Can Can Brasserie and a late afternoon in Carytown.........

Last weekend

after my little adventure to Bygones..

I decided instead of going out for dinner,

I'd sit and have dessert and coffee

and get some writing done.

What better place 
than to sit in the window

at

CanCan Brasserie !

(in Carytown, Richmond, Va )

I pulled up a chair 

and perused the desserts on the menu...

Let me tell you everything sounded delicious...

I finally decided on

a dessert which consisted of an orange ice cream,

anise/almond biscotti 

an espresso caramel with some sort of amazing sauce!

I wish I had written it all down.

Here is what it looked like!

A lot more than what I thought...

but what the heck..
.I skipped dinner because we never make it to dessert!

Let me just say

it was one of the best desserts I have ever eaten!

Everything is made in the restaurant,

ice cream and all.

I am usually not an anise fan...

but like most foods I find when they are done well...

certain flavors are not overpowering and end up being quite good.

That was totally the case with this!

The ice cream was not overly sweet with that sort of texture 
that manufactured does from all the corn syrup in it.

It was very creamy and the orange was light and fresh tasting.

The caramel had the most wonderful flavor ...

a hint of caramel and then the taste of coffee just barely sneaks in right at the end

with maybe a taste of the anise on the last note.

I could be completely wrong as to what was in this,

but it was excellent!

 I decided to try something different instead

of coffee....

They call this their

Paris Tea Latte...

Currant and Citrus black tea

sweetened with caramel and vanilla syrup.

A new favorite by far!

Although I think no one else will be able to make it right.

The wonderful thing about this was that

again,

the flavors were not overpowering.

Usually anytime you go to a coffee shop and they add syrup it is 

waaay too much.

You hardly taste the real drink after they are done.

This had a wonderful light citrus taste

with just a hint of sweetness from the caramel and vanilla

that made it so smooth.

You got a nice whiff and quick taste of the cinnamon or 

whatever it was on top just as you took a sip!

I think I got into a bit of sensory overload!
 (Maybe I looked like Meg Ryan in when Harry met Sally)

The funny thing was that as I was eating....

I was also writing and I would stop and take a photograph

every so often as the light would change...

The sun was starting to set

and all photographers know that dusky light is the best.

After an hour or so

I gathered up my things and was getting up to leave when 

the couple behind me stopped me

and said they "wanted to be nosy"....

They thought I was a food critic!

They wanted to tell me about how great their dinner was

and then wanted to know what

I had eaten.

When their dessert came and they had to share with me

how good it was too!

I guess people aren't used to seeing others,

especially a woman, confident enough to sit and eat by themselves.

Probably the fact that I was writing as I ate

made them think it the most though.

I then told them about my photography, my blog and a few other

artistic endeavors.

They were really sweet and asked me to photograph their desserts!

I did but the light changed so much and my settings

were a bit off so the pics turned out a bit blurry.

It wouldn't do them justice to post them.
I said goodbye and left them to finish their desserts
and headed out into a rarity...

Cary Street totally closed down...

 Just a few people left from the

Watermelon festival earlier in the day...

some street musicians

and the cleanup crews...

Cary Street is never this empty or without cars....

Nacho Mama's a favorite for cheap eats...

Always love this painted lady at

Xtras cafe...

and lastly 

caught this out of the corner of my eye...

How awesome is this graffiti?

I'd put that metal panel in my house!

All in all it was a great impromptu visit...

Mr.Keeper and I will be heading back for our anniversary

Hopefully I'll be able to share some more pics of some

other favorites and a little more of Richmond.
Next time you are in Richmond or heading through
program your GPS to take you to Can Can!
You will not regret it!

Now go eat some dessert because I'm sure I made you totally hungry,

right?