Just before and during the pandemic I started a marketing and consulting company as one part of my multi-faceted, multimedia entrepreneurial ventures. I had been earning crypto by blogging on the Hive blockchain for several years, and was working as a professional freelance writer for a couple of independent news outlets. Writing and engaging the public in civil intellectual discourse are two things I enjoy and believe I do well, albeit not often for the faint of heart.

Towards the end of the pandemic, my life took some, let's say, interesting turns. I found myself sort of returning both mentally and geographically to square one. And although my career as a professional blogger and podcaster remained strong for a while, I recently had to put much of my creative projects on the back burner due to some pretty heavy life shit (updates to follow).

Well, now I've been able to do some of the proverbial moving forward and revisit what I started a few years ago. Fortunately, my friend, Usman, and I spent a lot of time developing and building a foundation and digital infrastructure which will save us a lot of effort and allow me to focus on the meat of these projects and get things off the ground rather quick, and mostly painless. One of the pieces of this intricate puzzle is showcasing custom branded OPEN/CLOSED/LUNCH signs formatted for any digital platforms and IRL signage.

My plan was to post the OPEN sign every Monday morning when I opened the office, during the hours on our Google business profile, along with some inspirational, motivational anecdote; perhaps a link to an article or something cool I come across on my social media perusal. Then, on Wednesdays, I would post the LUNCH sign midday, again with something interesting and attention grabbing. Then, at the end of the business day, every Friday, I would post the CLOSED sign with a positive message upon departing the office for the weekend, and do it all over again each week.

A few weeks ago I started posting the signs on my Facebook pages again. Today I received inspiration from taking a walk around the neighborhood where the new office is located. The weather was perfect. This is a pretty upscale main street town lined with excellent eateries and bougie AF shops. All small local businesses; which, if you know me, you know is right up my alley. It is one of the things I look to focus on as part of my blogging and journalism. And so today begins a new chapter in my career as I have decided for my LUNCH posts I will eat a different place each week, try a different dish each time, take the obligatory pics of the food and the storefront, and write a short review. Soon too, I will reintroduce myself to the owners and employees of these businesses and ask to interview them and even invite them to sit in on a podcast.

This initial introductory post required far more wording than I would normally supply for a reoccurring weekly post, I had to give you the backstory. I will most likely review one place each week. For today, since I was familiarizing myself with the area, I had lunch and wound up stopping for dessert on the way back to the office. Two places I shall endorse as long as I remain a part of the local agora are Oriental Pearl Restaurant and Cupcake Carnivale, both located on Main Street in downtown Moorestown, New Jersey, USA.

Oriental Pearl boasts a Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, and Thai menu which is sure to satiate any craving for some of the most commonly favored Asian dishes such as Lo Miens, Chow Miens, Sweet and Sours, Fried Rice dishes, egg rolls, noodles, wings, and, but not limited to, seafood. The atmosphere is inviting and modest. The staff very welcoming and warm. Their menu actually seemed underpriced, that is not a complaint.

I ordered one of my favorite Asian dishes from the lunch specials, Pad Thai. Normally, you'd be asked to choose between, chicken, shrimp or tofu; this came with all three. The portion was filling, not overwhelming. It was spiced just right and served hot but edible. Soup was included for a very fair price in this day and age and for such an affluent part of town. I tried the egg drop which is not usually a go-to for me and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I also enjoyed the complimentary hot tea with my meal and I never had to ask for more water as the waitstaff was attentive, yet not obtrusive. I had a great conversation with the couple at the table beside me who departed with the hopes to run in to each other again for lunch one day. Overall, this was a great experience which left me wanting to make this a regular spot to grab a quick, delicious, and affordable lunch anytime I crave Thai food.

I walked passed Cupcake Carnivale on my way towards the Asian restaurant, neither of which I had planned to try today. I stopped in for a moment to have a gander at their display counter full of at least ten different kinds of cupcakes which called my name one-by-one. The clerk wasn't just attending to the register and slinging baked goods, he was scooping freshly made batter into an industrial cupcake pan preparing to place it in the oven. The smell was enchanting. Although I am preparing myself for a detox and weight loss regimen, I knew today would not be the day to start.

On my way back to the office, I did not even attempt to talk myself out of ingesting a sample of the local dessert fare. It would have felt wrong. I am a fan of chocolate almost anything so it took me a few moments to decide between the chocolate with peanut butter cup, the cookies and cream, or the double chocolate. Can you guess which one I went for? Double chocolate it was, and I was not disappointed.

The man behind the counter gave me a heads up that the cupcakes were made fresh daily so they kept them refrigerated and that I might wait a handful of minutes to allow it to soften otherwise it would be like biting into a stick of butter. I walked with it the rest of the way to the office. After settling in, I took my first bite. It was like biting into a softened stick of the richest, chocolatey-est butter I've ever had the pleasure of having in my mouth. Yes, it was well worth the five dollar price-tag. And I am happy reporting the costliness of their incredibly addicting cupcakes so as to ensure this does not become a habit. For any cupcake afficionado devoid of self-control out there, one taste of their goods will have you emptying your pockets and feeling sorry later. But it will be worth the pain.