Kris Recommends Chocolate Polenta Pie

Why Oradell's favorite coffeeshop, Cool Beans, is cool: Chocolate Polenta Pie

This is a bad picture of a really good pie. 

I'm a coffee shop junkie and one of my favorite places to go for a not-so-quick cup of joe is this quaint little coffee shop in Oradell, NJ called Cool Beans. I say not so quick because I end up spending hours there without even realizing it. It's a burst of red when you walk in this cozy cafe and it looks like it was decorated by your eclectic grandma with quirky vintage furniture from the 50s. Very shabby chic.

House specialties include a wide range of teas and coffees but you know me—I make a beeline for the tempting pastries on display. And this chocolate pie starts staring at me! Not one to back down from a staring game, I look a little closer at the label and it says Chocolate Polenta Pie. Sold!

I take a fat slice home with me and it's everything I want in a pie—rich, not horribly sweet, and delightfully sticky with real chocolate. I almost want to call it a cake because it doesn't have that runny pie consistency, but I figure the polenta adds a little more "meat," hence the chewy texture. And come to think of it, the chewy chocolate bit is the best part. 

Cool Beans International Teas and Coffee
304 Kinderkamack Road
Oradell, NJ 07649-2102
(201) 634-1400

Psst, check out these other things you can do with chocolate and polenta: chocolate polenta pudding, white chocolate polenta, and chocolate polenta cake.

Go play!

- Kris Alcantara