Whether you consider yourself an average social-media consumer or the total Instagram addict, you have no doubt seen the exposure of the booming culture of social media foodies. From the delicately balanced stack of pancakes with glistening syrup fountains to the precariously packed sandwiches held high in the sky, individuals are dedicated to the photography (and consumption) of amazing, over-the-top food. Since traveling is nicely paired up with reaching the most prestigious foodie destinations, here are all the amazing spots you need to stop at to refuel your Instagram addiction.
1. The Bagel Nook
Where: Freehold, New Jersey
What: A store featuring insane bagels and wacky cream cheese combinations. Flavors range from mundane blueberry spreads to wild and unpredictable Cheetos-inspired orders.
My Bucket List: Bagels: Oreo, Cocoa Puffs, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, and the Fireball Whiskey Bagel // Cream Cheeses: Peanut Butter Swirl, Cookie Dough, Birthday Cake, and Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip
2. Georgetown Cupcakes
Where: Washington, D.C.
What: An adorable cupcake shop with standard flavors like vanilla and decadent options like Peanut Butter Fudge or Coffee Cookies and Cream. Keep your eye on the rotating daily flavors and the addition of seasonal flavors that pop up from time to time. If you're lucky, you'll hit the store when their mini cheesecakes come out as well.
My Bucket List: Peanut Butter Fudge, Salted Caramel, Toffee Crunch, Hot Cocoa (January Special), Marble Brownie Fudge Cheesecake (May Special), Banana Chocolate Chip (September Special), Caramel Apple (September Special), and Sticky Toffee Pudding (December Special)
3. Momofuku Milk Bar
Where: New York City, NY, and Washington, D.C.
What: A place to find giant cookies, Insta-worthy cakes, and delicious truffles. They've also got their signature "Cereal Milk" dairy products that are begging you for a taste. Basically, your childhood dreams will come true when you walk through the doors.
My Bucket List: Compost Cookie, Confetti Cookie, Crack Pie, Chocolate Chip Cake, Dulce de Leche Cake, and Salted Pretzel Cake
4. Sprinkles Bakery
Where: Various Locations in NY, GA, FL, IL, TX, AR, NV, CA, and Washington, D.C.
What: This bakery sells creative cupcakes and decadent ice cream sundaes, along with thick and delicious cookies. Much like another popular spot, Georgetown, these stores will rotate their flavors out. If you're lucky, you can find one of their famous Sprinkles ATMs and cure your sweet tooth on the go.
My Bucket List: Cupcakes: Banana Peanut Butter, Chocolate Marshmallow, Peanut Butter Chip, Salty Caramel, Cookie, and Caramel Apple (October Special) // Ice Cream: Cap'n Crunch // Cookies: Salted Oatmeal Cornflake and Peanut Butter Pretzel Chip
5. Ample Hills Creamery
Where: Location in New York City, Jersey City, and Disney's Boardwalk in Florida
What: You'll find plenty of non-traditional ice cream flavors at this amazing creamery. They mix classic bases like vanilla and chocolate with different toppings like chocolate chips, peanut butter, and...potato chips?
My Bucket List: Ooey Gooey Butter Cake, The Munchies, and the Raw Deal
6. Tompkins Square Bagels
Where: New York, NY
What: This classic shop carries your typical bakery items such as muffins, croissants, cupcakes, donuts, and most importantly, bagels. They feature twists on the bagel with even more selections for flavors through unexpected cream cheeses.
My Bucket List: Bagels: French Toast, Sourdough, and Chocolate Chip // Cream Cheeses: Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough and Apple Cinnamon
7. 10 Below Ice Cream
Where: Philadelphia, PA, Los Angeles, CA, and various locations in New York
What: This is one of those fad ice cream parlors that offer rolled ice cream for a true, Insta-worthy cup. You can get mesmerizing sundaes that stray quite far from the typical banana split.
My Bucket List: S'mores Galore, Key Lime Pie, and Cookie Monster
8. The Bagel Store - Brooklyn
Where: Brooklyn, NY
What: Amazingly colored (and flavored) bagels that are too beautiful to eat before snapping a photo. But the second you've got the Insta-worthy shot, you'll be devouring these delicious treats.
My Bucket List: Obviously the Rainbow Bagel, Super Cinnamon Rasin Bagel, and the French Toast Cragel
9. T-Rex Cookies
Where: Minneapolis, MN
What: The largest cookies you've ever seen that come in a variety of gourmet flavors. We're talking half- pound and five-pound cookies here, folks.
My Bucket List: Sea Salt Caramel w/ Chocolate Chips, Snickerdoodle, and Peanut Butter
10. Caked Up Cafe
Where: New York City, NY
What: A cute shop that specializes in custom cakes and cupcakes. You'll also find a variety of cake jars and parfaits as well. The cafe boasts flavorful combinations and a wide range of seasonal flavors you've got to grab when the timing is right.
My Bucket List: Crumb Cakes: Cookie Dought and French Toast // Cupcakes: Blueberry Pancake, Caramel Macchiato, Fluffernutter, Half Baked, and Vanilla Caramel // Cakes In A Jar: Dulce de Leche Cheesecake, Milky Way, and Mocha Latte
11. Angel Food Bakery
Where: Minneapolis, MN
What: A bougie bakery with elegant menu items that taste as delicious as they look. This a more fantasy-styled place with hanging chandeliers and decadent cakes, donuts, and other sweet treats.
My Bucket List: Donuts: Monster Mash, Saturday Morning Cartoons, Peanut Butter Not A Cup, and Salted Caramel Cloud // Cupcakes: You Fancy, Chubby Hubby, Randy Dandy, Coffee Toffee, and Peanut Butter Wonderball // Brownies and Cookies: Cookie Dough with Peanut Butter and Pajama Party Cookie Dough Bars
12. Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream
Where: Various Locations in Wisconsin
What: All the frozen ice-cream-like treats you can imagine, including Italian Ices, Greek Yogurt, and Sherbet. They carry a variety of flavors of ice cream and other treats, as well as caffeinated options for when you need comfort sweets and a boost of energy for your day.
My Bucket List: Birthday Cake, Cake Batter Fudge, Moose Tracks, Sticks and Stones, Yippee Skippee, and Peanut Butta Caffeinated Ice Cream
13. Lenwhich
Where: Various Locations in New York
What: This deli offers insanely stacked sandwiches that are jam-packed with delicious flavors in every bite. They feature a create your own option for those who want to select their meats, cheeses, and toppings.
My Bucket List: A glorious creation of my own, probably on Pumpernicket Bread.
14. Jake's Ice Cream
Where: Atlanta, GA
What: Out-of-the-box flavors of ice cream, gelato, sorbets, sherbets, and frozen yogurts, as well as Joyscream made with natural sweetners. You'll need to plan multiple trips because the falvors rotate daily to bring new additions to your taste buds.
My Bucket List: Salted Caramel, Betwixed, Birthday Cake, Devyn's Animal Cracker, Nutter Nanner Elvis, and Peanut Butter and Jammy
15. Sprelly
Where: Fredricksburg, VA
What: This shop features unique takes on the classic peanut butter and jelly sandwich. From simple changes to gourmet additions, they turn your childhood favorite into a variety of wild menu items. Plus, you can create your own sandwich or order a crepe because why not?
My Bucket List: Salted Butterscotch Peanut Butter Sandwich and the Nannernutterscotch Crepe
16. Birthdae Cake
My Bucket List: Ice Cream: Birthdae Cake, 50 Shades, and Milk Money
17. Cauldron Ice Cream
Where: Santa Ana, CA
What: Yet another location that is mixing it up with fun twists on classic flavors that we know and love. From Speckled Vanilla to Earl Grey Lavender, this all-natural, small batch, liquid nitrogen ice cream is served up in a signature "puffle cone" that is almost too fun to eat...almost.
My Bucket List: Milk and Cereal and Sea Salted Caramel Crunch (both in puffle cones, of course)
18. Triple Craft
Where: Alexandria, VA
What: Stacked burgers and classic sides. Just don't forget desserts! Triple Craft offers a host of milkshakes ranging from the simple vanilla to the decadent Chocolate Craft shake topped with whipped cream, sprinkles, drizzles, candies and sweet treats of your choosing. There's also mention of "adult shakes" for those that are looking for something with a little more...bite.
My Bucket List: Vanilla Craft Shake (with frosting, whipped cream, candy, and a cookie)
19. Magnolia Bakery
Where: Los Angeles, CA, Chicago, IL, and various locations in New York
What: A better question would be what doesn't Magnolia have? The menu features a long list of sweets including cakes, cupcakes, pies, mini cheesecakes, icebox cakes, and brownies, among other tantalizing sweets. However, the one thing that cannot be missed is their world-famous banana pudding, which comes in flavors that span far out of the realm of bananas and vanilla wafers.
My Bucket List: Peanut Butter Cupcake, Confetti Cookies, Sea Salt Caramel Cookies, and Banana Pudding
20. Bruce's Fabulous Foods
Where: Marion, NC
What: Bruce's offers a long list of classic diner foods but let's be real...we're all waiting with bated breath for dessert. Bruce's satisfies the sweet craving with over 130 out-of-this-world cheesecake flavors. Can't make it out to the restaurant? Bruce's offers 2-day delivery for all of your cheesecake needs.
My Bucket List: Caramelot, English Toffee Bar, Candy Bar Concerto, Coffee Toffee, Kahlua Chip, Brown Sugar Cinnamon, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, Cookies & Cream, Oatmeal Cookie, Sugar Cookie Caramel Chunk, Apple Pie, Banana Pudding, Caramel Banana, Honey Peanutty, Cinema Sin, Margarita, Crunchy Peanut Butter, Peanut Butter Cookie, Butterscotch, Peppermint Pattie, Take Five, Dulce de Leche, and Elvis Cheesecakes
21. Sweet Doctors
Where: Sarasota, FL
What: If you haven't sensed a theme by now, let me spell it out for you: I have a penchant for finding bakeries and restaurants with insanely sweet and unique treats. Sweet Doctors is no exception. The Florida bakery boasts a range of desserts including cake balls, cookie balls, chocolate covered cupcakes, and many more of the things that keep your dentist in business.
My Bucket List:
a) Cake Balls: Birthday Cake, Cookie Butter, Butterfinger, Fluffernutter,Red Velvet, Sea Salt Caramel, Reese's, Snickers, Nutter Butter, and Golden Vanilla Oreo
b) Cupcakes: Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter, Biscoff, Cannoli, Chunky Monkey, Peanut Butter Blast, Toffee Crunch, and Tres Leches
c) Cheesecake: Salted Caramel and Peanut Butter Brownie
d) Double Sammy: Peanut Butter
22. Juniors
Where: Boca Raton, FL, Mashantucket, CT, Burlington, NJ, and various locations in New York.
What: Much like Bruce's, Juniors offers a variety of diner classics like burgers, fries, pancakes, and sandwiches. Also just like Bruce's, Juniors is known for their cheesecake: a classic New York Cheesecake that they have been serving since 1950. Now, if a restaurant can achieve such great success on a single cheesecake recipe for upwards of 60 years, you know that's a good slice of cheesecake.
My Bucket List: Chocolate Swirl and Red Velvet Cheesecakes. Babka.
23. Cool Haus
Where: Shops in Culver City, CA, Pasadena, CA, and Dallas, TX. Cool Haus also has retailers all over the country so you can indulge your sweet tooth no matter where you live.
What: Remember those M&M or Chocolate Chip cookies of your childhood? The ones that were sandwiched with ice cream? Cool Haus cranks out those...but a thousand times better because, let's face it, you're an adult now and don't have time for silly games like M&M ice cream sandwiches anymore. No, now you want sophisticated flavors like Blueberry Sweet Corn, Candy Cap Mushroom, and Foie Gras PB&J. But when you're tired of living the high life, you can also return to your college days with the Scotch(mallow) with M&M's, also known as "Dad's Secret Stash," which features scotch-spiked ice cream. Now stick that in your Snack Food Chip Cookie and shove it (in your mouth.)
My Bucket List: Bananas Foster, Buttered French Toast, Froot Loops Cereal Milk, Home Run, Zlicious Salted Caramel Corn, Confetti Whoopie Pie, and Peanut Butter Captain Crunch cookie
24. Milk & Cream Cereal Bar
Where: New York City, NY
What: I scream, you scream, we all scream for various fun forms of ice cream! Milk and Cream offers a variety of cereal-focused treats for the kid in you. You can opt for ice cream topped with cereal fruits, cookies, and candies in either a cup, cone, milkshake, or even just a cereal bowl!
My Bucket List: Cookie Dough Cone with Reese's Puffs, Reeses Pieces, and caramel drizzle
So what's the moral of the story here? Well, for one, I have the biggest sweet tooth in the world and that means that, when traveling with Meagan, always to make sure to pack your toothbrush! Stay tuned for my next travel adventures to see if I can add more to this list or even cross some of them off!
