Sweet Mandy B's

I was in the mood for an adventure yesterday, so I decided to go up to Lincoln Park to go to this fish market I found online. You know how when you type an address into Google maps, businesses and restaurants near by pop up on the map? Well, Sweet Mandy B's came up just a couple blocks from the fish market. Of course, I had to go. I knew about Sweet Mandy B's because Abby, my bakery connoisseur friend who used to live here, told me that SMB is one of her favorite bakeries. And I don't take her suggestions lightly, so no question that I should stop by. I texted Abby for some advice:

me: Hey I think I'm going to sweet mandy b's today, what should I get? What's good besides cupcakes?

Abby: Oh, so jealous! Def a whoopie pie if they have them. Otherwise, pb choc rice krispie, iced molasses, choc gingerbread or iced sugar cookie. Let me know what u get!!!

Wowie. I tried to find their website, but they don't have one so I had to rely on Menu Pages and Yelp. Every review on Yelp was all about the cupcakes, cupcakes, cupcakes, and more cupcakes. Don't get me wrong, I love cupcakes, but that's why I asked Abby what else I should get. Given the choice, I prefer cookies/bars/brownies to cupcakes. So, off I went.

A block away from the bakery, I saw this in a store window. There was no sign so I have no idea what the shop was called, and I couldn't see in the door or windows because of big dark shutters...but this was so great I had to take a picture.



I took it as foreshadowing of what I would look like after my bakery visit. And finally, Sweet Mandy B's:



The part on the left is the actual shop, and on the right is the sit-down part where you can bring your goodies to eat on the spot. My plan of attack was to get a couple things to bring home for after dinner, and to get one thing to eat as I strolled to the fish market since it was so nice out. Here are the bakery cases, kind of in the order you see them as you walk in:





Ohhhhhh my goodness. What should I get? I didn't see any whoopie pies, but one of the first things I came upon was the mintrageous chocolate cookie, as you can see in the first picture. Anything with mint and chocolate...and I'm sold. What else...I saw the rice krispie treats, but with all those lovely cookies I couldn't sacrifice a spot on my line-up to a rice krispie treat. No offense, rice krispies. I asked where the iced molasses cookies were because I couldn't find them, and the girl pointed them out - they weren't labeled. They're in that second picture on the top shelf in the middle. The ones with lots of white frosting. They looked amazing, and Abby recommended them so I decided to go for it.




I couldn't stop at just two cookies, and so many Yelp reviewers raved about the cupcakes, so I moved along to the cupcake department. So many choices...carrot cake, orange, Reese's...I chose the almond cupcake with vanilla icing because I remembered a reviewer on Yelp said it was her favorite. I thought I should stop there, but I easily could have kept going. The grand total for my treats - $6.24. Amazing! Considering cupcakes at More cost $4, three treats for only $6 was a great deal.

Bye, Sweet Mandy B's! I'll be back again soon.



The cookies were so lovely and big I didn't think it would do them justice to eat one while walking, so I decided to save them all for after dinner. Fast forward to 9pm:



Baked goods platter! There's nothing better. We cut everything in half to share. First up, the chocolate mint cookie.



Mmmm. Really chewy, lots of chocolate chips, good mint flavor. Kind of like a mint brownie in cookie form. Next up, the iced molasses.



Holy cow...this cookie was AMAZING. So soft, chewy, and the vanilla frosting was really wonderful. The cookie tasted like it had spices in it similar to a pumpkin pie, probably cinnamon and nutmeg and plenty other things I couldn't distinguish. Still one more thing to taste - the almond cupcake.



Cupcakes can sometimes be not so fresh and just kind of so-so, but not the case here. The cake was moist and fluffy, and the frosting was light. The cake had a subtle almond taste, and I loved the slivered almonds on top.

The consensus: iced molasses was the winner. I mean, they were really all winners...but the iced molasses cookie was our favorite. Commence sugar coma.