Sprinkles Cupcakes in New York, NY

Sprinkles Cupcakes in New York, NY
Sprinkles Cupcakes in New York, NY

If you are a fan of the TV show

Cupcake Wars

, you have probably heard about Sprinkles Cupcakes: one of Judges, Candace Nelson, is with her husband Charles, the owner. 

Sprinkles Cupcakes in New York, NY
Sprinkles Cupcakes in New York, NY

It all started in 2005 with the first store that opened in Beverly Hills: they got sold out the first day in three hours and then sold more than 2,000 cupcakes the first week, starting a success story that continues today, with more than 10 locations in the US and projects to open in London and Tokyo.  

Cupcake ATM at Sprinkles Cupcakes in New York, NY
Cupcake ATM at Sprinkles Cupcakes in New York, NY

Sprinkles Cupcakes is also known for the first cupcake ATM in the world, introduced in 2012, where cupcakes are available 24/7. We did not try the ATM and went straight to the store. It was a week day, the week ends being crazy there.

Cupcake stars at Sprinkles Cupcakes in New York, NY
Cupcake stars at Sprinkles Cupcakes in New York, NY

An allusion to the stars on Hollywood Boulevard

As soon as you enter the place, your senses are overwhelmed by an incredible baking smell that make you want to live there. It is a colorful place for sure...

Decor at Sprinkles Cupcakes in New York, NY
Decor at Sprinkles Cupcakes in New York, NY

What I like about such a place is that they propose cupcakes in two sizes: regular or small, the latter being perfect for a tasting. But, know that not all cupcakes are available in the small size. So, here is what we tried:

Jodi, of course, got the coconut cupcake:

Coconut cupcake at Sprinkles Cupcakes in New York, NY
Coconut cupcake at Sprinkles Cupcakes in New York, NY

They did not have it in small size, but, after the first bite, no regrets. Even me, who is not a huge fan of coconut, liked it. One thing that I always look for in a cupcake is the ratio frosting / cake, and this one was perfect.

Coconut cupcake at Sprinkles Cupcakes in New York, NY
Coconut cupcake at Sprinkles Cupcakes in New York, NY

The cake was moist and the frosting not too sweet.

On my side, I decided to try two mini-cupcakes:

mini cupcakes at Sprinkles Cupcakes in New York, NY
mini cupcakes at Sprinkles Cupcakes in New York, NY

Red velvet:

red velvet cupcake at Sprinkles Cupcakes in New York, NY
red velvet cupcake at Sprinkles Cupcakes in New York, NY

Banana with chocolate frosting:

banana and chocolate frosting cupcake at Sprinkles Cupcakes in New York, NY
banana and chocolate frosting cupcake at Sprinkles Cupcakes in New York, NY

Same comment there on the ratio frosting / cake: perfect. I was definitely curious to try the red velvet as it is like The Test: like when you go to a French restaurant and they do not know how to make escargots (I have names...). This one was delicious and my comments are valid for all the cupcakes: moist cake and not overly sweet frosting, allowing you to eat many. The banana one was fantastic and the combination banana and chocolate works perfectly.

Sprinkles Cupcakes is, with Butter Lane and Sweet in Hoboken, one of my favorite cupcake places. I am looking forward to going back there or to try their ice cream and cookie store located right next to it. And, by the way, if your dog also loves cupcakes, they have some for her/him that I did not try...yet!

cupcake for dog at Sprinkles Cupcakes in New York, NY
cupcake for dog at Sprinkles Cupcakes in New York, NY

Enjoy (I did)!

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Sprinkles Cupcakes

Chikalicious Dessert Bar in the East Village, NYC, NY

image of Chikalicious Dessert Bar in the East Village, NYC, NY

So, after a first tentative to go to ChikaLicious Dessert Bar and ending up in their Dessert Club, we finally made it. We showed up couple of minutes after they opened, allowing us to get a table, but also to take photos comfortably.
image of Chikalicious Dessert Bar in the East Village, NYC, NY

Minutes later, the place was packed! Know that his is small and that they only accept reservations for large groups.
image of Chikalicious Dessert Bar in the East Village, NYC, NY

This location is totally different from the other one: a more refined decor as well as a different menu. Here, no cupcake or dossant (a fusion of a croissant and a donut, competitor to the Cronut from Dominique Ansel). At ChikaLicious Dessert Bar, you get a prix-fixe for $16 that includes an amuse-Bouche, a dessert and some petits fours.
image of Chikalicious Dessert Bar in the East Village, NYC, NY

The desserts can be paired with a dessert wine for an additional $8 that we did not consider, Jodi preferring a tea:
image of tea at Chikalicious Dessert Bar in the East Village, NYC, NY

And myself an espresso:
image of espresso at Chikalicious Dessert Bar in the East Village, NYC, NY

Both served in a nice china. 
image of tea at Chikalicious Dessert Bar in the East Village, NYC, NY

That day, the amuse-bouche was Cara Cara orange (sort of navel orange) with a rosemary ice cream. 
image of cara cara orange and sorbet at Chikalicious Dessert Bar in the East Village, NYC, NY

This was a surpising start, the rosemary ice cream being very original, with only a slight taste of rosemary that worked perfectly with the orange.

Then we got our desserts of choice. Know that, as dessert choices change on a regular basis, you may not be able to order what we ate. Jodi ordered the mango-pineapple tartare on crispy kataifi with coconut sorbet and white rum purée.
image of mango-pineapple tartare at Chikalicious Dessert Bar in the East Village, NYC, NY

image of mango-pineapple tartare at Chikalicious Dessert Bar in the East Village, NYC, NY

On my side, I ordered the warm chocolate tart with pink peppercorn ice cream and red wine sauce, that looked like a smiley.
image of warm chocolate tart at Chikalicious Dessert Bar in the East Village, NYC, NY

image of warm chocolate tart at Chikalicious Dessert Bar in the East Village, NYC, NY

I admit that when the dishes came, I was a bit surprised by the small size of the desserts. Still, the presentation was beautiful and I really liked them, especially the warm chocolate tart whose center was completely liquid, similar to a chocolate soufflé. I admit however that I did not really like the red wine sauce that was served with it. 

We then got some petits fours:
image of petits fours at Chikalicious Dessert Bar in the East Village, NYC, NY

Coconut marshmallow:
image of coconut marshmallow at Chikalicious Dessert Bar in the East Village, NYC, NY

Bacardi rum chocolate cookies:
image of Barcardi rum cookie at Chikalicious Dessert Bar in the East Village, NYC, NY

Earl grey tea cakes:
image of Earl Grey tea cake at Chikalicious Dessert Bar in the East Village, NYC, NY

All were good, especially the chocolate cookies (probably because of the rum...). 

The desserts at ChikaLicious are quite good and elegant, with a fantastic presentation, the Chef showcasing a lot of creativity. However, for $16 without a coffee or tea, I find it slightly overpriced. 

Enjoy (I did)!

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Celebrating Easter with La Maison du Chocolat

Please note that the chocolate was complimentary. However, I was not obliged to post and the opinions expressed in my blog are 100% my own!
image of La Maison du Chocolat Easter chocolate

La Maison Du Chocolat proposed to send me some samples of their Easter collection, crafted by Chef Nicolas Cloiseau. I, of course, accepted, being a big fan of this establishment (great hot cocoa, pastries and chocolates). 
image of La Maison du Chocolat Easter chocolate

They sent me some chocolate eggs with the following flavors:
  • Praline with crispy crepe,
  • Almond praline,
  • Praline hazelnut (my favorite),
  • crispy praline.
image of La Maison du Chocolat Easter chocolate

There was also a milk chocolate bunny with a surprise inside: yes, some of these chocolate eggs. 

Needless to say that these chocolates did not last long...

While preparing this post, I checked the Easter collection of La Maison du Chocolat, and was amazed by the creations of Chef Nicolas Cloiseau, such as the atelier:
Courtesy La Maison Du chocolat
It looks incredible and I do not see how one could eat that! Well, ok, it is good chocolate: I would eat that! I just wish it was always Easter...Although I do not need any reason to go to there!

Enjoy (I did)!

La Maison Du Chocolat on UrbanspoonLa Maison du Chocolat on UrbanspoonLa Maison Du Chocolat on Urbanspoon


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Doughnuts from Dough in Brooklyn


One of my colleagues, Jason, brought some doughnuts one day for breakfast. They were from Dough, a doughnuttery located in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn. With all the doughnut places in New York, I was curious to see what would set Dough apart. On top of that, I am a huge fan of the Doughnut Plant, so my expectation was very high. 

At first, you cannot miss the size of these doughnut that are fairly big, the size of a bagel. They are yeast doughnuts, as opposed to cake doughnuts. 

Although large, they were soft, chewy, airy and fluffy, not too heavy. And yes, I tried all of them...

Here is what we had:

Hibiscus doughnut:

Coconut doughnuts:


Glazed doughnuts:

Chocolate doughnuts:

Cafe au lait doughnuts:

I was curious what the hibiscus doughnut would taste like, not that I never tried hibiscus before (I had a hibiscus lemonade once at Angelica Kitchen). Do not imagine a flowery taste: it had a nice sweetness and I would not have known it was hibiscus, I would probably think it was food coloring...

The chocolate doughnut was delicious too and would satisfy any chocolate lover, the icing being very chocolate-y. But my favorite was the cafe au lair one that had some crumble as well as nuts, adding some nice texture to it.

I liked the doughnuts at Dough, not only because they taste good, but also because of their originality. However, they would had some filling, it would make them seriously compete with the doughnut plant.

Enjoy (I did)!

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Restaurant Information

* Restaurant Name
Dough
* Overall
★★☆☆☆
* Neighborhood / Cuisine
Bedford-Stuyvesant / American Traditional / Desserts
* Street Address
305 Franklin Ave. (At Lafayette Ave.), Brooklyn, NY 11205
* Phone
(347) 533-7544

Lady M Upper East Side, NYC, New York

image of Lady M Upper East Side, NYC, New York

After having tried Lady M at Bryant Park several weeks ago, as well as the one in the Plaza Hotel, we decided to go on the Upper East Side, thinking that, as it is their original location, it would be bigger and would have more choices. 
image of Lady M Upper East Side, NYC, New York

I admit that I was a bit disappointed as it was the same size as the other one and the same menu, but my disappointment did not last too long at the sight of these spectacular cakes that they showcase.
image of Lady M Upper East Side, NYC, New York

I was there fixated on one and one only cake: the Mont Blanc!
image of Mont Blanc cake at Lady M Upper East Side, NYC, New York

It is made of cream and chestnut cream and topped with a fresh chestnut.
image of Mont Blanc cake at Lady M Upper East Side, NYC, New York

When you start digging in, you are wondering where the cream is.
image of Mont Blanc cake at Lady M Upper East Side, NYC, New York

But then you find it and you are happy about it, because it cuts on the sweetness of the chestnut cream; because yes, it is very sweet. But very addictive too, to the point that I finished it...

Jodi was set for the vanilla mille-crepe, but finally decided to order the banana mille feuilles:
image of banana mille feuilles cake at Lady M Upper East Side, NYC, New York

It is made of big chunks of banana, puff pastry, whipped cream and layers of sponge cake. This was sublime! It reminded me of a banana cream pie in a way.

image of espresso at Lady M Upper East Side, NYC, New York

These desserts were perfect with my double espresso. Jodi ordered a tea that was good, but pricey ($8)!
image of sugar at Lady M Upper East Side, NYC, New York

The more I try Lady M, the more I like this place and I can tell you that it was not my last visit!

Enjoy (I did)!

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Dandelion chocolate - San Francisco


Recently, we received a package containing some chocolate bars from Dandelion Chocolate in San Francisco, sent by Jodi's cousin, Rebecca and her boyfriend Leo. They went there after we saw this place on the TV show Unique Sweets (I love that show and recommend any person with a sweet tooth to watch it: it is definitely some food porn!). 

So we got to try the following chocolate bars:

70% Ambanja, Madagascar 2013

What I like about this chocolate is that they describe the beans and process as well as what one should taste when eating it. This one says: this batch has a bold, lemon front, followed by a mellow nutty finish.

I tasted the lemon, but not the nutty finish...

70% Mantuano, Venezuela 2012

This one says: we taste notes of fudge bownie and espresso with a lively cinnamon finish.

I would agree.

70% Maya Mountain, Belize 2013

The last one says: we're excited to introduce this fruity bar that has notes of pineapple and honey.

This was in fact my favorite: I loved the finish taste of honey.

This was a great tasting, trying each chocolate bar, one after the other, and trying to see if we could match their description. This is definitely some good chocolate if you like dark, made only with cocoa beans and cane sugar. On their website, they display the places where you can find them all over the country. For instance, in New York, you may find their chocolate at Chelsea Market Baskets. I will have to check that you!

Thanks to Rebecca and Leo!

Enjoy (I did)!

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Little Pie Company in NYC, New York

image of Little Pie Company in NYC, New York

The Little Pie Company was on my radar for a while and I confess that I lured Jodi to that place, making sure we would pass in front of it when going to the Gotham West Market. 
image of kitchen at Little Pie Company in NYC, New York

Little Pie Company is small, but don't be fooled by its name: the kitchen next to it is of a good size.
image of cookies at Little Pie Company in NYC, New York

I was looking around to see what to get, not realizing that they had a banana and coconut cream pie. But trust me, Jodi immediately saw it and ordered it right away as it was the last one and she did not want to see it go to somebody else, leaving me with just couple of minutes to take a decision. 
image of banana coconut cream pie at Little Pie Company in NYC, New York

I was surely not going for one of the cookies that looked a little sad compared to what you can get at City Bakery or Macchiato. I desperately looked for a cherry pie and then saw a cheesecake with a graham cracker crust. That was my choice.
image of cheesecake with graham cracker crust at Little Pie Company in NYC, New York

It was pretty good, creamy with the same density as the cheesecake at Junior's. I loved the crust that added another layer of deliciousness and a slight sweetness.
image of banana coconut cream pie at Little Pie Company in NYC, New York

Of course I could not let Jodi eat alone the banana and coconut cream pie. Originally, I thought it was only a coconut cream pie and Jodi kept telling me it was with banana, I was so desperate to find something that I did not hear. When she told me, I was so happy: I love banana cream pie! 
image of banana coconut cream pie at Little Pie Company in NYC, New York

And this one is a little piece of heaven! I loved it, even with the toasted coconut on top, although I would have preferred without. Not only did I finish the cheesecake, but had a nice piece of pie.

So, do not be surprised to see me going back soon!

Enjoy (I did)!

Little Pie Company on Urbanspoon

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Crumbs Gluten Free in Greenwich Village, NYC, New York

image of Crumbs Gluten Free in Greenwich Village, NYC, New York

After hearing my cousin's Jessica friend Andrew talk about how he started to eat gluten free only and the health benefits that ensue, we thought it would be a good idea to try some gluten free (GF) places. The first strike was Tu-Lu's bakery that I posted two days ago, this one being also out of curiosity considering that they opened next to Veniero's Pasticceria, one of the oldest if not the oldest Italian bakery in town, as if they wanted to challenge them. Then, Jodi remembered that we passed by Crumbs Gluten Free, a store that got converted to a full GF bakery last year. Their goodies are baked at a completely gluten and peanut-free bakery and delivered fresh daily to the store and on top of the regular cupcakes and cookies, they propose breads and quiches.
image of Crumbs Gluten Free in Greenwich Village, NYC, New York

I would have gone blindfolded, I would not have known it was a GF Crumbs as the cupcakes and other brownies looked the same (meaning giant cupcakes!). 

We decided to try their milkshake cupcake:
image of Milkshake cupcake at Crumbs Gluten Free in Greenwich Village, NYC, New York

Just reading the selection made me salivate:
Marble cake filled with vanilla cream cheese frosting mixed with chocolate sandwich cookie crumbs, topped with vanilla cream cheese frosting swirled with chocolate cream cheese frosting and edged with chocolate crunches. 
It was good, but a bit on the dry side.

We also tried the chocolate hazelnut tart:

image of chocolate hazelnut tart at Crumbs Gluten Free in Greenwich Village, NYC, New York

It was delicious! The chocolate taste was fantastic with a nice hint of hazelnut and the crust was crumbly. Definitely recommended for the chocolate lovers.

Crumbs Gluten Free was surprising: not only everything looked appetizing, but it tasted good too. I would not have known it was GF, I would have never guessed!

Enjoy (I did)!

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Tu-Lu's gluten free bakery in the East Village - NYC, New York

image of Tu-Lu's gluten free bakery in the East Village - NYC, New York

Tu-Lu's is the first Gluten free bakery I set foot in, finding it unexpectedly next to Veniero's, one of the oldest pastry shops in America. Yes, next to Veniero's, as if it was done as a sign of defiance! Gluten free, vegan...To the regular foodie, it does not sound good and probably does not taste good. But I heard so many people with gluten-intolerance, Celiac disease or just willing to cut on gluten saying that there are great places throughout the city where eating gluten free is not synonymous with eating cardboard. That is how we decided to go back to Tu-Lu's. 
image of Tu-Lu's gluten free bakery in the East Village - NYC, New York

This place opened in 2010 by Tully Phillips, after she was diagnosed with gluten intolerance, joined by Jennifer Goodhue in 2011, who was diagnosed in 2009 with Celiac disease. Since then they opened locations in Dallas Texas, catering to the gluten free (GF) and vegan fans. 
image of Tu-Lu's gluten free bakery in the East Village - NYC, New York

It is a tiny place with only few seats inside. They offer desserts and cookies such as cupcakes, brownies, donuts..., where the wheat flour has been replaced with rice or tapioca flour.
image of cookies at Tu-Lu's gluten free bakery in the East Village - NYC, New York

For the cupcakes, they propose regular and small size, so we decided to try few of their specialties.

First was the cinnamon sugar donut:

image of cinnamon sugar donut at Tu-Lu's gluten free bakery in the East Village - NYC, New York

It was a pretty good donut, even if not the best I ever tried, with a consistency cake like rather than yeast like if I were to compare with the two kinds the Doughnut Plant proposes. I would not have known it was GF, I would not have noticed. 

A vanilla cupcake:
image of vanilla cupcake at Tu-Lu's gluten free bakery in the East Village - NYC, New York

I liked it: the cake itself was moist and the frosting light, well proportioned with the amount of cake.

The red velvet cupcake:
image of red velvet cupcake at Tu-Lu's gluten free bakery in the East Village - NYC, New York

I did not like it, whether it was the cake or the frosting. 

A chocolate and hazelnut cake bite:
image of chocolate and hazelnut cake bite at Tu-Lu's gluten free bakery in the East Village - NYC, New York

I liked it: it was very chocolaty, moist, but did not really taste the hazelnut. Despite that, I would re-order it!

Last was the vegan chocolate chip cookie:
image of vegan chocolate chip cookie at Tu-Lu's gluten free bakery in the East Village - NYC, New York

They propose it vegan or simply GF. In a bold move, we decided to go for vegan. I liked it: it is not at the same level than City Bakery, but let me tell you that it is a pretty decent one!

As you can imagine, I was quite surprised by what we got at Tu-Lu's: it definitely changed my mind about GF desserts and I am really amused that such bakery is right next to one of the most popular bakeries in New York. Tu-Lu's is the living proof that eating GF does not mean that you cannot satisfy these cravings that we all have! This is a good address whether you or your friends are vegan, need or want to eat GF...or not!

Enjoy (I did)!

Tu-Lu's on Urbanspoon
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Restaurant Information

* Restaurant Name
Tu-Lu's Gluten Free Bakery
* Overall
☆☆☆☆☆
* Neighborhood / Cuisine
East Village / American New
* Street Address
338 East 11th St., New York, NY 10003
* Phone
(212) 777-2227

Veniero's Pasticceria in the East Village, NYC, New York

image of Veniero Pasticceria in the East Village, NYC, New York

Veniero's is the oldest Italian pastry shop in the US, opened and owned since 1894 by the Veniero family. During its long life, this East Village place has earned multiple awards and is said to be the best place for dessert in New York. This put the bar pretty high considering the multiple options the City has to offer. So I was very excited to try it and we decided to go after our lunch at S'Mac and right before seeing the movie Dallas Buyers Club with Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto (great performance from both by the way). When we arrived, we noticed the café adjacent to the pastry shop and decided to come back after the movie, to have some time to taste several pastries. So, chose promise, chose due (promises are made to be kept): more than two hours later, we reenter the place that is packed! I was so glad that I took few photos earlier. 
image of Veniero Pasticceria in the East Village, NYC, New York

When you enter the place, you arrive in the pastry shop where I could probably spend an afternoon looking at these fantastic desserts in regular and small size, drooling on the ornate marble floor. I thought it was great to propose the smaller size, so one can try several kinds of Italian desserts, but I can ensure you that I would have had a hard time making up my mind! 
image of Veniero Pasticceria in the East Village, NYC, New York

It can be so crowded that you need to pick a number to be served before going back in line.
image of Veniero Pasticceria in the East Village, NYC, New York

Passing the crowd, there is another display, for large cakes (you can admire the staff decorating cakes if you like):
image of Veniero Pasticceria in the East Village, NYC, New York

And then, here is the café, in the back, with its incredible stained glass ceiling and an authentic atmosphere that transports you back in time in Italy.
image of cafe at Veniero Pasticceria in the East Village, NYC, New York

Their menu was pretty large and the only regret I had was not to see some of these small pastries or a sampler. But this could not stop us from trying a few desserts.
image of cafe at Veniero Pasticceria in the East Village, NYC, New York

image of cafe at Veniero Pasticceria in the East Village, NYC, New York

Jodi decided to order a coconut cake:


image of coconut cake at Veniero Pasticceria in the East Village, NYC, New York

Not a surprising choice as it is her favorite dessert. This one was just ok and she did not even finish it. The disappointing factor was the fact that the cream on top did not incorporate any coconut: it was just drizzled on top of the cake. So far, her favorite, and I would agree, is the coconut cake from Balthazar that you can even find at its sister restaurant, Minetta Tavern.

On my side, I chose the Baba au rhum:
image of baba au rhum at Veniero Pasticceria in the East Village, NYC, New York

They propose it with or without custard. I decided to go with. It was another disappointment: the cake seemed to be a bit stale, although imbibed with the rum and there was an off taste. I could not even eat half of it.

After these two miss, we had high hopes on the cannoli:
image of cannoli at Veniero Pasticceria in the East Village, NYC, New York

It looked good and appetizing. The shell was very good, fresh and crispy, however, the filling was a bit bland. 

I guess the only thing I loved there was my double espresso...
image of espresso at Veniero Pasticceria in the East Village, NYC, New York

I was very disappointed by Veniero's and it is after trying three of their desserts, two of them quite traditional. Maybe the Italian cookies are better, but clearly not what we picked. If I had to compare it to another Italian pastry and propose it as an alternative, it would be Villabate Alba in Brooklyn

Enjoy (the post)!
Veniero's Pasticceria & Caffe on Urbanspoon

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Restaurant Information

* Restaurant Name
Veniero's Pasticceria and Caffe
* Overall
★★☆☆☆
* Neighborhood / Cuisine
East Village / Italian / Desserts
* Street Address
342 East 11th St. (bet. 1st & 2nd Ave.), New York, NY 10003
* Phone
(212) 674-7070

Cakes at Lady M Confections Bryant Park in NYC, New York

Lady M Confections Bryant Park in NYC, New York
Lady M Confections Bryant Park in NYC, New York

On a Saturday afternoon, while walking near Bryant Park, we saw the new location of Lady M, a pastry shop many of my friends recommended. We decided to get some lunch and come back there for desserts. As we say in French: "chose promise, chose due" (I believe that in English, it is "A promise is a debt that we may not forget"). So, after a brunch at Barbes, a Moroccan restaurant located on the East side, we went back!

Lady M Confections Bryant Park in NYC, New York
Lady M Confections Bryant Park in NYC, New York

The place was packed for sure, but we were able to find a table in this tiny location. It was all white, probably to have the colors of the cakes pop. 

It was hard to choose what we wanted to eat, because there were so many mouth watering cakes! For instance, they have a Mont Blanc cake made with crème de marrons (chestnut cream) or a gâteau au chocolat (chocolate cake). We decided to go with their signature cake: Lady M Mille Crêpe:

Lady M Mille Crêpe at Lady M Confections Bryant Park in NYC, New York
Lady M Mille Crêpe at Lady M Confections Bryant Park in NYC, New York

They have it in different flavors: vanilla (our choice), green tea (quite few tables around us ordered it) or crème de marrons.

Lady M Mille Crêpe at Lady M Confections Bryant Park in NYC, New York
Lady M Mille Crêpe at Lady M Confections Bryant Park in NYC, New York

It was a cake made of a succession of layers, alternating crêpes and vanilla custard. There were not Mille crêpes, that means a thousand in French. Probably thirty. The crêpes were very thin and soft, easy to cut through with a fork (no need for a knife). Overall, it was light and not too sweet, with a nice delicate vanilla taste. We understood why it was so popular!

Our second choice was the raspberry and chocolate bar:

Raspberry and chocolate bar at Lady M Confections Bryant Park in NYC, New York
Raspberry and chocolate bar at Lady M Confections Bryant Park in NYC, New York

If you like chocolate, this is for you! First of all, it looks fantastic, with the raspberry gelée dripping a bit and a fresh raspberry on top. This is the kind of dessert that make you think you ate your serving of fruit for the day...

Raspberry and chocolate bar at Lady M Confections Bryant Park in NYC, New York
Raspberry and chocolate bar at Lady M Confections Bryant Park in NYC, New York

I love the combination of red fruit and chocolate. For instance, the raspberry chocolate from Ghirardelli is one of my favorite. So, when it comes to this dessert at Lady M, I think it is spectacular: there is the right balance of raspberry and chocolate, the latter being present in different forms: milk and dark chocolate ganache, as well as gianduja-laced feuilletine for a nice crunch and a slight hazelnut taste. Needless to say that we finished it...

sugar at Lady M Confections Bryant Park in NYC, New York
sugar at Lady M Confections Bryant Park in NYC, New York

Of course, I had an espresso with my cake and the chocolate definitely enhanced the taste of the coffee:

espresso at Lady M Confections Bryant Park in NYC, New York
espresso at Lady M Confections Bryant Park in NYC, New York

Both desserts were amazing and made us want to try more. So don't be surprised if you see me there soon!

Enjoy (I did)!

Lady M Confections on Urbanspoon

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Villabate-Alba in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, New York

image of Villabate-Alba in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, New York

I admit that when I moved in the US, the only true Italian desserts I knew was the famous tiramisu. I do not recall having seen an Italian pastry shop, except in Marseille, South of France, when my parents used to go to this bakery to buy some Italian bread. For sure I traveled to Italy few times, but still, I can only remember the tiramisu or the gelato of course. Other desserts were unknown to me. Then I came to New York. My first cannoli was a disaster: not good at all and making me ignore this delicious pastry for many years, until Giorgio's in Hoboken.

So, on top of the usual excitement to discover a new place, I was excited to see what treasures Villabate-Alba had. This pastry shop and bakery is located in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, close to the Italian restaurant Il Colloseo that I posted last week. Believe it or not, but we went to these places the same day, hoping to optimize our time, sacrificing our diet...There, we got to meet with Anthony Alaimo, the son of Angelo Alaimo, who, with his other son Emanuele, started a bakery more than 30 years ago, naming it Villabate that is also the name of the town in Sicily they come from. Close by was a pastry shop called Alba. When the owner retired, he sold his shop to Angelo and that is how Villabate-Alba was born, merging the bakery and pastry shop altogether, making it the oldest in Brooklyn.
image of Villabate-Alba in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, New York

Villabate-Alba is not your small pastry shop and you may think, looking at the photo above, that it was quiet. It was not: I took this photo between two waves of customers. Yes, at some point it was packed and I cannot blame people who go there considering what this place has to offer.

image of Villabate-Alba in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, New York

When you enter, on the left, you cannot miss the gelato that they continue to offer, even if the temperature has dropped. I was glad to see that they have nocciola / Hazelnut that is my favorite flavor with praline, bringing me back few years ago, when Jodi and I were in Venice and Rome and had gelato everyday (keeps you hydrated!). 
image of Villabate-Alba in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, New York
Then is the counter where you can have a nice coffee with some pastries, or even breakfast.

image of Villabate-Alba in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, New York

When you go around the store, you see an incredible number of cakes, some looking amazing! Anthony told us that they also custom made cakes and showed us some of them that looked like edible works of art. They probably should get a show on TV (I guess this idea was already taken...).

image of Italian cookies at Villabate-Alba in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, New York

The fruits below made with marzipan.

image of marzipan fruits at Villabate-Alba in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, New York

image of Villabate-Alba in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, New York

So we went at the counter where Anthony made us try few specialties. The first one was a Cassatella:
image of cassatella at Villabate-Alba in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, New York

It is a white wine ravioli filled with ricotta (I should mention that their ricotta is imported from Sicily).

image of cassatella at Villabate-Alba in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, New York

The shell was crispy and nicely sweet and the inside so smooth, it was divine.


image of espresso at Villabate-Alba in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, New York

In fact, it was perfect with an espresso.

Then we got to try some pignoli and some rainbow cookies.
image of pignoli and rainbow cookies at Villabate-Alba in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, New York

The pignoli were fantastic: soft inside, not too sweet, it is perfect if you love almonds as the cookie is made with it.

image of pignoli and rainbow cookies at Villabate-Alba in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, New York

The rainbow cookies, also made with almonds, were delicious because you definitely could tell that they were made with fresh ingredients and the strawberry really came through.

And then, when we thought it was time to go (to our next stop in Brooklyn...), Anthony brought us this:
image of box of pastries at Villabate-Alba in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, New York

It was very nice and generous of him and we could not refuse... So, we had to get a tasting.

Sfogliatelle:
image of sfogliatelle at Villabate-Alba in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, New York

The outside was definitely crispy with multiple thin layers; however, I did not like the inside that was made with sweet ricotta cheese and semolina: it was too heavy and dry for me.

Red velvet cake:
image of red velvet cake at Villabate-Alba in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, New York

It was filled with cream cheese, butter and powdered sugar. That was a nice Italian version of the red velvet cake (that was perfectly moist by the way)

Cardone: cookie crust infused with ricotta cheese, dipped in liquid sugar, fondant and then dipped in almonds.
image of cardone cookie at Villabate-Alba in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, New York

That was one of my favorites. It was crunchy, thanks to the almonds and the cookie, delicately sweet thanks to the fondant, but smooth, thanks to the ricotta.

Baba au rhum:
image of baba au rum at Villabate-Alba in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, New York

So, this is not an Italian pastry: more Polish. It is made of a light cake imbibed with rum. This one was good although slightly overcooked, but not dry at all (and I remind you that it was rum...).

Iris:
image of iris pastry at Villabate-Alba in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, New York

It was a delicious twisted roll with ricotta inside and topped with cinnamon sugar. I loved it: light and, again, not too sweet, it had this wonderful ricotta cream inside that paired well with the roll that was a bit airy. Second favorite!

Of course, the cannoli, filled with ricotta:
image of cannoli at Villabate-Alba in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, New York

They were of a nice size. The shell was fresh and crispy and the filling divine, with a nice cinnamon touch. 

Napoleon:

image of napoleon at Villabate-Alba in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, New York

This definitely looked like the French mille feuilles, but with a vanilla cream rather than a crème pâtissière. Sometimes, the icing is replaced by a thin layer of confectioner sugar, but, at Villabate-Alba, the icing looked and tasted similar to the one I am familiar with. I admit that I ate more of the top than the bottom part though... 

Zuppa Inglese horn:

image of zuppa Inglese horn at Villabate-Alba in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, New York

The shell was similar to the sfogliatelle, crispy with lots of thin layers, and the inside had a very light cream that was delicious.

Foret noire slice:
imge of foret noire slice at Villabate-Alba in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, New York

First of all, this cake looked amazing. It was light and had several layers, alternating cream (strawberry or coffee for instance) and a very good and soft sponge cake. 

I am not sure what the next one is called, so I name it the Mandarin thrill:
image of mandarin cake at Villabate-Alba in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, New York

It was a light cake with a quite good filling that had a nice mandarin taste.

Cassatini Siciliani:
image of Cassatini Siciliani at Villabate-Alba in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, New York

It is a smaller version of the Sicilian Cassata, made with marzipan and filled with ricotta. This was my all time favorite and I had to battle with Jodi who, usually, does not like almonds...Strong recommendation!

The last cake was made with rainbow cookies and had a light strawberry mousse in the middle.

image of strawberry mousse cake at Villabate-Alba in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, New York

 I liked the rainbow cookie, but did not like the cream.

All these cookies were great and I just wished that they had a store in my neighborhood. Or maybe it is a blessing that I do not have one, because I would be there everyday, few times a day, all the time (hopefully I do not sound too creepy...). For a delicious and authentic Italian experience, Villabate-Alba is definitely recommended.

Enjoy (I surely did)!

Villabate Pasticceria & Bakery on Urbanspoon

Please note that the meal was complimentary. However, the opinions expressed in my blog are 100% my own! 

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And Remember: I Just Want To Eat!

Chocolate Tour in NYC, New York

How can one resist a chocolate tour? Cho-co-late tour! I never understood people who do not like chocolate. I love it in all the possible ways: drink or food! So, we were thrilled when we found a coupon for $19 for a chocolate tour in the city. 
image of Chelsea Market in NYC, New York

The meeting point was Chelsea market at 11:45am for a 2 hour walking tour that started at 12pm. 

image of Li Lac Chocolates in NYC, New York

Our first destination was Li Lac, one of the oldest chocolate stores in NYC, founded in 1923 and celebrating 90 years of existence. Our tour guide, Brandon, told us that, despite several changes in ownership, the recipe did not change, each owner passing to the next the method used. 
image of Chocolate turkey at Li Lac Chocolates in NYC, New York
Being few weeks away from Thanksgiving, they had some incredible displays of turkeys made of chocolate. And for the ladies, shoes (if Jodi would buy these, I would not mind...):
image of Chocolate shoes at Li Lac Chocolates in NYC, New York

At Lilac, we got to try two samples:

Butter crunch chocolate 
image of Butter crunch Chocolate at Li Lac Chocolates in NYC, New York

72% dark chocolate
image of 72% dark Chocolate at Li Lac Chocolates in NYC, New York

Both were pretty good, but the butter crunch one was a nice discovery: crunchy, buttery with still the taste of chocolate. Too bad Jodi dropped some of hers on the floor...

Li Lac on Urbanspoon

We then went to the Chocolate Bar.
image of Chocolate Bar in NYC, New York

The chocolate aroma when we entered in they place was fantastic! It is a tiny place with a nice motto:
image of Chocolate Bar in NYC, New York


There, we had a piece of Sea salt dark chocolate:
image of sea salt dark chocolate at Chocolate Bar in NYC, New York

I really like any salty ingredient with chocolate, like sea salt or caramel sea salt: It kind of enhances the taste of the dark chocolate.

We had a peek at the store and they had some great creations such as the potato stix bar.
image of potato chix bar at Chocolate Bar in NYC, New York

The fruit and nut bar:
image of fruits and nuts bar at Chocolate Bar in NYC, New York

Or the chocolate bar tea:
image of chocolate bar tea at Chocolate Bar in NYC, New York

I would definitely go there to try these as well as their hot cocoa.

Chocolate Bar on Urbanspoon


The next stop was the original location of Magnolia Bakery:
image of Magnolia Bakery in NYC, New York
This place became famous after being featured in Sex & The City when Miranda and Carrie sat there for a cupcake.
image of cupcakes at Magnolia Bakery in NYC, New York

It is a small place and we got to try their chocolate cupcakes.
image of chocolate cupcakes at Magnolia Bakery in NYC, New York

It was good, but the frosting was a little too sweet and it was a bit melted...

Magnolia Bakery on Urbanspoon

After that, we went to Milk & Cookies, that was the best part of the tour!
image of Milk and Cookies bakery in NYC, New York

This small place smelled of chocolate and cookies all over!
image of Milk and Cookies bakery in NYC, New York

They sell many items that I will for sure try the next time I go: Rice Krispy treats or whoopie pies are among them!
image of Whoopie pies at Milk and Cookies bakery in NYC, New York

They also have cupcakes:
image of cupcakes at Milk and Cookies bakery in NYC, New York

But it is their double chocolate chip cookie that we tasted:
image of double chocolate chip cookie at Milk and Cookies bakery in NYC, New York

It was a regular size cookie, served warm that oozed chocolate!
image of double chocolate chip cookie at Milk and Cookies bakery in NYC, New York

No complaints here! Who wants a double chocolate chip cookie where you can barely taste the chocolate? If you like this type of cookie, Milk & Cookies is for you!

Milk and Cookies on Urbanspoon

After Milk & Cookies, we walked on Bleecker to Bisous Ciao:
image of Bisous Ciao in NYC, New York

This place specializes in macarons:
image of macarons at Bisous Ciao in NYC, New York
So we got to try their chocolate macaron:
image of chocolate macaron at Bisous Ciao in NYC, New York

I admit that it was a bit messy to eat as it had chocolate powder on top and we had no napkins. But we needed more than that to stop us!
image of chocolate macaron at Bisous Ciao in NYC, New York

The macarons were delicious: crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside, with a wonderful almond taste. The chocolate ganache that was in the middle was very good.

Would I go back? Certainly! Especially now that I know that they have a roasted banana macaron!!!

Bisous Ciao on Urbanspoon

The next stop was another fantastic discovery: Pasticceria Bruno.
image of Pasticceria Bruno in NYC, New York

This place is famous for its cannoli and they even won against Bobby Flay in a cannoli throw down.
image of Pasticceria Bruno in NYC, New York

This is the kind of place I love: tons of cakes and cookies, you do not know which one to eat...
image of cakes at Pasticceria Bruno in NYC, New York

image of cookies at Pasticceria Bruno in NYC, New York

But then I saw this:
image of Ferrero rocher mousse cake at Pasticceria Bruno in NYC, New York

That was torture...

So we sampled their cannoli:
image of Cannoli at Pasticceria Bruno in NYC, New York

They stuff the cannoli when you order, so it keeps them fresh and crispy. The filling was delicious and not too sweet. It was definitely better than the cannoli I ate at The Cake Boss.

So, stay there: I will come back for the Ferrero Rocher mousse!

Pasticceria Bruno on Urbanspoon

At that point we thought the tour was over. But then we walked to Xocolatti:
image of Xocolatti in NYC, New York

This place does not look like an artisanal chocolate store, but more an elegant one, with its decor made with and for chocolate boxes.
image of Xocolatti in NYC, New York

They surely have interesting creations, such as the marzipan truffles:
image of marzipan chocolates at Xocolatti in NYC, New York

Or the rose cardamon, sake, champagne, and many others...

We got to try their mango paprika slate:
image of mango paprika slate white chocolate at Xocolatti in NYC, New York

It was made with white chocolate and you could definitely taste the mango or paprika. Original and good!

So, if you are looking for interesting creations, Xocolatti is the place to go.

Xocolatti on Urbanspoon

And, again, when we thought we were finished, we ended up in another place. This time, it was the last one of the tour. It was called Vosges.
image of Vosges Haut-Chocolat in NYC, New York

The owner called it Vosges because of the time she worked in Paris, place des Vosges. There, it is not Haute Couture, but Haut Chocolat!
image of Vosges Haut-Chocolat in NYC, New York

The place was big, with high ceilings and walls covered in dark wood shelves full of products. It reminded me of an apothecary shop where the potions were made of chocolate.
image of chocolates at Vosges Haut-Chocolat in NYC, New York

And for sure they had weird creations, such as:

  • Mo's Dark Bar: 62% dark chocolate, hickory smoked uncured bacon and Alderwood smoked salt.
  • Super dark pomegranate and goji.
  • Super dark Reishi mushroom and walnut.
We got to try their Gingerbread toffee bar:
image of Gingerbread toffee bar at Vosges Haut-Chocolat in NYC, New York

I do not know if it is because we went to 8 different chocolatiers, but at that point, I did not really taste all the flavors...So I will need to go back!

Vosges Haut-Chocolat on Urbanspoon

So the tour was interesting and yummy. However, most of the chocolatiers gave samples you would have if you were just showing up at their door. So, it was good that we only paid $19 per person for the tour, thanks to a coupon. More would not have been worth it.

Enjoy (I did)!

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My nephew culinary visit: outtakes...

You may have thought that I was done with all the food we ate when my nephew Valentin was in NYC, but in fact, no! We really wanted to make him try some food he would not find where he lives and I think we did a pretty good job! I should probably mention that when I spoke with his mom after he came back home, she mentioned that he had a bigger appetite. Oops...

So here is some of what we ate:

The Doughnut Plant:
image of Doughnut Plant in NYC, New York

There is no better donut in NYC than the Doughnut Plant! I know that it is a bold statement, but if you try it, you will be convinced too. 
image of Doughnut Plant in NYC, New York

So, after Katz's, as we were on the Lower East Side, we decided to have Valentin try one of their donuts. So we went to their original location on Grant street.
image of Doughnut Plant in NYC, New York
There, Jodi ordered the coconut cream donut:
image of coconut cream donut at Doughnut Plant in NYC, New York

It is a yeast donut, filled with some coconut cream, as its name indicated. It is chewy and not too sweet and is one of the coconut delicacies I love.

Valentin and I ordered a tres leches donut, one of their signature:
image of tres leches donut at Doughnut Plant in NYC, New York

It is a cake version of a donut, a bit heavy but so good...I just wish that they put more tres leches cream inside...

The double espresso accompanied by sparkling water was perfect to go with it:
image of espresso at Doughnut Plant in NYC, New York

Doughnut Plant on Urbanspoon

Kossar's Bialys:

image of Kossar's Bialys in NYC, New York

Then, next to The Doughnut Plant was Kossar's Bialys, a bakery established in 1936 and only serves Bialys, these small Polish rolls.
image of Kossar's Bialys in NYC, New York

This is part of the old New York, with restaurants like Yonah Schimmel or Katz's, and it is incredible that they are still there considering they only serve one item that is not as popular as one may think.

So we bought some bialys for breakfast and ate them with either butter or cream cheese. There were onion bialys:
image of onion bialys at Kossar's Bialys in NYC, New York

As well as garlic bialys:
image of garlic bialys at Kossar's Bialys in NYC, New York

They were still hot and the smell that emanated from them was divine! Definitely something to try!

Kossar's Bialys on Urbanspoon

Junior's:
image of Junior's cheesecake in NYC, New York

If there is one place where I would have people try a cheesecake, it is at Junior's: it is the best. Creamy and dense, we ate it after going to Luke's Lobster, but instead of going to the restaurant, we went to the take out place next door.
Junior's Restaurant on Urbanspoon

City Bakery:
image of chocolate chip cookie from City Bakery in NYC, New York

We went there not for their hot cocoa that is supposed to be the best in the US (I tried it and do not think so), but for their chocolate chip cookie: large, dense, chewy with lots of butter and chocolate. Definitely not your average cookie.
City Bakery on Urbanspoon

We have other undocumented culinary visits such as Giorgio's (cannoli) or Sweet (cupcakes) in Hoboken, as well as Dylan's Candy Bar, so, as you can imagine, he had quite a taste of what this area has to offer when it comes for food. 

We had a fantastic time, food and non food related, and I am sure we will remember Valentin's visit for a while!

Enjoy (we all did)!

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Two Little Red Hens in NYC, New York

image of Two Little Red Hens in NYC, New York

Two Little Red Hens was recommended by Malini from The Restaurant Fairy when we met her and her husband, Yozo, at the blogger event organized by Tabélog at SakaMai. 
image of Two Little Red Hens in NYC, New York

Two Little Red Hens is a tiny place located in the Upper East Side. There are just few tables inside to eat and, the problem with a place like this is that there are so many yummy things, people get stuck in front of the counter for a long time, not knowing what to order!

Jodi was very excited when she saw that they had a coconut cream pie!
image of Coconut cream pie at Two Little Red Hens in NYC, New York

It was made with coconut cream filling, coconut whipped cream and coconut shavings. It was pretty good, although I am not the biggest fan of coconut in shaving form (I know: weird!). It was light and not too sweet, very creamy.

image of Coconut cream pie at Two Little Red Hens in NYC, New York

On my side, I ordered two small cupcakes (they offer the regular and small size), that they wrapped together so they stay tight when transporting them in a bag. The first one was the red velvet with cream cheese frosting (right):
image of cupcakes at Two Little Red Hens in NYC, New York

It was good, with a nice proportion cake / frosting. However, it was not the best I had so far (Sweet in Hoboken, NJ is the best!).

I also tried the Brooklyn Blackout cupcake, recommended by Malini:
image of Brooklyn blackout cupcake at Two Little Red Hens in NYC, New York

It was fantastic! Not too sweet, made with chocolate cake, chocolate pudding and fudge frosting. My only regret was that I did not order a regular size one! It was so good! Moist, not too sweet and full of flavors, it is the perfect chocolate cupcake for chocolate lovers!

Trust me: it is not the last time I will be there! And, if you go, do not miss the Brooklyn Blackout!

Enjoy (I did)! 

Two Little Red Hens on Urbanspoon

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Magnum ice cream in Bryant Park, NYC!


I was recently invited to try the "Make your own" Ice cream bars from Magnum at Bryant Park. I love the make your own concept, that I experienced mainly with frozen yogurt.


So, first you pick your toppings. The place being small, it is limited. They have things like peanut butter cookie crumbs, salted pretzel, toasted coconut or rice krispies. You can pick up to three toppings.

Then, they will take an ice cream bar and dip it in either dark or milk chocolate.


Then, they will put the toppings you picked on top of you ice cream, drizzle some chocolate and add a chocolate chip with a M written on it, for Magnum.

I decided to go with milk chocolate, salted pretzels and rice Krispies.



Jodi went for milk chocolate, toasted coconut and rice krispies:

This was fantastic: the ice cream was very creamy and personally, I love the sweet and salty flavor. Serving it on a little tray was smart as otherwise it would be too messy to eat.

It is definitely something I would try again and so you know, each ice cream is $6, that is a pretty reasonable price! 

Located W40th and 6th avenue!

Enjoy (I did)!

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Ice cream at Il Laboratorio Del Gelato in NYC, New York


Gelato always reminds me of our trip to Italy few years ago where we had gelato on a daily basis! Coconut for Jodi and Hazelnut or nutella for me! I remember that, at the time, it costed 2 Euros and we had a huge amount of it!

So, here we are at Il Laboratorio Del Gelato or the Ice Cream Laboratory. 

They did a good job making it look like a laboratory where they experiment and create incredible ice cream such as olive oil or tarragon! I tried the olive oil ice cream and it was fairly good, with sufficient taste of olive oil.

Jodi decided to order coconut and marshmallow:

I went for cookies and cream, and chocolate and hazelnut:


I liked the marshmallow and cookies and cream ice cream: they were creamy and tasty, the cookies and cream having some decent chunks of oreo cookie. But I was extremely disappointed by the chocolate and hazelnut one: you could barely taste the hazelnut and the chocolate was a bit bitter. When I ordered it, I thought it would be similar to nutella: not at all! 
Then, for the first time, I saw Jodi not eat her coconut ice cream! I tried it and it is true that it was lacking coconut taste.

At the end, I am on the fence for Il Laboratorio Del Gelato and may go back to try other flavors. At this point, I still think that Eataly or Grom are better.

Enjoy (...)!

Il Laboratorio Del Gelato on Urbanspoon

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The Big Gay Ice Cream Shop in the East Village, NYC, New York

image of The Big Gay Ice Cream Shop in the East Village, NYC, New York

It's been a while since we wanted to try the Big Gay Ice Cream Shop: we heard about it so much and saw it few times on some of the TV shows we follow. It all started with a truck in 2009 and two years later, they opened this location in the East Village.
image of The Big Gay Ice Cream Shop in the East Village, NYC, New York

And trust me: it was crowded! To a point that the person you see on the photo, who made us laugh a lot, was directing traffic into the store.
image of The Big Gay Ice Cream Shop in the East Village, NYC, New York

It is a very small place with a passion from unicorns apparently...
image of unicorn at The Big Gay Ice Cream Shop in the East Village, NYC, New York

Yes, unicorns everywhere!
image of unicorn at The Big Gay Ice Cream Shop in the East Village, NYC, New York

There, you will not find your regular ice cream: it is not Mr Softee! They use ingredients like sea salt, dulce de leche, vanilla wafers, key lime curd...

On my side, I decided to order the Monday Sundae:


image of Monday Sundae at The Big Gay Ice Cream Shop in the East Village, NYC, New York

It was made of twist ice cream, dulce de leche, sea salt and whipped cream. The best part was the cone that was lined with Nutella! Yes, Nutella, one of my favorite spreads! And they put a nice quantity of it! It was a bit sweet, but I loved the sweet and salty taste.

Jodi went for the Salty Pimp:

image of Salty Pimp at The Big Gay Ice Cream Shop in the East Village, NYC, New York

It was made of vanilla ice cream, dulce de leche, sea salt and dipped in milk chocolate, that created a delicious coating.

These ice cream were decadent and fantastic! I also liked the ice cream holder that allowed not to have ice cream dripping on our hands. I will definitely go back!!!

Enjoy (I did)!

Big Gay Ice Cream Shop on Urbanspoon
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Cronut - 1 , Crumbnut - 0

image of Cronut from Dominique Ansel Bakery, NYC New York

With all the craze about the Cronut (photo above), the spectacular creation from Chef Dominique Ansel that is more difficult to get than an autograph of Donald Trump, copies are popping up all over the world: in Brazil, Taiwan, UK (the "Dossant"), South Korea ("NY pie donut"),...In New York, there have been few bakeries that used the name Cronut, before realizing that it was a trademark, and ended up proposing a croissant-donut. Same move from the Food Emporium.

The last big name to realize a copy is Crumbs, best known for its cupcakes, will it be now known for the Crumbnut?
image of crumbnut from Crumbs, NYC New York

They propose two kinds: plain (on the right) and with Bavarian cream (left) that is similar to a Crème pâtissière (vanilla custard). Both smell more like donut than croissant and none of them has icing on top, probably to show the difference with the cronut.
image of plain crumbnut from Crumbs, NYC New York

So we started with the plain one. There is some flakiness, but it looked like the dough was not fully cooked. It was bland and very doughy.
image of bavarian cream crumbnut from Crumbs, NYC New York

The second one was similar, except that the Bavarian cream gave a bit of taste, but not enough to make us think that it was equivalent, if not better to the cronut. In fact, we did not even finish these crumbnuts...

Although the presentation was nice and promising, it was a total failure and a sad attempt to compete with a pastry that is spectacular. The crumbnut is dead, long live the cronut!

Enjoy (the cronut)!

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The Chocolate Room in Brooklyn, New York!

image of The Chocolate Room in Brooklyn, New York

The chocolate room: what a teaser! I mean if you like chocolate and are passing by, there is no way you would miss an opportunity to try it! That place is fantastic: when you enter, the smell of chocolate smothers you, coming not only from the display, but also from the small kitchen adjacent to the dining room, where they make everything that is on the menu. 
image of The Chocolate Room in Brooklyn, New York

Just looking at all these chocolates, made me drool!
image of The Chocolate Room in Brooklyn, New York

I could not not try to have a sneak peek of the kitchen!
image of The Chocolate Room in Brooklyn, New York

The dining room is small, with the walls covered with art related to chocolate, overlooking the backyard of the building. 
image of The Chocolate Room in Brooklyn, New York

The menu is a serious invitation to indulge, with some mouth watering desserts: brownie sundae, Chocolate Room pudding, black bottom butterscotch or chocolate fondue...Yum! I just wished they had a sampler!
image of The Chocolate Room in Brooklyn, New York


Our waiter was great: fun and giving us lots of information, making us feel welcome. He started off by bringing us some chocolate sorbet for tasting.
image of chocolate sorbet at The Chocolate Room in Brooklyn, New York


The sorbet was delicious: it had a fantastic dark chocolate flavor. 

Then, We went for one of his suggestions: the chocolate layer cake (three layers!!!), that is one of their best sellers!


image of chocolate layer cake at The Chocolate Room in Brooklyn, New York


It was a big slice for sure! But it was so good: the cake itself was light and was surrounded by a delicious layer of fudge. I truly appreciated the fact that it was not too sweet. 

Then, we ordered some homemade ice cream: Madagascar vanilla bean and Belgian chocolate.
image of Madagascar vanilla bean and Belgian chocolate ice cream at The Chocolate Room in Brooklyn, New York


The ice cream was creamy, in the vanilla,  the vanilla beans were apparent, and was my favorite of the two, the chocolate being very good too, not bitter and not too sweet. I like that combination of flavors that complement well each other. 
image of Madagascar vanilla bean and Belgian chocolate ice cream at The Chocolate Room in Brooklyn, New York

With the ice cream, we could also order some toppings. We went for a silky coconut whipped cream. 
image of coconut whipped cream at The Chocolate Room in Brooklyn, New York

If you are a coconut lover, it is definitely something to consider. Similar to the others, it was not too sweet and you can tell when whipped cream is homemade.
image of The Chocolate Room in Brooklyn, New York

This was definitely the perfect spot for dessert and after visiting it, I just wished that when my parents sent me to my room, it was the Chocolate Room!

Enjoy (I did)!

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And Remember: I Just Want To Eat!