From cupcakes to custard: Cola’s tastiest treats
1. Paradise Ice
1627 Main Street
You don’t want ice cream. You’ve had ice cream. What you want is blackberry honey sorbet with a scoop of lemon custard from Columbia’s premiere artisanal ice and custard shop, Paradise Ice. They offer a wide spread of quirky flavors, but they’re not just weird for the sake of being weird — each flavor is carefully designed to have maximum tastiness.
2. Cupcake DownSouth
1213 Lincoln Street
Cupcakes — perhaps the cutest dessert ever created — are an art. Each dollop of icing has to be arranged just so, and each cake has to be both airy and moist. That’s why specialty cupcake shops like Cupcake DownSouth are around — when you want a cupcake done right, go to the people who have dedicated themselves to the cuppest of cakes.
3. Insomnia Cookies
2013 Devine Street
Many a student has salvaged a late-night study session with a shipment of Insomnia Cookies delivered right to their door. It’s a genius idea, really. Who doesn’t want cookies delivered up until 3 a.m.? It’s this business model that makes Insomnia Cookies a dessert staple for the working student, but anyone can appreciate a box full of warm, gooey goodness.
4. The Peanut Man Candy and Nuts
1215 Lincoln Street
Step aside, Willy Wonka — there’s a new candy emporium in town. The Peanut Man Candy and Nuts offers a ridiculous amount of candy, from vintage bubble gum to buckets of jellybeans. They have more specialized candy too, like toffee bark and their signature nuts. If you want to experiment with your sweet tooth, The Peanut Man is the guy to see.