As universal as cupcakes are, I’ve developed a couple of complaints against them.

1. They’re hard to transport: Anyone who’s ever smudged frosting carrying a tray of cupcakes, let alone had to deal with the messy process of trying to wrap them up, understands this frustration.

2. The frosting/cake ratio -- you’re either getting a mouthful of too much cake or too much frosting.

3. They’re kinda hard to eat.

Lucky for me, the wonderful people at the Cake and Cookie Spot in Squirrel Hill offer a brilliant new type of cupcake -- the Cake Shot.

Some background:

The bakery, at 2108 Murray Ave. (same block as Mineo’s), is owned by a mother-daughter team who are incredibly friendly people, and talented bakers. They offer many varieties of cookies, donuts and other sweets.

Now, back to the cake shot: Despite its name, it contains no alcohol. It’s a miniature version of a layer cake, tucked into a plastic shot glass. It's easy to transport and to eat: You get a spoon with your order, so you can enjoy spoonfuls of frosting and filling, or you can diligently excavate one layer of flavor at a time.

I recently attended a party where the honoree was given a tray of six of these and they survived being carted all around Shadyside, looking just as pretty as they did in the store.

The cake sections are all soft and moist, and all of the frostings are sweet and flavorful, without being oily or greasy. They taste “homemade” in the best possible way.

The red velvet cake is rich and deep, with a cream-cheese frosting; the birthday cake is light and vanilla-y, with sweet white frosting and sprinkles. The peanut butter is a rich chocolate cake -- almost brownie-like, with a smooth, delicious peanut butter filling.

My favorite is the s'mores, with a marshmallow frosting, chocolate layer, and cake, topped adorably with mini marshmallows and a chocolate piece.

There’s a wide variety of flavors -- everything from Margarita to Spice Cake to Boston Cream -- and offerings change daily, so if you’re looking for a specific one, call ahead.

Another tip: If you’re getting cake shots for a birthday, let the bakers know  they have candles on hand. It’s thoughtful gestures like that that make the Cake and Cookie Spot a great bakery.

The shots are reasonably priced at $2.50 each or $12.50 for a six-pack. If you’re ordering 100 or more, first, invite me to your party, and second, they're $1.85 each.

The women excel at special orders, and will work with you to create a custom creation -- even if that means you want a strawberry cake shot with peanut butter frosting!

And if you fall in love with one of the Cake Shot flavors, they can make you a full-sized cake version.

Carrie DiRisio, 22, is an analyst for the Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh, and lives in Squirrel Hill. She enjoys running, knitting, volunteering with the Junior League of Pittsburgh, and exploring her new hometown.

Carrie DiRisio photos

Having raised three sons, two of whom had pretty indiscriminate tastes (teenaged boys, I've discovered, will eat pretty much anything and everything), I've bought more than my share of meat snacks over the years. Greasy beef sticks, hard-to-chew jerky, spicy dried sausages that smell exactly like dirty soccer socks ... you name it, the McKay boys (and girls) have devoured it. 

Ward Payne lived in Seattle in his former life as a graphic designer and software creative director, so he knows a thing or two about a good cup of joe. At his coffee shop Simpatico Espresso in the lobby of the Regional Enterprise Tower -- the former Alcoa Building on Sixth Avenue -- he's been brewing what many consider some of the city's best.

This past December, he upped his game considerably, with the debut of a high-tech, single-cup coffee machine known as the "Trifecta."

Made by coffee giant Bunn, the space-age appliance doesn't just brew coffee -- it turns it into performance art as it wets and agitates the ground coffee and then presses the liquid through a filter into a 12-ounce cup using patented "air infusion technology." 

In this latest "Cool Pittsburgh Food in a Minute" video, Mr. Payne takes the Trifecta for a test drive using Sumatra Hirimau Tiger coffee supplied by Common Place Coffee, a "profile" roaster that recently joined East End Brewing Co. at its warehouse space in Larimer.

Agitating the suspended grounds with blasts of oxygen isn't just fun, says Mr. Payne. It also releases the coffee's flavor in a way traditional drip-brewing and French pressing cannot.  

"You get the full brew profile," he says, adding that each variety calls for different water temperatures and intensity and duration of turbulence. (The "recipes" are pre-programmed for one-button brewing.)

Maybe that explains why the Trifecta has coffee drinkers reaching into a craft beer brewer's bag of adjectives for words such as "nutty and citrusy" (Brazil Serra Negra), "smooth, sweet and exquisitely balanced" (Rivas Mexico Pacamara) and "clean and sweet with a subtle berry note" (the aforementioned Sumatra). 

I'm happy to report the machine really does make an exceptional cup of coffee. A girl who always takes her morning brew light and sweet, I was quite surprised I totally enjoyed my cup of Sumatra black.

Simpatico currently offers five varieties of coffee, with prices ranging from $3 to $3.25 a cup. It that seems expensive, consider this: it takes 28 grams of coffee to brew one cup in the Trifeca, or almost twice the amount required in a regular drip coffee.

Plus, there's just two of the $5,000 Trifecta machines in Western Pennsylvania (the other is at Coffee Buddha at 964 Perry Highway in Ross). So it really is something special.

Simpatico Espresso, 425 Sixth Ave., Downtown, in the lobby of the Regional Enterprise Tower, is open from 6:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mon.-Fri.

Bunn photo

More Cool Food in a Minute:
http://www.pgplate.com/forks-blog/221-one-smokin-drink
http://www.pgplate.com/forks-blog/264-pittsburgh-s-favorite-way-to-eat-oysters

Is this a ... thing?

Oranges with leaves?

I hadn't seen them before, but while grocery shopping this weekend, my wife saw them twice -- at Trader Joe's and at Giant Eagle Market District. That's where she bought this strapping Sunkist organic navel for exactly $1.

She says both stores' displays touted how oranges with leaves can add beauty to your fruit bowl.

I might add that they can do the same thing for your food blog.

Bob Batz Jr. photo

They're baaaaack. And for fans of McDonald's Shamrock Shake, of which there are many, it's not a moment too soon.

A harbinger of spring among fast-foodies, the mint-flavored shake has a cult-like following, with sightings immediately reported on Facebook and Twitter. There's even a website, shamrockshake.com, where you can do a ZIP code search for the closest restaurant serving it. (Luckily, our store in Bellevue was among the first.)