Coffee & Treats in Pine Bluff
Mickey's Cakes & Sweets
One Dozen Gourmet Cupcakes or One 9-Inch Single Heart Cake at Mickey's Cakes & Sweets (Up to 52% Off)
Dessert bakery crafts 15 flavors of cupcakes or heart-shaped cakes
Little Rock
$36 $20
Select Local Merchants
Armed with just a single, generations-old cookie recipe, Great American Cookies opened its first store in 1977, and the rest is history. Today, the franchise boasts locations in malls across the country and nabbed a coveted spot on Entrepreneur magazine’s 2012 Top 500 Franchises in the baked-goods category. As the shop’s reputation grew, so did its menu as chefs churned out a mouthwatering roster of gourmet-cookie recipes, each created and carefully tested in Atlanta. The tempting options now include snickerdoodle, peanut butter with M&Ms, and chewy pecan supreme, as well as freshly baked fudge and cheesecake brownies, and cookie sandwiches stuffed with frosting. The real show-stoppers, however, are the giant chocolate-chip cookie cakes, which can be customized with sweet, celebratory messages or shopping lists penned in colorful icing.
Tropical Smoothie Café cools down overheated inner-beings with its all-natural smoothies—forged from real fruit and bursting at sippable seams with energy. Plunge into a 24-ounce low-fat fruit smoothie ($3.99), sweetened with your choice of turbinado sugar or Splenda. Flavors include the strawberry, banana, and pineapple blend of Paradise Point, the blueberry, strawberry, and banana oasis of Blue Lagoon, and the delicious dawnbreak of Sunny Day, which is packed with mango, banana, orange, and kiwi. If teeth start to grumble about having nothing to do, guests can chomp a satisfyingly solid slab of sustenance with one of Tropical Smoothie Café's sandwiches, wraps, or salads. Tear into a bistro sandwich ($6.29) such as the turkey guacamole, or gnaw on a grilled flatbread ($3.99) such as the Caribbean Luau, which is bedecked in chicken, mozzarella, pineapple, romaine, and jamaican jerk sauce. Make amends with mouths for last summer's exhausting gum-chewing marathon with the Paradise Combo ($9.99)—which throws down the gauntlet of appetizing with a smoothie of your choice and any toasted wrap, bistro sandwich, or gourmet salad plus chips or fruit. Menus and prices may vary slightly at different locations.
Sufficient Grounds Cafe’s crew of baristas fills a.m. energy tanks with a menu bursting with delicious morning brews, breakfast and lunch fare, and tasty sweets. Staffers begin each morning by brewing up delicious coffee blends from around the world, as the espresso machine whirs into caffeinated action. Brew-thusiasts start with a base of espresso, mix in milk or soy, and stamp the potation with the dulcet taste of Torani syrups for decadent mochas or the signature Milky Way infused with chocolate and caramel. During the summer, when the days get longer and the southern hemisphere gets a bikini wax, patrons can sit on the open-air patio, surfing the year-round free WiFi while noshing on freshly made breakfast sandwiches, wraps, or pastries. The café boasts two convenient Little Rock locations, but if schedules are tight or legs have low battery power, free delivery is available within downtown.
Red Mango's frozen yogurt has been garnering national attention for more than five years, unlike that musician strumming away next to the foosball table in his basement. The shop earned a place atop Zagat's 2011 lists for Best Smoothie and Frozen Yogurt Chain and Best Healthy Options Among Quick Refreshment Chains. Red Mango showcases its award-winning reputation by dishing up all-natural and gluten-free yogurts—all of which are either low-fat or nonfat—that promote healthy digestive and immune systems with natural probiotics. Friendly staff members are always on hand to whip Ghirardelli dark chocolate, POM pomegranate juice, and seasonal pumpkin spice frozen yogurts into Stevia-sweetened smoothies or parfaits layered with organic granola and fruit. The toppings bar brims with crunchy cereal, cheesecake bits, and nuts, allowing creative customization.
Described by the Arkansas Times as a "big-and-sloppy burger, fries, and onion rings joint," Burger Mama's chefs prepare homestyle meals at the restaurant's new location on Cantrell Road. Though burgers come standard with generous portions of mayo, mustard, and veggies, diners can upgrade their sandwiches with add-ons such as pepper jack cheese, bacon, grilled onions, and gnome hats. Catfish fillets sizzle in baskets, flanked by side dishes such as fried okra or onion rings. In a review of the burger joint, another Arkansas Times reporter noted that chefs incorporate "what seems like a pint of ice cream in thick, enormous homemade milk shakes."
At The Cupcake Factory, owner Missy Bristow bakes up delicious handheld treats, pies, and cakes for all occasions. Each day she fills the menu with set flavors, including red velvet, Reese’s, and chocolate cupcakes with cream cheese icing. She supplements these with daily specials of rotating flavors that range from carrot and cappuccino to strawberry, German chocolate, and Turtle. She also specializes in custom decorating for cakes, with previous artistic icing jobs that include superheroes, electric guitars, and 3D baby rattles.