Omnivore - Starbucks goes low-calorie

• http://clatl.com/atlanta/ImageArchives?by=1223504
• Salted Caramel Sweet Square

It's still selling zillion-calorie frappuccinos, but now Starbucks is peddling "petites" — tiny pastries that it's trying to pass off as low-calorie.

Most of them are 180 or 190 calories. I don't know on what planet 190 calories for maybe four bites is low-calorie. I've tried all of them and my favorite is the Salted Caramel Sweet Square. It basically tastes like toffee with a bit of salt added. The salt apparently derives from the pretzels with which the squares are made.

There are also "lollipops" that kinda-sorta taste like tiramisu, "rocky road" and birthday cake, plus an Oreo-like "whoopie pie" of cream cheese icing between two layers of red velvet cake.

It's all about portion control, of course, and if you eat two of anything — as you'll be tempted to do — you'll consume almost 400 calories.