Being born and raised in Miami (and having dined at Michelin Star restaurants, college dining halls, and street grub worldwide) means that I know what food I like and what good food SHOULD taste like. So, I am on a mission to find the Boston restaurants that are worth your time, effort, and money.
I’m a little late to my first post of the semester, but welcome to a brand new series of mine, little treats!
Anyone who knows me knows I love a little treat, but what does that entail? For me- and the guidelines for this series- a little treat is anything under 20 dollars (preferably 10, but I make the occasional exception) and doesn’t require a reservation or much planning.
So basically a ‘grab-and-go, happily on my way with my day,’ situation.
Whether it’s a reward for surviving a midterm or a pick-me-up after an essay, little treats are a bit too big of a stabilizer in my mental health.
Today I will be showcasing my favorite sweet treats around campus! (aka Back Bay). The savory treats also have my heart, but that’s another installation in and of itself.
All of my recommendations are not incentivized in any way, like always :).
Oakleaf Bakery
Oakleaf has seen me at my best and worst. From being excited over the semester ending and being done to 3/4th of the way to a breakdown, Oakleaf meets all my requirements. It’s close to campus, affordable, yummy, and never fails to bring a smile to my face. Oakleaf also has a wide variety of vegan items, so if that’s you then try them out!
Oakleaf also rotates its menu and is always trying out some crazy new combo. Among my favorites over the years have been a creme brulee poptart, vegan peanut butter cookies, and any of their cupcakes. My favorites from this past month include:
Their chocolate chip cookies: (their cookies are always around the size of my face)
The lemon blueberry ghosty from Halloween:
The chocolate cupcake with chocolate frosting and chocolate ganache:
All the cookies are priced at $4, and their cupcakes are priced at $4.50. And they are always fresh, so that’s basically my definition of a perfect little treat after class.
L.A. Burdick
I know, I know, everyone and their mother talks about this place during the winter, and as it starts to get colder, I’m leaning more into them too. HOWEVER- I swear my obsession with hot chocolate runs deep. If it’s good hot chocolate, I will be a regular, and it’s as simple as that. However, my favorite cup of hot chocolate of all time comes from Fortnum & Mason and I fell in love it during the year I lived in London. Since coming back to the states, I haven’t really been able to find a hot chocolate that scratches that itch. Some of my friends even joke that I’m slowly becoming a hot chocolate addict because if you’re going to London and don’t buy me the milk chocolate Fortnum & Mason mix, I will be angry… LOL!
Enter L.A. Burdick. I had been purposely ignoring this place for the better part of a year because I thought it was influencer b.s. Can you blame me when 9 times out of 10 influencer places end up being horrible? This is a wild exception.
L.A. Burdick is a chain originally based in New York, but has tons of locations around Boston. I personally frequent their Newbury street location, and even though the line may look long on some days, it’s really not much longer than about 10 minutes on others. With all of that being said, they are home to my favorite hot chocolate I’ve found here and have scratched that itch Fortnum & Mason has left in me. The milk hot chocolate is rich and creamy and not too sweet, but I always find myself so upset by the time I’m done with my cup because I could happily drink a gallon.
Without further ado, I present the best sweet treat for the colder months- the milk chocolate hot chocolate!
Including MA tax, a large cup will run you $9.63!
Colette Bakery
Colette is a French bakery with locations across Boston, but I’m specifically referring to their South End location. Before everyone beats me up for saying this is Back Bay- it’s a 10-minute walk from Matthews Arena. It’s right on the edge of Southie and Back Bay, and for the purposes of this article, I’m calling it Back Bay.
Colette was another long-stander on my radar of little treats, but it took me embarrassingly long to try. Now that I have, I’m not sure I’ll stop. Their pastries hold some of the best lamination I’ve seen outside of the Pâtisseries in Paris. I’m still working my way through their menu, but my standout favorites that I’ve had so far have been the Pain Suisse and their Canelés.
The Pain Suisse has tasty, crunchy layers that surround it and an amazing filling of mini chocolate chips and custard
The Canelés are a bit heavy on the rum for American standards. I don’t actually remember the last time I had a Canelé in the US that you could taste the rum in, but the flavor of it is here in Colette’s. It is also important to note that with all the baking Caneles go through, there’s no actual content in these besides the flavor it leaves behind. It’s not overpowering, but it certainly is there, so if you like a mellower canele, theirs might not be for you.
The Chouquettes are among my favorites because I have consumed hundreds over my lifetime, and there’s few pastries that bring me more joy than a perfectly puffed, crunchy, and sweet, sugar-coated puff. Basically, exactly what a Chouquette is! Colette’s are very tasty and hit all my criteria for a perfect Chouquette!
The Pain Suisse costs $5.30 and the Canelé costs $2.60 for one, but I admit I can’t leave without 3; the Chouquettes are $1 each.
Also, I do have to warn- Pain Suisse is only available on the weekends and does sell out early, so it is a bit of a drawback to my normal love of sweet treats, as it does require some planning (or just saving your cravings for the weekends).
Playa Bowls
Before you come for me to say this doesn’t count as a ‘little’ treat- I mention them for their smoothies. Playa is an East Coast chain that has a heavy presence on college campuses, and according to some of my Northeast friends is a lot more common up here, but I’d never encountered it before college.
I really enjoy their smoothies as a little sweet treat when I need something that my IBS won’t kill me over. My favorite from the smoothies I’ve had from Playa is the Aloha smoothie! It has banana, mango, pineapple, and coconut milk! However, as we move more into the colder months, I tend to lean away from my smoothies.
The 20oz, which is what I normally go for, is priced at $9.99 before tax and is one of those situations where my price range on a little sweet treat gets stretched, but for the amount of smoothie and the quality, I don’t tend to mind too much.
Little Sweet Treats!
This list, of course, is my opinion, but if you think I missed any in Back Bay, please reach out, as I’m always on the hunt for new little treats near campus!
Hopefully I’ve inspired you to adopt a little treat reward system : D Happy snacking!