Toasted Marshmallow S’Mores Galore & Godiva Chocolate
We look like pretty sisters but we’re actually just pretty friends. Even with my zit sticker.
Where are my gluten free girlies? This post’s for you.
Readers, meet Jorie. Short for Marjorie. We met at grad school, in the first quarter, in a class called Society and the Individual. We would walk to the parking garage together afterwards and talk about Doughboys episodes. At some point, Jorie was very direct with me and told me she wanted to take our friendship to the next level. She meant business. Friendship business. So we became friends outside of school. She spent my 38th birthday with me at Lawry’s Prime Rib, I went to her wedding in San Diego. She tried setting me up with a friend of a friend. It didn’t work out but I found out through that person that Jorie had described me as someone who ‘loves rituals’. I didn’t know what that meant but it stuck. And I realized I do love rituals. Jorie and I have a ritual of walking around the Silver Lake Reservoir on mornings when I have to move my car for street sweeping. On one of our walks, she offered to walk Scoop for me so mom (me) could “have a break”. She’s my favorite person to talk about therapy and clients with because I think we are very similar in how we work. BUT we aren’t just work friends. We always make sure to explicitly ask each other about our ‘personal lives’. We say “how’s your personal life?”. Jorie got into jewelry making during the pandemic and she made me two anklets: one with a banana charm and one with my name on it. For my most recent birthday, my big 4-0, she got me my favorite kind of gift: a practical one. A giftcard to THE CHEESECAKE FACTORY.
So of course, I had to invite her for a slice.
Now, I’ve been dragging my feet a little here. Not because I don’t love spending personal quality time with Jorie. I do. But she’s gluten-free. And in my limited research, the only gluten-free slice of cheesecake TCF sells is the one I swore I’d never review or eat. The dreaded Low-licious slice. Because screw you, diet culture. But Jorie was willing to go and try the Low-licious and I figured I’d have her pick out a second slice for me, the gluten eater. I don’t know if anyone else is keeping track but it is mid-June and I have only eaten TEN SLICES. I need to get my thicc ass in gear! I feel like I keep writing this in every post but it’s true.
Jorie picked me up (thoughtful) and drove us to The Grove. I had her giftcard on my phone PLUS a free birthday slice from TCF!!
It’s clear they aren’t reading my blog yet because if they were, they wouldn’t have included a photo of the Celebration slice (currently in 9th place) in my birthday email.
Jorie told me that her husband Scott has a theory about the trolley that drives through the center of The Grove. He says that they do that to drive traffic into the stores. The trolley pushes people out of the middle of the street and into Sephora, according to Scott. Interesting idea.
Another thing about Jorie is that she identifies as a Treat Troll. She loves a little treat every day. Hey, so do I! Maybe that’s why we make such good friends. She immediately clocked that there was another gluten-free item on the menu, in addition to the disgusting diet culture bullshit that is the Low-licious. The Godiva Chocolate! I am really excited by this. Not only because Jorie got to eat a real Treat and not something sugar-free, but because now I have a template for my other gluten-free girlies when they come with me to TCF. It solves a lot of my current stress.
When it came time for her to pick my slice, she went with Toasted Marshmallow S’Mores Galore because “you like camping”. Swoon. How sweet is that?? This was going REALLY WELL.
The cashier was super sweet but she also did not understand Cheesecake Rewards and could not figure out how to give me my birthday slice. I think I have to order online ahead of time if I want to redeem it. I have 30 days from the issue date but still. I was able to use my giftcard (thank you Jorie).
We took our slices outside and found a table. Our twin, chocolate-heavy slices.
Can you see the marshmallow topping on mine? Jorie helpfully referred to it as ‘marshmallow cum’. It came with a graham cracker crust and one whole graham cracker square. Jorie’s was crustless. I would have said no whipped cream on top, if they had asked. I don’t care about whipped cream, how many times do I have to repeat myself.
This was so much chocolate that multiple passers-by commented on it and gave us looks like “oh shit”. At least 2 if not 3 people did that towards us about our slices. One woman said “no way, I could not” or something to that effect. Nobody at The Grove could believe how much cheesecake us two girlies were eating. Hell, I couldn’t either. I have to BeReal here. I don’t think I like chocolate cheesecake. Jorie said as much when we were at the display case picking them out, she said “I think you like the fruit ones” and I said “JORIE! Don’t you dare think about what I like!”. But she did anyway, she thought about me liking to camp.
These slices were gut busters. These are only for the real deal chocolate lovers. They were both so rich. All you can do after you eat slices like these is take a nap. But what we did instead was we went to Cost Plus World Market. Didn’t get anything, just looked around and made comments. The best kind of shopping. I took Jorie to Home Goods with me once, same vibe. She’s a fun friend to do somethin wacky like that with. On the drive home she offered to stop at an arts store to see if they sold beads because she knows I’m on a jewelry kick. Thoughtful friend alert!
Oh also, we’re bisexual buddies. So of course we had to take advantage of this Pride setup.
Jorie’s philosophy is that life is about showing up and doing things. For example, she plays basketball on a real team! At my birthday party, she got everyone to chant HOT HOT HOT HOT at me. She got a beret in Spain that she’s trying to wear out in the world. Can’t you just see her in a light blue beret, sipping hot chocolate or enjoying a gelato like the little Treat Troll she is? I can.
Toasted Marshmallow S’Mores Galore: 2 out of 5
Godiva Chocolate: 3 out of 5
Lemon Meringue
Mango Key Lime
Pineapple Upside Down Cake
White Chocolate Raspberry Truffle
The Original
Cinnabon Cinnamon Swirl
Very Cherry Ghirardelli Chocolate
Godiva Chocolate
Toasted Marshmallow S’Mores Galore
Tiramisu
Celebration
Salted Caramel
I’m feeling better about my progress after this trip. I have two free slices to redeem and money left on my giftcard. WHO IS NEXT??
Merch Updates:
1) I have a Merch PAGE on the blog now.
2) Mark (Mango Key Lime) designed a t-shirt for me that you can also own!
3) I designed some Treat Troll merch, inspired by Jorie.
4) You can see new photos in situ of some of the older items. Please enjoy!