Dessert. The sex of the meal.

Rushing through the appetizer and the entre only to savor sweetness (and cinnamon). You can go with cookies (sinker doodle), cake (tiramisu), or after-breakfast treats (cinnamon rolls). But me, I'm more of an ice cream man. My first taste of the cinnamon infused frozen dream was from a McConnell's pint. It had such a nice blend of cinnamon and cream it washed down quite perfectly with an Orange Crush. All of this was before I had my first bite of gelato, and it was that bite that has made cinnamon gelato the king of desserts for my pallet. The Italians got it right. But it wasn't until the Italians met the Vietnamese, and I met 22 Degrees that my cinnamonee stars aligned. Scooped up by an attractive young laydee, I'm still not sure how she fit all that lovin into her pants that day. I mean, if i worked at a gelato shop, I'd have to cut a whole in the ass of my pants to fit all this booty in therrr. Then I began reading the bubbly signs all around the shop. Turns out this is PREBIOTIC gelato! Everything is hand made, natural, and is actually GOOD FOR YOU. And though their flavors are not limited just to cinnamon of course, I can't recommend anything else. Obviously I haven't tried anything else. So whenever you're in the Redondo Riviera, check out 22 Degrees next to the Coffee Cartel. It will blow your mind, not your stomach. Preach.

Around the World

Lisa Collins, fellow WhyBother team member, physical therapist, amiga, and best present giver, gave me the best present EVER. She not only hit the mark, but dropped a bomb on it, obliterating not just the mark, but everything within a 10 mile radius of it. I'm talkin BOOOOM. She hit me up one afternoon and told me she had a surprise for me from Penzeys Spices. I was tickled. Within the quaint and functional paper bag with two color printing, I found 5 of my lovers from around the world; cinnamon...all with different purposes and preparation suggestions on their labels. What more could I ask for??? Cinnamon from China, Ceylon, Indonesia, Vietnam, and big Penzeys gang bang of them all for when I'm too stoned to make a decision. There were not only little jars of cinnamon in the bag, but cinnamon cassia chunks as well! Cassia chunks? Fuckin riiiiight doggie, cassia chunks. You take them nuggets of love and put em in your coffee grinder with the beans. Supposedly it turns your coffee into a cup of heaven. Sadly i don't drink coffee, so i've resorted to putting the bag of chunks up on my wall and have since called it art. Take a trip down to Penzeys sometime for your next cinnamon fix and BIG UPs to Lisa! Muchas muchas muchas!

Maybe you've tried my nuts...

...if so, i hope it was as good for you as it was for me. And just fyi, i faked it. Ok, maybe not every time. Hmmmm, so who loves cinnamon???? MEEEEEEE! Which brings me full circle; maybe you've tried my nuts. My nuts were made famous by their rise in demand and popularity in my music history class. I carry my nuts around in a nut bag, which is also plastic, freezable, and re-sealable. My side ingredients are from my pal Trader Joe. These side ingredients include but are not limited to: walnuts, almonds, brazil nuts, pistachios, pignolas, peanuts, cashews, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds...all raw...dried: cranberries, ginger, and apricots. For my main ingredient, i like to use what you probably guessed: cinnamon. Life's most incredible spice. If only I could put it on a good hangout, or a good song. Once everything's in the bag i give it a good, long shake. Consistency and fairness must be given to all the nuts and berries. Take them with you for a healthy snack wherever you are! Warning: Don't rub cinnamonee hands on clothing. not. a. good. look. Notable people who are avid bag-o-nutters: Mr. Mraz and Jesus.

Snap Crackle POP

Ta Da! This stuff is pretty bitchin. It found me one day while I was leisurely strolling through Costco for lunch...it's really amazing how fast you can fill up on free samples. A man had an entire pop corn truck with a display case for the popcorn and speakers for the popcorn music of course, with a huge Popcornopolis logo on the side. What a production to sell a product at Costco. Well, it worked! They had the standards: cheddar popcorn, kettle popcorn, popcorn popcorn, caramel popcorn, sour cream and onion popcorn (wtf?), aaaaaaand Cinnamon Bun popcorn!!! "I'll take 3 bags sir!" Aaaaaa mazing. I don't recommend eating them all in one sitting, but hey, if you got the munchies, go to town. They also have a Cinnamon Toast flavor that is wellllll worth buying me for my birthday. Write it down. :)

An Ode to the Sailor

Good ol' Sailor Jerry, or as we like to call it, Serry Jailor, thanks to the drunken word fumbling from Senor McBride. I knew there was a reason I liked this stuff. Within its aromas and spices lies the ingredient that i so love. I'm therefore making SJ the official rum of Cinnamonee. Sure, there's probably other hard a's out there that are more cinnamon inclined, but how can you do any better than rum+cinnamon?? C'mon maaaan! Cuba Libre's till i diiiie.

Chance Encounter

I finished work and got a call from my bud Nick telling me to meet him and Dan Cobley at The Counter's new location in El Segundo. I'm not too stoked on 10 dollar burgers but i tell myself it's like a cover to get in because this place has it all. I walked in and the DJ was bumpin Drake and the place was packed but nobody was dancing. How??? It was almost awkward, the music was blasting and I'm raging in my seat watching everybody's feet tap to the beat. Burger and a dance fiesta anyone? Down. So how does cinnamon tie into any of this? I really wanted a milkshake, but there were no flavors listed on the menue. I asked our waitress Natalie what they were: "We have chocolate, peanutbutter, vanilla, coffee, churro.." CHURRROOOOO!!!! No way!!! I asked her to explain this unfamiliar treat and supppppoooosedly, they take freshly baked churros and vanilla ice cream and make them uuuughhh. I HIGHLY recommend trying one, highly.

Horchata

If you have never tasted this sensational beverage, do yourself a favor right now and go try one at your local mexi joint. This is the top right here in the cinnamon-beverage realm as far as I'm concerned. You may have no idea what i'm talking about but I can assure you that you've been looking at horchata your whole life and just may have known it as Orange Bang's neighbor. As a freshy in college, I had never ventured over the fence to check it out. One afternoon, after surfing in Santa Cruz with my bud Jerel, we strolled downtown into Taqueria Vallarta and he ordered a large horchata and whatever it was he ate. Ever so curious I asked him what was in the silky white waterfall within the plastic fountain. "Cinnamon a...." I stopped listening and ordered a large as well and whatever it was I ate. Turns out the rest of his sentence was "...nd rice milk." Stoked. A dreamy thang horchata is. A churro in a cup as I like to call it. I've decided to put it on my mission list to find the best homemade horchata in Mexi restaurants, fairs, or wherever else it's available and make a list. If you have a favorite, lemme know! Up to this point in my search, Taqueria La Cabana on the westside of Santa Cruz, right next door to the Arrow surf shop, has the best homemade horchata I've had. Mmmmmmm.