Magpies Ice Cream Pie: A Welcome Birthday Treat

My apologies to cake, but I think birthdays have a new winner: The softserve ice cream cakes at Magpies. We managed to get 13 slices out of this one, for Maria's birthday. For $35, it's the Fried Softserve Pie - Corn Almond Softserve layered with vegan fudge, honeycomb, topped with non-dairy whipped cream and fried candied cornflake.

Delicious. And somewhat decadent. But hey, worth the quarantine calories. As other birthdays come up, I'm excited to try other flavors, such as the ube. Stay tuned!

Rate-A-Restaurant #350: Frango Cafe (Chicago)

Restaurant: Frango Cafe

Location: 111 N State Street (Chicago)



Type of restaurant: Sandwiches/Ice Cream



We stipulated: A friend suggested that during our time in Chicago we visit the Frango Cafe at the State Street Macy's (R.I.P. Marshall Fields) to get a taste of the Frango mint ice cream.

They stipulated: This is one of the few, if any, retailers that sell Frango ice cream. Per Metromix: "Chicago shopping devotees who remember Marshall Field's Crystal Palace gleefully recall an old-fashioned ice-cream parlor and soda fountain that provided frosty shopping respite. The Crystal Palace may be history, but its heart is alive in the Frango Cafe, a restaurant and ice-cream counter that shares the seventh floor at Macy's with the Seven on State food court and the Walnut Room. The enclosed seating area allows a bit more room to spread out than the food court. The shakes and sundaes are still on the menu, along with a selection of salads and sandwiches."



What we ordered: Ice cream cones, of course! (Small $1.95, Large $2.95).



High point:  When they ran out of ice cream before my sister could get a cone, they offered her a slice of Frango pie ($5.95 value) for free.

Low point:  Limited hours. We had visited Macy's a few days earlier to try the Frango ice cream, but we were there too late in the afternoon.

Overall impression: Still not ready to forgive Macy's for eliminating iconic brands like Marshall Field's. But the Frango mint ice cream helps. Now, if they would only make it available in more spots!

Will we return: Absolutely.

KCRW's Good Food Blog Features Franklin Avenue's Kalamansi Tart

Earlier this summer we got a note from Evan Kleiman's KCRW Good Food Blog, asking us if we'd like to take part in Evan's summer Pie-A-Day feature. I turned to Franklin Avenue's resident cook, and Maria said she was up to the challenge. She enlisted pal Erin and together they spent one evening whipping up a tart featuring kalamansi -- the tiny, tart citrus fruit found all over the Philippines.

Life got in the way, and Maria and Erin only now were able to send the recipe and photos of the finished product to the Good Food Blog -- a week after Evan wrapped up her Pie-A-Day feature! The blog was cool enough to still post the Kalamansi tart, with the added caveat that it wasn't a pie anyway. Tart, pie, whatever, it's all good.



Check out the full recipe for the Kalamansi Tart with Candied Kalamansi here.

The Return of Evan Kleiman's Pie-A-Day Blog

The Angeli Caffe chef/owner and host of KCRW's Good Food, Evan Kleiman, has dusted off her Pie-A-Day blog.

The site already boasts two pies for the year: Squirrel War Nectarine/Blackberry Pie (above), and Eddie Lin's Frito Pie.

That's right, Kleiman is spreading the love this year, inviting other chefs and foodies to share their favorite pie recipes. Notes KCRW:

Last summer, Evan baked a pie a day and blogged about it, sharing pictures, stories of successes and failures, recipes and contributions from listeners and other pie-fans across the country. Intending to bake one pie-a-day only through summer, the blog and pie mania it inspired had Evan baking a pie almost daily up to November.

It all culminated in the Pie Contest: 142 pies were registered and it took 9 celebrity chefs, food writers and bloggers to judge the results. A crowd of nearly 400 onlookers got the chance to taste a slice; and winners took home special prizes in four different pie categories.

This year's Second Annual Good Food Pie Contest takes place Labor Day weekend (Sunday) in Beverly Hills. Details to come.