Coffee & Treats in Addison

Andrea might have never started Cake Ballers were it not for a curious request from her brother. On a visit home from college, he asked Andrea, a consummate baker, to try her hand at whipping up a batch of treats he had stumbled across at school. Though the first few rounds came out misshapen, after repeated attempts, she finally mastered the formula. Today, Cake Ballers' customizable confections, served with or sans stick, emerge piping hot and perfectly spherical from Andrea's home oven. In flavors that range from chocolate fudge and cookies 'n’ cream to blueberry muffin and strawberry, the delectable delights sport frosted frocks in the client's chosen color scheme. Snackers can match their pops’ hue to their school colors, their team colors, or the color of their favorite red dwarf star.

Around the turn of the millennium, Fabien Goury and Yasmine Bohsali opened Main Street Bistro as a simple shop where neighbors could stop in for a cup of coffee and a chocolate-filled croissant. Popularity came quickly, and soon the bakery had expanded into a full-fledged bistro and added two more locations, including a Richardson outpost with a greenery-framed patio. The current owners, the Marshi family, took over in 2007. To American ears today, the word bistro might conjure up a decidedly upscale eatery, but in their menu, the Marshi family say they’re reaching back to an older sense of the term: a low-key place serving “flavorful home-style fare of generous portions accompanied by modest wines.” Three meals a day, they blend French tradition with Southwestern favorites, clasping hand-formed Angus burgers in brioche rolls, pairing crab-stuffed salmon with Southwest-style corn, and placing quiche Lorraine on the breakfast menu alongside migas and eggs benedict. A full bar completes the bistro experience with a variety of beverage choices.

The warm aroma of freshly baked waffle cones envelops every nook and cranny of Marble Slab Creamery, revving up guests’ senses with the promise of impending decadence. As the hand-rolled cones tan in their ovens, the store’s staff bustles about the premises whipping up fresh batches of premium ice cream in the onsite creamery and helping patrons select a flavor from a list of more than 60 options. This chef-driven dedication to gourmet ice cream began in 1983 with the company’s founding in Houston, Texas, when two French chefs were enlisted to create a recipe for Marble Slab Creamery’s signature sweet-cream ice cream using their culinary expertise.

Today, staffers utilize the frozen-slab technique of ice-cream architecture, scooping each customer’s choice of ice cream and mix-ins onto a chilled marble slab to mix the separate elements into one custom mélange. Though specializing in cone-based ice-cream treats, Marble Slab Creamery also offers a menu full of other scream-worthy confections, including cakes, shakes, and pie à la mode.