Please Step Away from the Cinnamon Bun
Image by robinhamman via Flickr
The Charlotte Douglas International Airport is a force to be reckoned with. Starbucks outnumber restrooms and Cinnabun franchises—don’t even get me started on the moral dilemma that constitutes the Cinnabun. Do you have any idea how hard it is to resist the delicate aroma of caramel-coated pecans when they’re stationed throughout the airport at twenty foot intervals? Trust me: it’s hard. Nearly impossible. Especially when you’ve been up since 4:00am.
In order to get from Gate E (where my flight from Tallahassee landed shortly after 8:00am) to Gate C (where my flight to Philadelphia was departing shortly after 9:00am), I had to pass not one but two Cinnabuns, numerous smoothie joints, half a dozen designer luggage shops and no less than three Starbucks.
On account of the fact that I am still sick (what a surprise) and spent the majority of the weekend’s conference trying to time my nose blowing to coincide with the requisite rounds of applause that followed each presentation, I decided that a thousand calorie cinnamon bun drenched in sugary icing and caramel-coated pecans was probably not the best idea.
So I resisted the Cinnabuns.
And the first Starbucks.
And the second Starbucks.
But I finally caved in at the third.
And so I find myself enjoying a chai latte in a cramped coffee shop where there are currently seventeen travel weary coffee addicts wrapped around the counter. (Yes, seventeen. I counted.) In my defense, it’s a small chai (or rather a “tall” in Starbucks parlance) and I had it made with soy milk and even added a few drops of Echinacea—it’s practically health food.
At least that’s what I’m going to tell myself when I spend the majority of the flight to Philadelphia hacking up my lungs. And on that note, I’m going to enjoy my cinnamon raisin South Beach bar and pretend it’s almost as good as a soft, gooey Cinnabun.
Fieldwork in Stilettos 
10 Responses to “Please Step Away from the Cinnamon Bun”
I’m not sure about you, but you know what is the worst for me? Famous Amos cookies! You can smell those cookies from pluto! and it smells so heavenly and warm! How can a smell, smell warm??!! But you know, it does!
Hope you get better soon! 🙂
When in India, we drank chai tea every day. Multiple times a day. And you can bet your (cinna?!)bun (…oh god.) that there wasn’t a drop of soy milk in those puppies. Or anything remotely health related.
But my goodness, the taste! Mmmm.
I’m sure your authentic Indian chai was WAY healthier than the frothy sugar-ladden Starbucks version, with or without soy milk 🙂
Good attempt in trying to resist the temptation giving the fact that they (cinnamon bun stores and starbucks) are literally right next to each other.
How delicious are they? We have cinnabon shops here….. Same thing I am sure. Practically die and go to heaven. However one probably constitutes yur entire calorie restrictions for one day. Xx
A quick google search has confirmed what I’d begun to suspect: 1) CinnabOn and CinnabUn are indeed the same thing because CinnabUn with a “U” doesn’t actually exist. 2) I can’t spell 🙂
Cinnabons are soooo delicious… me and my family had epic fights over who was going to eat this 1 Cinnabon many, many times where forks went flying, gooey icy was everywhere, and luckily fingers and hands were still attached by the end of it. There’s so much bad food at an airport, it’s hard to resist!
I second the Famous Amos cookies, I try to justify it when they put the “old” ones on the reduced pile…not even sure they do that anymore as I have cut myself off–
Haha! Would you like me to “investigate” this matter further? I’d be happy to do so, just to satisfy your curiosity of course 🙂
I’ve been through that airport twice now. The proliferation of Starbucks was borderline diabolical, but I forgave them because an adorable tween was playing Christmas jazz music on a grand piano.