolate. It’s surprising that a store famous for their Persian rosewater ice creams and sorbets would make the best peanut butter ice cream in the city, but they do!

The Huell from Stan's Doughnuts

4. The Huell from Stan’s Doughnuts (10948 Weyburn Ave. in Westwood) Stan’s actually makes three amazing peanut butter doughnuts: a Peanut Butter & Banana Doughnut, a PB&J Doughnut and “The Huell,” with chocolate chips and peanut butter, named after local TV celebrity Huell Howser.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Macaron from 'Lette Macarons

5. Peanut Butter and Jelly Macaron from ‘Lette Macarons (9466 Charleville Boulevard in Beverly Hills, 333 S Alameda Street in Downtown and 14 S. Fairoaks Ave. in Pasadena) The exciting marriage of a simple childhood favorite with a refined French pastry. Tastes really good too!

Peanut Butter Chip Cupcake from Sprinkles Cupcakes

6. Peanut Butter Chip Cupcake from Sprinkles Cupcakes (9635 S. Santa Monica Blvd. in Beverly Hills) My all-time favorite cupcake. Chocolate chip-studded peanut butter cake with peanut butter frosting covered in chocolate sprinkles. They only have them on Tuesdays and Sundays.

Peanut Butter and Marshmallow Cakewich from Cake Monkey

7. Peanut Butter and Marshmallow Cakewich from Cake Monkey Bakery (available in all Umami Burger locations as well as other restaurants and gourmet shops) Yummy yellow cake sandwich filled with peanut buttercream, housemade marshmallow and coated with bittersweet chocolate.

Pnut Butter Puff from The Groovy Gourmet Pnut Butter Bar Truck

8. Pnut Butter Puff from The Groovy Gourmet Pnut Butter Bar Truck Los Angeles has its own peanut butter-themed gourmet food truck and this sinful confection is their speciality. It’s like a large fluffy peanut butter beignet and is topped with chocolate sauce and whipped cream.

Peanut Butter Cookie Sandwich from Down Beat Cafe

9. Peanut Butter Cookie Sandwich from Down Beat Cafe (10202 N. Alvarado St. in Echo Park) This funky hipster coffee shop bakes the best crispy peanut butter cookies in the city. They take two cookies and make a sandwich with a filling of peanut butter. Super delicious.

Peanut Butter Icebox Pie from Magnolia Bakery

10. Peanut Butter Icebox Pie from Magnolia Bakery (8389 W. 3rd Street in Mid-City) This is one of several peanut butter offerings from one of my favorite bakeries in the city. It has a super light, creamy and delicious filling which sits atop a denser crust. I can devour a slice in about five seconds flat.

Peanut Butter Stuffed Mochi from Fugetsu-Do

11. Peanut Butter Stuffed Mochi from Fugetsu-Do (315 E. 1st St. in Little Tokyo/Downtown) This sweet shop has some of the best mochi in town and my favorites are these soft and chewy mochi disks stuffed with peanut butter. It’s the Japanese equivalent of an Abba Zabba bar!

Deep Fried Fluffer Nutter with Fresh Bananas from Black Market Liquor Bar

12. Deep Fried Fluffer Nutter with Fresh Bananas from Black Market Liquor Bar (11915 Ventura Blvd. in Studio City) Top Chef’s Antonia Lofaso has created this dessert sandwich of peanut butter, marshmallow and bananas on sweet brioche, which is covered with panko bread crumbs and deep fried until golden. It’s wicked good!

Peanut Butter and Jelly Bar from Joan's on Third

13. Peanut Butter and Jelly Bar from Joan’s on Third (8350 W. 3rd St. in Mid-City) Joan’s on Third makes amazing baked goods and this dense peanut butter bar with jam on top is no exception. It’s the perfect combination of sweet and salty, and excellent with a cold glass of milk.

Peanut Butter Pinkberry

14. Peanut Butter Pinkberry (numerous locations) Pinkberry hit it out of the park with their rich and luscious peanut butter flavor! Try it with the peanut butter crunch topping, strawberries and a dollop of jelly. They don’t carry this flavor at all locations (what’s with that?!), so call first.

Peanut Butter Ice Cream Sandwich

HONORABLE MENTION: Diddy Riese Peanut Butter Ice Cream Sandwich (926 Broxton Ave. in Westwood) There always seems to be a line outside Diddy Riese, which bakes up delicious cookies. I love their ice cream sandwich made with Dreyer’s Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream and peanut butter cookies. At $1.75, the price can’t be beat!

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Diddy Riese Cookies on Urbanspoon

UPDATE: The Groovy Gourmet Pnut Butter Bar Truck is no longer on the streets. Xtreme Desserts closed their Studio City store, but you can find their Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cream Cookies at many LA locations including Crave in Sherman Oaks and Studio City.

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Filed under Beverly Hills, Downtown, Echo Park, Food Trucks, Hollywood, Mid-City, Pasadena, Studio City, Westwood

Indelible Ink


The opening of Ink in West Hollywood two weeks ago has been one of the most eagerly anticipated restaurant openings in the country. Ink is the creation of Michael Voltaggio, the heavily tatted and touted bad-ass winner of season six of Top Chef and former chef at The Dining Room in the venerable Langham Huntington Hotel in Pasadena. In August, Voltaggio opened a small sandwich shop called ink.sack a few doors down from Ink (read my review here), which I have fallen in love with and frequented over the past several weeks, so I was more excited than ever to try Ink. Against all odds, I was able to score an 8pm reservation for a party of four last Saturday night.

The atmosphere of the restaurant is one of frenetic excitement. The decor is modern and the restaurant is dimly lit. There is an “omakase” bar on one side which accommodates eight people per night. There is a boisterous cocktail bar which serves creative and delicious libations and is presided over by talented mixologist Devon Espinosa, who served as chief wingman to molecular gastronomist Marcel Vigneron on the short-lived Syfy TV series Marcel’s Quatum Kitchen. And most notably, there is an open kitchen were you can see the chefs hard at work, including Voltaggio who works on the line with his staff.

The menu at Ink consists entirely of small plates; American tapas which Voltaggio describes as “modern Los Angeles cuisine” inspired by the myriad of cultures that make up LA. On the waiter’s recommendation, we ordered the whole menu — literally! Over the course of two and half hours, we were treated to a procession of beautiful, creative, cerebral and perfectly executed dishes. The flavor profiles were complex and interesting, although I thought some combinations worked better than others. My favorites were the Beef Tartare (with Horseradish, Hearts of Palm and Sea Bean Chimchurri), the Halibut Cheeks (with Red Pepper Dashi, Shishito Peppers and Kelp Pasta), the Berkshire Pork Tenderloin (with Charcoal Crust, Macaroni & Cheese and Leeks) and the “Spaghetti” (which was actually giant squid prepared to look like spaghetti, accompanied by squash, hazelnut-ink pesto and piment d’Espilette). Each of these were incredible! My least favorite dishes were the Dungeness Crab (with Smoked Mayo and Bok Choy “Kimchi”) and the Quail (with Banana Polenta, Beet Juice and Sorrel Salad), although I thought they were two of the most beautiful dishes. The desserts were equally creative, fun and delicious, with the stand-out being a dessert of Apple, Creme Caramel, Burnt Wood Sabayon and Walnuts, which was unlike anything I have ever had before.

Ink is located at 8360 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles (in West Hollywood).

Beef Tartare with Horseradish, Hearts of Palm and Sea Bean Chimichurri


Dungeness Crab with Smoked Mayo and Bok Choy "Kimchi"


Octopus with Buttered Popcorn, Piquillo Pepper and Spinich


Bay Scallops with Cream of Dehydrated Potato, Potato Skins and Buttermilk-Shellfish Broth


Quail with Banana Polenta, Beet Juice and Sorrel Salad


Berkshire Pork Tenderloin with Charcoal Crus, Macaroni and Cheese and Leeks


Veal Cheek with Red Curry, Nante Carrots Baked in Salt and Fried Sticky Rice


Grapefruit Curd, Avocado, Cilantro Sorbet and Charred Maple-Lime


A boisterous and fun atmosphere



ink. on Urbanspoon

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Filed under West Hollywood