Cinnaholic: Cinnamon Roll Addiction Defined

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cinnamon Roll from Cinnaholic

There is something about the smell of a fresh baked cinnamon roll that relaxes the soul and brings a smile to the face of this exhausted debate teacher. After teaching every day for seven days straight and listening to numerous debates about space exploration, I needed a dosing of dessert. Consulting Yelp for assistance in my quest, Cinnaholic stood out as a must-hit after reading rave reviews and scoping out the Yelp-mobile special offer.

Located in Berkeley, at the base of the Cal campus, Cinnaholic offers some of the best tasting cinnamon rolls that have graced these lips. Colleagues who have had the opportunity to dine with me this weekend, were also surprised to learn that everything at Cinnaholic is vegan! And there are a lot of ways to customize these fabulous treats.

You can order the basic roll and top it with a variety of icings and toppings to make your own fun combinations. My first roll was topped with a hazelnut icing which complimented the subtle cinnamon notes and doughy goodness, packing a full-flavor punch. I polished that first roll off in a matter of minutes! No, seriously, while my colleague waited for his roll to bake (they really do make them fresh for you) I managed to polish mine off and even contemplated licking the box. Note that if you have the Yelp mobile app and check-in at Cinnaholic, they currently have an offer for a free icing or topping!

The toppings are also quite fabulous. I ordered a specialty roll today which included several of the toppings off the menu. The Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough roll has icing, chocolate syrup, chocolate chips, and a vegan cookie dough on top. The toppings melt into the roll making each sweet doughy bite a flavor explosion of cookie and cinnamon roll. This roll was so rich, I could only finish half of it in one sitting and am saving the rest for late night snacking. The specialty menu also includes some other flavors I can't want to nosh on like Mocha Almond and Rocky Road.

In addition to the basic roll, the design-it-yourself options, and the specialty rolls, Cinnaholic also has Specialty Pie Rolls complete with a brown sugar & oatmeal crumble on top. And if you can't finish off the full size roll, there are Baby Buns (mini versions of the full-size rolls), cookies, and brownies. And if you only want a bit of sugar, you can buy frosting by the shot!

Make sure you grab a frequent punch card, even if you think you will only have one roll. After one bite, you will be back again and again for more!

Can't make it to Berkeley to enjoy the goodness? After scoping out their Web site, I learned that you can also order Cinnaholic products online! However, if you can get out to the East Bay, Cinnaholic is open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday (closed on Mondays) at 2132 Oxford Street.