Get Spun: Cotton Candy in LA
Cotton candy, fairy floss, fluffy stuff. Whatever you call it, the spun sugary treat conjures images of summertime carnivals and county fairs. But wait… this sweet snack is so popular it has its own holiday right in the midst of the holiday season on December 7. Find out where to get your fill of the frilly fun and enjoy creative cotton candy concoctions at restaurants and bars across Los Angeles.
The Bazaar @ SLS Hotel – Los Angeles
By now you’ve all heard about the bizarre edibles at this temple to molecular gastronomy, so it should come as no surprise that The Bazaar is where you can get foie gras cotton candy. A chilled cube of foie gras is rolled in crushed Corn Nuts and swathed in house-made cotton candy on a stick. I tried it once thinking, “Oh, how cute, cotton candy!” until I realized that the salty, creamy stuff melting on my tongue and seeping down my throat was some poor goose’s guts. (Or as the menu says: “Cotton candy duck liver.”) Foiegettaboutit!
Bar Centro @ SLS Hotel – Los Angeles
Keeping with the bizarre theme of the adjacent Bazaar, Bar Centro will quench your thirst and your sweet tooth all at once. The famed Magic Mojito ($17), made with rum and a touch of mint, is served in an individual shaker and strained over cotton candy in a martini glass. Now you see it, now you don’t.
Barton G – West Hollywood
Adding a theatrically wacky twist to fine dining, Barton G has really topped himself with yards of pink cotton candy in the shape of an over-the-top two-foot edible neon pink cotton candy dessert called Let Them Eat Cake ($18). Served alongside raspberry & strawberry cream cheese petit cakes with fresh berries and schlag (whipped cream), you can have your cake and eat it too!
Bon Puf – Los Angeles & beyond
Si charmant! Bon Puf is putting a modern spin on things with an adorable organic cotton candy cart that whirls out handcrafted flavors like mango chili, strawberry lemonade, chai tea, salted caramel, honey rose, Earl Grey and pretty much anything else you can imagine to make all your cotton candy dreams come true.
BOA Steakhouse – Santa Monica
No, that’s not a Frank Gehry cumulus cloud pendant lamp. It’s the cotton candy dessert at BOA. The made-to-order treat is whipped into a two-foot mound and glows from within thanks to a votive candle. It also comes in three different flavors: raspberry, vanilla and Bing cherry. Just don’t ask for it at the TMZ-besieged West Hollywood location. This is strictly offered in Santa Monica.
Saddle Ranch – Universal City Walk & Sunset Strip
The mechanical bull might isn’t the only thing to knock you off your butt at this bigger-is-better chop house. Just order the signature Cotton Candy Tower and you’ll see what I mean. For $8.99, this (more than) enough-for-two, three-foot mound of sweet, fluffy stuff comes in the old school pink version but also in a green apple cinnamon flavor. It’s just what you need after a huge steak and carafe-sized cocktail. Why just do it when you can overdo it?
Culina @ Four Seasons Los Angeles
For an Italian take on cotton candy, try Culina’s subtly sweet and utterly strong affogato. Literally translated as “drowned,” affogato is a scoop of homemade vanilla bean gelato topped with a fluffy swirl of cotton candy that melts when poured over with a hot shot of espresso. Served with a couple of crunchy pignoli (pine nut) cookies, the tasty dessert is $11.
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mmm… a diabetic coma shall be had by all!
I would like to try tasty clouds…