One of the themes on our trip to California was the lagniappe (pron: lan-yap). A lagniappe is a creole word that comes from the American South — probably around New Orleans.
According to author Julia Alvarez, Dominican Spanish la ñapa refers to “the little extra” added on at the end. Just when you thought you’d gotten all that you would get, along comes your ñapa, like a baker’s dozen (13), with one more kiss, one more pastelito, one more mango at the mercado.
The first lagniappe …

Do you think it’s dumb that I didn’t know that macarons existed until a couple weeks ago? Not macaroon, macaron!
A macaron is a French almond-based meringue sandwich filled with flavored ganache. The macaroon we typically see in the U.S. are made with coconut and is heavy and dense.

La Boite, the awesome new coffee shop housed in a refurbished shipping container on South Lamar began serving macarons the week before the Tasty Up trailer tour.
That day we reveled, oohed and aahed in the salted caramel and chocolate with strawberry cream flavors.
I …