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Home » Travel » Dining » San Diego Sweet Treats
eclipse chocolate truffles
December 1, 2011

San Diego Sweet Treats

From the Kitchen of Katie Kick

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I recently had another opportunity to travel to San Diego. After my second trip this year, I dreaming about moving to there some day. What a gorgeous, fun city. There is always so much to see and do…and of course EAT! Here are a few of my favorite sweet treat stops from my most recent visit.

Eclipse Chocolat

San Diego Location: 2121 El Cajon Blvd., San Diego, CA
What I Tried: 3 Way Tasting Menu for Chocolate, Vanilla Bean, and Burnt Caramel, an assortment of truffles, Chocolate Covered Salted Caramels, and Drinking Chocolate with Homemade Marshmallows
My Favorites: Frozen Peanut Butter Mousse (from the tasting menu), Lavender Sea Salt Caramel Truffles, and Crème Fraîche Chocolate Covered Salted Caramels (my mouth just waters thinking about those caramels)

eclipse chocolate san diego

Dessert before dinner? Yep! We enjoyed the Three Way Tasting Menu at Eclipse Chocolat before our dinner one evening. “Three Way” refers to the newest addition to Eclipse Chocolat’s small plate concept.

We were served one small savory item, one small sweet item, and one small class of wine/beer. Each plate was themed on a flavor: chocolate, vanilla bean, or burnt caramel.

We sampled all three of their three way menus. I couldn’t get enough of the Frozen Peanut Butter Mousse (from the chocolate tasting menu) since I don’t typically get to enjoy peanut butter at home due to Logan’s allergy.

I also particularly enjoyed the Cocoa-glazed Bacon-wrapped Dates. Going to have to try replicating those at home someday since Eclipse Chocolat is so far away from home.

eclipse chocolate truffles

Congratulations to Eclipse on recently celebrating 4 years of mouthwatering chocolate! Eclipse Chocolat is committed to more than just chocolate. Check out the business pledge they proudly display on the wall of their shop.

 Eclipse Chocolat Pledge

  • To provide the highest quality chocolates made from all natural and, when possible, organic ingredients. We never use additives or preservatives.
  • To sponsor local and regional non-profit organizations by donating 10% of our net profits.
  • To maintain “green” operations, using post-consumer paper products and reducing our eco-footprint.

eclipse chocolate shop

Besides their tasting menus, Eclipse offers an assortment of sweets: exotic truffles, caramels, drinking chocolates, and more. Need a chocolate fix away from San Diego? Check out Eclipse’s online shop.

Extraordinary Desserts

San Diego Locations: Balboa Park and Little Italy Downtown Area
What I Tried: Pumpkin Scone (which is available seasonally for about 30-60 days) and a raspberry pastry (eek forgot the name!)

extraordinary desserts san diego

Extraordinary Desserts owner Karen Krasne, a San Diego native, graduated from the University of Hawaii in Nutritional Studies and later went on to receive a Certificat de Patisserie from Le Cordon Bleu in Paris.

Karen travels to France regularly to stay updated on the latest pastry trends, however she translates those trends to a California flair. Over the years she has found that US residents want value and size, not tiny portions often found in France.

extraordinary desserts photos

30 regular cakes and 100 case items rotate throughout the store with daily changes in the menu. Some items, like the incredible Pumpkin Scone I enjoyed are only available seasonally.

You could spend all day just trying to decide what to taste, but why bother? Order a few items to indulge in for breakfast – the least busy time of day.

Extraordinary Dessert originally opened in 1988, but now offers two locations: Balboa Park neighborhood (the original location) and Little Italy near Downtown San Diego, which opened in 2004. The newer location offers panini, salads, and artisan cheese selections in addition to their popular desserts.

extraordinary desserts cookbook

Learn from Extraordinary Desserts’ Karen Krasne how to make extraordinary cakes that are as delicious to eat as they are beautiful in Karen’s Cookbook: Extraordinary Cakes: Recipes for Bold and Sophisticated Desserts.

Viva Pops Popsicle Shop

San Diego Location: Normal Heights and Saturdays at the Little Italy Mercato
Flavors I Tried: Salted Caramel, Strawberry Basil, and Apple Pie Goat Cheese

viva pops san diego normal heights

image credit

Viva Pops owner Lisa Altmann debuted her organic, seasonal gourmet popsicles at the Little Italy Mercato during the summer of 2008, but you can stop by her adorable shop in Normal Heights any time which is exactly what we did on a warm afternoon following a tour of Suzie’s Farm.

I love that Lisa’s popsicle flavors are constantly changing with the flavors of each season so locals and frequent visitors alike will always have new flavors to taste. Unfortunately, I was too busy eating popsicles to remember that I had a camera hanging around my neck. You’ll just have to take my word for it – these were some amazing treats.

viva pops menu normal heights san diego

Summer is marked with the appearance of berries, watermelon and blood orange flavors on the menu. For us we had the best of both worlds – the tail end of summer and the beginning of fall (the Apple Pie Goat Cheese was incredible!).

Viva Pops proves that popsicles are not just for kids! I could have sampled popsicles all afternoon if I had the time. I can’t wait to head back to San Diego with the kids in tow – we’ll definitely be stopping for a popsicle fix at Lisa’s shop!

Be sure to stop by the shop to see what’s currently on the menu.

 

Big thanks to the wonderful people at the San Diego Convention and Visitors Bureau a truly delicious trip. As always, while my trip expenses were paid for, all opinions are my own.


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Meet Katie Kick

My lifelong interest in cooking has shown me that part of the goodness in life is enjoying delicious food with friends and family. I love trying new foods, discovering new places & things that help my family live the good life.

More About Katie
Updated: March 8, 2019

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  1. Brittany says

    March 6, 2012 at 6:32 PM

    I’m so glad you enjoyed your trip! I’m a San Diego native, but had to move recently and I miss it every day. I haven’t tried Viva Pops, but I’m definitely going to on my next trip down! Have you tried Cups in La Jolla yet? Their cupcakes are to DIE for! 🙂

    Reply
  2. Candice says

    February 27, 2012 at 9:36 PM

    Glad you’re enjoying your visits to our sunny slice of the planet. We feel very fortunate to live here. I did not know about Viva Pops and am looking forward to trying them. Of course I am familiar with Extraordinary Desserts (who isn’t) and my favorite is their Macadamia Cheesecake … and the gigantic mug of hot chocolate. I have a 6 year old daughter so if you ever need a play date in town just holla!

    Reply
  3. Carey Greene says

    February 10, 2012 at 8:13 AM

    Can’t wait for my next trip to San Diego to try these places out!

    Reply
  4. Kelly@frugalfoodiefamily.com says

    December 13, 2011 at 11:10 AM

    Love this post! We live just up the way from San Diego in Orange County so I’ll be trying these for sure next time we’re down. Also, we went to Cucina Urbana having seen it in an earlier post and love, love, loved it! So excited that we just got a sister restaurant up here. Fabulous.

    Reply
    • Katie says

      December 13, 2011 at 11:13 AM

      I got to go to Cucina Urbana again on this last trip. LOVE that place! Wish we had one here in New Mexico. I had a panini with grilled squash, goat cheese, and sunflower pesto. Soooo good!

      Reply
  5. Shaina says

    December 5, 2011 at 11:20 AM

    Those popsicle flavors look fabulous. What a fun trip!

    Reply
  6. mybakingaddiction says

    December 4, 2011 at 6:51 PM

    I have never been to San Diego, but it’s definitely on my must see list! Your dessert tour sounds amazing!

    Reply
  7. Krissa says

    December 1, 2011 at 9:31 AM

    If you’re a gelato fan…next time you’re here you MUST try the gelato at Pappalecco…it’s amazing!

    Reply
  8. Kristen M. says

    December 1, 2011 at 6:55 AM

    I live in San Diego and have to chime in to say that I’m a huge fan of Viva Pops. My family belongs to a CSA that picks up at the Little Italy Mercato (farmers market). My treat each time is either a Viva Pop or coffee from the orange Joes on the Nose coffee truck. (Current favs are the Horchata Latte and “PB & Chocolate” hot chocolate.)

    Reply

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Katie Kick from Good Life Eats in her kitchen

Meet Katie Kick

Hi, I’m Katie! Thank you so much for visiting my corner of the internet. I am passionate about cooking delicious and beautiful, yet accessible, food for my family and friends. I love tasting new foods, discovering new places and things that help my family live that good life.

More about Katie
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