Destination: Sugar Rush

Written by FRANCES KIDD | Photographed by JACKIE KENNEDY

I know, I know. Talk about a sweet tooth should stop at the end of the year, not continue into January as folks vow to get back in shape after the holidays. But for those of us with a sweet tooth, we know that it will follow us into the new year.

The phrase “sweet tooth” (never “sweet teeth”) has been around for hundreds of years and, as with many things, there isn’t a true consensus on its origins. The Vocabulary.com traces it back to the late 14th century, stating it has evolved from “toothsome,” meaning “delicious” or “tasty.”

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the earliest known use is in 1390, in the writing of poet John Gower. Another expert traces it to the writings of Chaucer in the 14th century.

Whatever the situation, sugar is good for most folks’ souls.

In Coweta, we’re lucky to have an abundance of sweet treats of all types. Three local businesses that cater to your sweet tooth won top spots for Best Sweets and Treats in Newnan-Coweta Magazine’s Best of Coweta Readers’ Choice Awards, which were announced in the July/August 2024 issue: Rock Salt Milk Bar, 1st place; Heirloom Donuts, 2nd; and Cakes by Debbie, 3rd. Heirloom Donuts closed its Newnan location in November, so we spotlight here Doba Cafe, which took 4th place in last year’s Best of Coweta Awards.

See what all the sugar fuss is about, and then rush out to get you some.

ROCK SALT MILK BAR

Since 1927, when a song was published as a commercial slogan for the I-Scream bar (today’s Eskimo Pie), “I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream” has been part of the American experience.

Tales swirl around the development of ice cream. It’s been credited to both Marco Polo and Catherine de Medici. What is known for sure is that the earliest forms of ice cream bear little resemblance to the creamy sweet stuff that may be in your freezer.

According to a PBS article titled “Explore the Delicious History of Ice Cream,” ever since the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD), various types of frozen milk confections have been found in different parts of the world. It’s impossible to say how ice cream reached America, but it likely arrived with European settlers in the early 1700s. In 1790, the first ice cream parlor opened in New York.

Cindy Hendricks opened Rock Salt Milk Bar in downtown Newnan in 2019. A brief encounter reveals her passion for what she does and her love of ice cream.

“I do know that ice cream usually makes everything 

better,” Hendricks says. “Right now, my favorite is the seasonal caramel apple, but I’m a strawberry ice cream fiend.”

Her first ice cream shop was such a success that Hendricks now has stores in Peachtree City and LaGrange.

As part of her goal to make the best ice cream, she sources her products from local producers as much as possible. They use milk from grass-fed farms which has been a bit of a challenge because there’s not as much fat in the milk. The Waldroup Family Farm in LaGrange and Working Cows Dairy, an organic dairy in Southern Alabama, are two of Rock Salt Milk Bar’s suppliers.

At Rock Salt Milk Bar, there’s typically something for everyone, including at least one sorbet and one other non-dairy item on hand. Responding to her customers is an important part of her work, according to Hendricks, who says, “We’re getting requests for more and more non-dairy.”

CAKES BY DEBBIE

Cake has been used to celebrate special events for thousands of years. It is almost impossible to think of a wedding without picturing a towering, white frosted cake – or a birthday party without a cake aflame with candles in the middle of the family table.

Best-selling author and baker Anne Byrn says, “Cake is an icon of American culture.” She adds that it has a special hold on the American palate, imagination and heart because it’s celebratory.

Debbie Barronton is the creative genius behind Cakes by Debbie. Her shop just off Newnan’s Court Square offers homemade cakes, cookies, sandwiches and casseroles.

“Peanut Butter Pie is my favorite right now because that’s what I’m making at the moment,” Barronton says. “My theme is always Eat Dessert First.”

Barronton particularly enjoys making cakes for special occasions.

“When people pick up their cakes and I see the smile on their face, or they send me pictures, that makes my day,” she says.

Barronton and her husband were in the restaurant business for 40 years. She and her cakes have been featured on a number of cooking shows, and she has created cakes for the movies and television shows that film in the Newnan-Coweta area. In fact, Barronton created the unique pake, a cake inside of a pie crust that was often featured in “Drop Dead Diva.” She actually opened a Pakery, which became part of some story lines.

DOBA CAFE

Doba Cafe opened on Jefferson Street in downtown Newnan in 2020 and has become a smashing sugar success since then.

In the food business since 2011, Doba Cafe owner Mara Men is culinary-trained as well as proficient in French cooking and got his start in Los Angeles, Calif., where he ran a Japanese restaurant. He was introduced to American Southern cooking while working as a sous chef in Hollywood.

“I fell in love with Southern food and moved to Georgia in 2017,” says Men. “We were looking all over the place, and discovered that Georgia needed donuts.”

He and his wife Bolen, or “Bo,” wanted to bring something new to the South to share with those whose own cooking they’d come to love, so they opened Donut Palace in Barnesville. They eventually outgrew that location and moved to Newnan after selling their first donut shop, which remains in business.

“Newnan has the small-town feel with big-city excitement,” says Men, noting that he and Bo are happy to be raising their son Calvin in Newnan where he will start attending Coweta County Schools next year.

Truly a family-operated business, Doba employees include Men’s wife, her sister and brother-in-law, their cousin, and the list goes on.

While the donut bonanza at Doba includes fan favorites like the Cookie Monster Oreo Donut, the shop’s best sellers are their old-fashioned glazed donuts and old-fashioned sour cream donuts, according to Men.

No sweet tooth?

It’s not easy to find people who say they don’t have a sweet tooth. Even those who say they don’t crave sweets still manage to sneak in a few bites along the way.

Coweta native Clifton Stephens is one of these. Ironically, he spent his career as a specialty food and confection broker, representing a number of companies like Ghirardelli Chocolate. He also worked at Rich’s Department Store, where he had access to the candy kitchen. He didn’t eat, he recalls – just watched.

“I never had much of a sweet tooth,” he says. “When I go to the grocery store, for example, I never go to the bakery. That was the first stop for my wife Barbara before she passed away, but I could go the rest of my life and not eat very many sweet things.”

But even he admits: “Sometimes, I want just a bite after a meal.”

On those rare occasions, his go-to sweet is dark chocolate bark with crushed almonds.

As we enter the new year, keep one of cooking icon Julia Child’s most meaningful quotes in mind: “A party without a cake is just a meeting.” NCM