Fabulous treats in Paris, France

I could not end the posts on our trip to Europe without mentioning two fabulous treats you can find in Paris!!!

The first one is Angelina! If you like pastries and love hot cocoa, this is your place. Their most known location is across the street from the Louvre Museum, but it seems that they opened several other places, that might be good to know considering the line you can find in front of their main store.

If I go to Angelina, it is definitely for their hot chocolate, whether it is Summer or Winter! It is divine! It beats any hot chocolate you find at Max Brenner or La Maison du Chocolat and is literally melted chocolate. Trust me, you will need whipped cream to lower the strong chocolate taste and there is no need to order anything else, because it is so satisfying. I think I just drooled...

Angelina

226 Rue Rivoli

75001 Paris, France

http://www.angelina-paris.fr/en/

The second one is the merveilleux de Fred.

We were invited for dinner by some close friends and, for dessert, they served some cookies that were fantastic! These cookies are meringue coated with whipped cream and shaved chocolate sold at Aux Merveilleux de Fred stores (addresses below). We tried two flavors:

• The Incroyable: meringue, speculoos biscuit whipped cream coated with shaved white chocolate.
• The Merveilleux: meringue, chocolate whipped cream coated with shavings of dark chocolate.

The common element is that these cookies were very, very light. It is bad in fact, because they are so good and light that you would eat tons of them! Between the two, I preferred the while chocolate one (the incroyable). Surprisingly, it was not too sweet (white chocolate is often) and had a more delicate taste compared to the dark chocolate one. However, I would not have guessed there was speculoos in it (people are crazy about speculoos in France!). 

People love the Merveilleux de Fred and it seems that there is often a line in front of the stores, but it is worth it based on what we tried! I hope the Chef, Frédéric Vaucamp will have the great idea to open a store in the US!!!

http://auxmerveilleux.com

Paris

Aux Merveilleux de Fred

7 rue de Tocqueville, 17th arrondissement

Aux Merveilleux de Fred

129 bis rue Saint Charles, 15th arrondissement

Aux Merveilleux de Fred

29 rue de l’Annonciation, 16th arrondissement

Aux Merveilleux de Fred

94 rue Saint-Dominique, 7th arrondissement

Belgium

Aux Merveilleux

Lippens Laan 99

8300 Knokke

UK

Aux Merveilleux de Fred

88 Old Brompton Road

SW7 3LQ London

(South Kensington)

Opening 2013

Enjoy (I sure did)!

And remember: I Just Want To Eat!

Treats at Fortnum & Mason in London, England

Over the week end we were in London, we met with my cousins Catherine, Sarah and Flavien for a tea at Fortnum and Mason. In fact we heard about that place from friends who went there few years ago. The place is fantastic with all these never seen before items such as a music cookie box. But for sure, it was pricey! Pricey but crowded, I guess with people just looking around out of curiosity. Of course, as it was the Holidays, their windows were full of scenes such as the one below:

Fortnum and Mason has different restaurants, from the fancier to the more casual one. We ended up on the latter one, called The Gallery. It was a nice place with a nice causal atmosphere, surrounded by windows overlooking the street. We were lucky that my cousins arrived in advance and already had a table as the place was packed and there was a bit of wait (it was around 3pm). Of course, when we arrived, we could not miss the table full of cakes that I am sure was full of delicacies earlier that day! For sure it made us hungrier!

We could have done the full tea but it was too much food and we already had lunch. The "full" tea was composed of open sandwiches, scones, cupcakes and tea, for 22 GBP. 

So we had instead tea

A delicious hot chocolate (fortunately made with milk and not just water!!!)

And some pastries!!! We ordered a spectacular chocolate cake!

That is what I call a chocolate cake! The cake was moist and the icing really, really good. Not too sweet, it was a perfect choice. It has been a long time I did not have a nice chocolate cake like that!

We also tried the chocolate raspberry cupcakes.

This was also fantastic! The cake was also moist and the icing delicious. The pairing of the chocolate and raspberry was, not surprisingly, working! These 2 pastries are definitely recommended!

On the side, Sarah ordered as her lunch, the Goodwood Rosé Veal Burger topped with Fortnum’s Goose Foie Gras and Hand-cut Chips. 

They also provided some homemade mayonnaise. I never had a veal burger and I enjoyed it. Of course, the foie gras was a big plus! The meat was perfectly cooked and juicy. The taste was less stronger than beef for sure. The fries were crispy outside and soft inside. 

We really had a good time with my cousins and meeting there was a great idea. Fortnum and Mason's is the perfect place to meet family and friends for a relaxed afternoon! Just make sure you do not come too late as they close at 5pm...I thought tea was at 5pm!!!

Enjoy (I did)!

And remember: I Just Want To Eat!

Spot Dessert Bar in Koreatown - NYC, New York

I was very excited to try the new location of Spot Dessert Bar in Korea Town, on the third floor of Food Gallery 32! The experience we had in the East Village was memorable and I cannot stop thinking about the Green Tea Tiramisu that was the highlight of this discovery (see the review of Spot Dessert Bar here)!

I like Galley 32: lots of food choices and hidden secrets, Spot Dessert Bar being one of them, but I am sure not for too long! The place was the only one opened on the third floor and quasi empty. It is not like the one in the East Village that offers a large selection of incredible desserts. This one has a limited menu. There is of course their best seller: the chocolate green tea lava cake that we tried the last time we went there! 

We decided to try two of their desserts. The first one was the Golden Toast.

It is an interpretation of a French toast, made of a honey buttered toast, condensed milk ice cream, fresh strawberries and whipped cream. This was divine! The toast was a brioche that had a delightful buttery taste. Your palate was catching many different flavors, from the butter, to the honey, with the need sometimes to balance the flavors and counteract the sweet taste with the whipped cream. It is a must have!

Then, we tried the Kabocha Brulee Cake.

It is a pumpkin cake served with condensed milk ice cream, walnut soil and a jasmine flower wafers. Although I enjoyed the ice cream (not sweet fortunately!) and the top part of the cake (brulee), I did not really like that one. Not that this creation was not good, but more the fact that I do not like pumpkin cake (I tried few after that).

Even if I did not like the Kabocha brulee cake, this place is amazing, especially if you like desserts and moreover, desserts with a twist!

Enjoy (I did)!

And remember: I Just Want To Eat!

Blue Sky Bakery in Brooklyn, New York

Blue Sky Bakery is a bakery located in Park Slope, Brooklyn. I did not go there, but one of my colleagues brought some muffins from there! Considering the smell that invaded our workspace, they were just made and in fact they were still warm. 

He brought us few different kinds:

• Raspberry and peach,
• Pumpkin, apple and walnuts,
• Blueberry and mango,
• zucchini, cranberry and cream cheese.

I have to say that just reading the labels on the box, you could see that they were made with quite a lot of creativity: they were not your regular chocolate chip or corn muffins! It reminded me of Cupcake wars on the Food Network where 4 bakeries compete to win $10,000; most of the time, the ingredients they have to compose with are unusual and the competitors come up, most of the time, with great ideas!

So I decided to try two of them and cut them in half.

I first went for the zucchini, cranberry and cream cheese.

 It was very intriguing: would it have the taste of zucchini? In fact it did not! But I guess the zucchini gave this nice dense texture as well as kept the muffin very moist. The surprise was at the bottom with the cream cheese. Of course, as I cut the muffin into two, there was no surprise...

This muffin is probably one of the best I ever had! 

The next one was the peach and raspberry.

Very good too, but not as good as the first one. The cake itself had a lighter texture, closer to what a regular muffin would taste. However, the fruit made the difference! You could really taste a natural flavor: these fruits were not coming from a can!

So, I have to say that I really enjoyed these muffins! Eating regular muffins is going to be tough now that I know that there are some incredible creations out there!!!

Enjoy (I did)!

People's Pops at Chelsea Market in NYC, New York

I LOVE Chelsea Market! It is a little jewel in New York City that offers so many delicious choices of food! The last one I discovered was People's Pop. The place is located in the back, where Bar Suzette is located. It is very small but intriguing because of the big ice cube sitting on the counter and the weird flavors they offer, such as watermelon & mint or Apricot & Lavender. People's Pops only make popsicles with fruits naturally grown. 

I decided to go for the apple and ginger popsicle:

Although I am not really a popsicle guy (I prefer some creamy ice cream), I found it good and tasty for a popsicle. You could definitely taste it was made with fresh apples and it has a nice hint of ginger.

Jodi went for a grape flavored shaved ice cup.

Good at first, but missing some syrup...

What was interesting is that they shave the ice of a 100 lb ice cube right in front of you!

So it was interesting to try, but I definitely prefer ice cream...

Enjoy (I kind of did)!

Gelato pop at Popbar in New York City, NY

Recently, we discovered this small place called Popbar in the West Village. Popbar serves gelato or sorbet on a stick. They have plenty of choices and the colors are spectacular! 

Their gelato is apparently made every day with fresh fruits and ingredients coming from Italy! They have many flavors such as: banana, chocolate, coconut, hazelnut, pistachio, cream, vanilla, peanut butter, ...

They also have sorbet such as lemon, pineapple, kiwi, mixed berries, ...

The process is in 4 easy steps:

1. pick your gelato or sorbet.
2. pick a dip: dark, milk or white chocolate.
3. pick a topping: almonds, hazelnuts, granola, shredded coconut, ...

Jodi went for the coconut pop dipped in dark chocolate and shredded coconut as a topping.

Just looking at the way they prepare it opens your appetite! This was very good! I am not sure I would have called it a gelato as gelato refers more to a soft ice cream. Of course, a soft ice cream would not have worked on a stick...Anyway, the taste was very good, especially the combination of coconut and dark chocolate.

On my side, I picked the Hazelnut gelato, dipped in dark chocolate and with hazelnut as a topping.

I loved it! The taste of hazelnut was very pronounced and it reminded me the pop ice cream I use to eat on Sundays when I was a kid (we only ate ice cream on Sundays, at lunch).

Popbar is definitely a little gem on carmine! I am surely going to go back to try some other pop as the one I tasted were awesome!

Enjoy (I did)!

Carlo's Bakery in Hoboken, NJ - Is the Cake Boss overrated???

Who does not know the Cake Boss, Buddy Valastro? His show on TV is very popular and there is always a very long line in front of his bakery in Hoboken, New Jersey. But know that if you live in Hoboken, you can skip the line: just show an ID that proves you are living there. My first experience with Carlo's Bakery was so so: couple of years ago, I bought a cannoli and did not like it. I thought at that time that it might have been because I did not eat it right away and put it in the refrigerator for few hours. Then, one of my colleagues brought a tiramisu and a chocolate cake at work: I loved the tiramisu but the chocolate cake was way too sweet. So we decided to try again.

The Cake Boss is known for his insane cakes that he is building on his show. For sure they look spectacular, but I am not sure they taste that good considering the amount of fondant and rice crispy treat he puts in it. 

When we were there, it was packed! The problem is that we could not go around and look at the cakes and cookies. So we had to blindly ask for a cannoli and a red velvet cupcake. Maybe they should let less people enter in the shop to allow their customers to look around!

Let start with the cannoli: the shell was a bit stale and the filling was a bit tasteless despite the chocolate chips. I clearly prefer the cannoli at Giorgio's in Hoboken (see the review of Giorgio's here).

The Red Velvet Cupcake was also very disappointing! First, there was not enough frosting: you need to keep a certain ratio cake / frosting. Anyway, the frosting had a very weird taste. The cake was also not good and dry. Clearly not to recommend! For cupcakes, Sweet Bakery in Hoboken is far better with a delicious and moist Red Velvet Cupcake that I would not stop eating (see the review of Sweet Bakery here)!

So, I guess all the buzz around Carlo's Bakery is because of the TV personality rather than the cakes...This was a forgettable experience!

Update: Here is the review of the Cake Boss Cafe at Port Authority NYC!

Enjoy (the photos)!

Goat milk ice cream at Victory Garden in NYC, New York

We discovered Victory Garden over the week end! It is a tiny place located on Carmine in the West Village. The logo looks like a goat's head: no wonder as they use goat milk for their ice cream! Why goat milk? Because of the Middle Eastern influence of the owners and the advantages of goat milk that are displayed at the entrance of the store:

• Goat milk is lower in fat than cow’s milk, but with all the nutrition!
• Goat milk is rich in healthy antimicrobial fatty acids, which are burned by the body, rather than stored as is cow’s milk.
• Goat milk is a great source of iron, calcium, protein and potassium.
• Goat milk is lactose friendly, making it easy for people with lactose-intolerance to digest.
• Goat milk is the most similar animal milk to that of humans and is more readily processed than cow’s milk.

I very rarely had goat milk in my life, but why not? So we decided to try their ice cream. We picked their most popular: the salted caramel. As a topping, we chose chocolate crunch. 

They propose 3 sizes and we picked the mini one. It was still generous and I was happy I did not decide to have a bigger size.

For toppings, they have plenty: brownies, sprinkles, honey, walnut, honeycomb (!), etc.

The salted caramel was very good: very tasty and creamy.

The other flavor was chocolate rosemary and we added halva as a topping. It was very rich and very creamy, even more than the salted caramel. The dark chocolate was definitely coming through and you could taste that there were some spices mixed in it, but I did not really taste the rosemary. Having Halva as a topping was pretty surprising and it paired very well with the strong chocolate flavor. 

From the two flavors, the salted caramel was definitely my favorite.

Know that Victory Garden is also selling salads and sandwiches as well as yogurt. They also sell produces made with goat milk such as soap and lip balm. This is definitely a place to try if you like rich and creamy ice cream. They would not tell you it is made with goat milk, you would not even know!

Enjoy (I did)!

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And Remember: I Just Want To Eat!

Yapple Frozen Yogurt in Westfield, NJ

I discovered a new Frozen Yogurt place in Westfield, New Jersey. I love frozen yogurt because people think that it is a healthy choice, but they forget that the calories are mainly coming from the toppings that they pack their yogurt with!!!

Anyway, the place was interesting: very bright with its white furniture, partly white walls; with fun drawings on the wall that reminded me of Japanese Manga.

The ceiling was fantastic with multicolored bulbs that gave to the place a very playful atmosphere.

Yapple is self serve.

When we went, they had flavors like: watermelon, cookies & Cream, Birthday cake, Cinnabun, blood orange, taro, banana, salted caramel pretzel, original tart. As you can see, some interesting and original flavors!

Like most if not all frozen yogurt places, the cost is per weight (very smart as people have a tendency to put more than what a standard serving would be, hence pay more). So, you first pick your yogurt(s), then go to the topping bar.

They had the basics there: from fruits to chocolate, peanut butter cup, etc...You can as well add some whipped cream, chocolate sauce or caramel.

I decided to have Cookies & Cream and banana yogurt.

The cookies & cream yogurt was just ok. It tasted like a chocolate yogurt that lacks chocolate taste....However, the banana was fantastic! The flavor of the fruit was very pronounced and tasted natural!

As usual, I put some M&M's and their color all mixed up with the yogurt like a rainbow.

Jodi picked the cookies & Cream and the Birthday cake.

The Birthday cake flavor was just ok for me, but Jodi found that it was good!

In conclusion: I would go back just for the banana yogurt! What I liked is the fact that it tasted natural and not made with processed ingredients.

Enjoy (I did)!




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And Remember: I Just Want To Eat!

CoolHaus Ice Cream Sandwich in NYC, New York

I heard about the Coolhaus truck for a while and always wanted to try it! I noticed that the truck was often at Union Square, where many food trucks are now lining up to feed a crowd eager to try some delicious food at a reasonable price. So, that day was the time to try it! The concept is simple: an ice cream sandwich made of a scoop of ice cream in between two cookies! Ideal for the sugar lovers!

The concept is simple: first choose your cookie, then pick your ice cream!

We decided to go with two chocolate chip cookies and the chocovivo salted chocolate that is as per the description: a rich dark chocolate base swirled with fudge and sprinkled with chunks of dark chocolate from chocovivo.

When they gave it to us, it was huge! And when it is warm outside, you'd better hurry to eat it before the ice cream starts to melt!!! It is a bit messy to eat, but fortunately, you hold it with and edible wrapper.

The cookie was very good: not too sweet and soft with a bit of crunch from the chocolate chips and the chunks from the ice cream. The ice cream was divine with intense chocolate flavors! Definitely a very good combination, picked by Jodi!

What is great is that you can swap cookies and ice cream in many, many combinations, making your experience new each time! They have plenty of flavors that I guess they alternate from time to time and some are original, such as candied bacon, chocolate chipotle or nutella almond (I love nutella and will definitely try this one!). If you love sugar, cookies and ice cream, try Coolhaus and let me know what you think!

Enjoy (I sure did)!

Delicious Gelato at Eataly in NYC, New York

With the hot days we got recently, indulging in gelato was necessary! So we ended up at Eataly, this amazing Italian Marketplace I love to go to!

So we decided to try their gelato. There is always a big line, but sometimes, you have to sacrifice yourself...

Jodi got the coconut gelato in a cone.

Coconut is Jodi's favorite flavor. I tried it and it was quite good: creamy with a nice coconut taste. The cone was crunchy and filled with ice cream.

On my side, I ordered two flavors in a cup: hazelnut and salted caramel.

They put a lot of ice cream! My favorite was definitely the hazelnut one. So tasty! The salted caramel was good too: so funny to see that salted caramel is now everywhere, from crepes to ice cream!

Then, another time, I decided to try something different: watermelon sorbet and banana gelato with chocolate chips.

The banana with chocolate chip gelato was just ok. It was not as creamy as I thought and I had better banana ice cream in the past. However, I did not like at all the watermelon sorbet: it had no taste! I should have one with the hazelnut gelato!!!

Although the last try was not that great, I love Eataly's gelato! It reminded me of the gelato we got when we went to Italy few years ago: we ate amazing gelato everyday! Whether it was chocolate, hazelnut or...nutella! I remember that the gelato were huge for as much as 2 Euros ($2.6)! So, going to Italy was like going back few years back!!!

Enjoy (I did)!

Brunch at Francois Payard in Soho, NYC, New York

Francois Payard is an amazing Pastry Chef and I was looking forward to try his place in Soho! He used to have a restaurant years ago on the Upper East Side that I was lucky to try: the food was great, but the stars were the desserts! I remember that we got an incredible tasting of pastries!

So here we are in Soho, in this temple of breads and desserts! It is a small eatery where you can order some coffee, a sandwich and a dessert for a reasonable price! 

You can also buy any of the specialties they serve such as chocolate or macaroons!

They serve sandwiches, but I guess the stars of the bakery are the cakes!

They serve the classic cakes you would find in a bakery in France: eclair, strawberry tart, lemon tart...

We started with a Ham and Brie sandwich.

The bread was a traditional baguette and I can tell you that it was fantastic! This was an authentic baguette: golden and crispy outside! It was stuffed with a nice quantity of ham and brie. Delicious!

The next sandwich we tried was the croque monsieur.

 It is made of French ham and gruyere, bechamel sauce and their own white bread.

Everything was perfect! The quantity of cheese and bechamel sauce, as well as the softness of the amazing bread!

The last part of the meal was dessert!

The winner was: the lemon tart! I loved it: the shell was buttery and the lemon creme fantastic (I hate when it tastes like detergent)!

We went back the week after for a treat: we picked the strawberry pie and the gateau Lorrain.

The strawberry tart was great: first, the red color of the strawberries really popped and made the tart appetizing. Then, there was the overall taste: buttery, fruity and nutty! I loved it!

A Gateau Lorrain is made with simple ingredients: butter, flour, eggs and sugar. Some say that it is better to prepare it the day before. What is certain is that it is a cake to eat with a coffee or tea because it can be a bit dry. I would also see it eaten with a vanilla or chocolate sauce. So: good, but not a favorite!

Then, I tried the viennoiseries at their location that recently opened on 58th and Broadway.
They also have pastries, sandwiches and breads.

All their viennoiseries had this incredible butter scent that nobody can resist! The croissants were flaky and buttery. What surprised me is that the chocolate croissants shape were literally croissants with chocolate inside. So if you put a croissants and a chocolate croissant next to each other, you cannot make the difference! This is not a traditional way of making it though. Chocolate croissants are kind of square with two bars of chocolate in the middle and no chocolate or sugar on top.

The brioches were also very good, although I have a preference for the buttery treats. The sugar on top added a nice crunch, but fell most of the time on my table...

Then there were the almond croissants!

I love almond croissants: they are my favorite from all! There were fantastic! At first, I was put off by the sugar on top: typically, almond croissants do not have sugar on top! When I picked one, it was a bit heavy, making me think that there was a lot of almond paste in the middle.

And I was right! I hate when you get an almond croissant with barely no almond paste in it! This one had a lot and the taste of the almond and the butter was divine. I inhaled it!

I had a great experience at Francois Payard Bakery! It was like being in France! Of course, I could not taste everything, so I guess I have to go back...

Enjoy (I did)!

Holey Cream: what Ice Cream Donut Sandwich in NYC, New York???

What I like in New York is that you will find all sorts of crazy culinary ideas! The last one I found is Holey Cream, an ice cream parlor located Midtown.

Holey Cream is a small place that serves of course ice cream, cupcakes, donuts and...ice cream donut sandwiches. Yes, you read correctly! This is a spin on the ice cream sandwich, where they will put three scoops of ice cream between a donut.

The way you do your ice cream donut sandwich is:

1.  Pick three scoops of ice cream; they have flavors like cheesecake, dolce de leche, red velvet cupcake, S'Mores,...
2. Then you pick the icing for your donut: vanilla or chocolate.
3. Last, you choose the topping that goes from gummy bears, peanut butter cup, M&M's...

They will then prepare your sandwich!

So, here is what I picked:

• Chocolate icing topped with sprinkles.
• Three scoops: vanilla (I figured out it would be a good test to try a basic flavor), butterscotch praline and cookies & cream.

It is pretty exciting to see them make the ice cream sandwich. For sure, it is huge and decadent! We sat at one of the very few seats and try to eat that monstrous ice cream! First of all: you cannot pick it with your hands because of the icing and toppings on the donut. Anyway, even if you could, it would be messy! So, then, to try to eat with the poor plastic spoons they give you was a bit difficult. 

The donut was very good and tasted very fresh. The ice cream though was so so: the vanilla ice cream and the cookies & cream were lacking taste. However, the butterscotch praline was delicious! 

Pairing the ice cream with the donut was fun, but unfortunately, it fell flat because of the lack of taste of the ice cream that seemed low quality! 

Note that if you only want the donut, you can make it by choosing the icing and the toppings and skipping the ice cream...

So I was a bit disappointed: this is the type of place you would go to just to try, but would not go back...

Enjoy (the post...)!

 

The Franklin Fountain ice cream in Philadelphia, PA

Another spot we wanted to check after watching Man vs Food was The Franklin Fountain, an ice cream parlor serving homemade ice cream. The place is tiny! There is no table or seat inside, so the only choice is to eat outside. When it is more than 100 degrees, it is a bit brutal, even if the ice cream will cool you! I was just surprised as, watching the show, I did not imagine that it was so small.

The decor (ornate ceiling and porcelain mosaic tiles on the floor) and the uniform of the employees definitely give the old fashion feel that the Berley brothers wanted to give to the place when they opened in 2004.

In term of ice cream, they serve homemade ice creams with flavor like vanilla bean, peanut butter, cherry vanilla...So we tried the coconut one.

For sure it was creamy, but it was a bit lacking the taste of coconut. Disappointing. The cone was good though...

Then, we tried the Mt Vesuvius.

Imagine that: vanilla ice cream, homemade whipped cream, homemade brownies, chocolate fudge and malt powder. Seem pretty decadent! The brownies were delicious and they were pretty generous with the quantity! In fact, the brownies and the fudge were the only things I liked!!! The vanilla ice cream was bland as well as the whipped cream. Disappointing again!

So sad: on the show, it really looked phenomenal, but it was just insipid. I think next time I will go for gelato in the Italian market!

Enjoy (the post only)!

My Choice self served Frozen Yogurt and Juice bar in NYC, New York

We found this new Frozen Yogurt that happens to be also a juice bar, called My Choice. It not only proposes frozen yogurt, but also smoothies, ice cream, fruits and vegetables juices made freshly.

The Frozen Yogurt is self served.

They had 8 different flavors such as dulce de leche, chocolate, peach & mango, original tart...On their prospectus, they advertise other flavors such as NY cheesecake, cookies & cream, apple pie or eggnog. I guess they switch from time to time!

Once you pick the yogurt flavor, you can add some syrup.

They had chocolate, caramel, lemon and honey.

There are also two toppings bar:

The first one had coconut, cookie dough, wafflers, M&M's, almond brittles, chocolate chips...

The second one was all about fruits: strawberries, mango, pineapple...

We went for a cup with the Peach & Mango and dulce de leche yogurt.

It was not bad, but the yogurt was not as good as Red Mango or Pinkberry.

The second cup was with chocolate and original tart yogurt.

 The chocolate yogurt was pretty good, but the original tart was so so. It for sure tasted like yogurt, but was missing some tartness. At least, I enjoyed the M&M's and almond brittle!

Clearly My Choice is not my favorite and I do not think I will go back there...

Enjoy (I did not)!

Love and Yoghurt in Hoboken, New Jersey

I am not sure how many Frozen Yoghurt stores Hoboken needs! There was already Mon Cheri Yoghurt Bar (pretty good) and Koa Koa (I do not like it). Then, Red Mango announced that it will be coming soon, replacing the Homemade Pizza Company that closed earlier in the year. You would think that it is enough! No! Love & Yogurt is a new one that opened on May 25th 2012. The location is in fact perfect as, although not located on Washington street, there is quite a lot of foot traffic in front of it. 

The place looks pretty neat and is a self serving yoghurt bar. So you can taste whatever flavor they offer: there is no limitation! 

The flavors are: Original Tart (pretty standard), Local Mango, Peach Tart (delicious), Thin Mint, Alpine Vanilla, Red Velvet Cake, Cake Batter, Local Coffee, New York Cheesecake (good but I would not have a full cup), Cookies N’ Cream (Love N' The good Stuff) and Local Chocolate. Items marked "local" are made with Ronnybrook farm ingredients, a third generation family farm in New York's Hudson Valley.

After my tasting, I decided to go for the cookies and cream. Once I filled up the cup, I went to the topping bar. 

They have quite a lot of toppings: Pineapple, Cherries, Mango Bubbles, Strawberry Bubbles, Oreos, Sugar Cookie Dough, Brownie, Chocolate Chip Cookie Doug, M&M, Reeses Piece Mini, Twix, Snickers, Peanut Butter Cups, Gummi Bears, Butterfinger, Sour worms... They also have Chocolate Syrup, Marshmallow Sauce, Caramel Topping and Whipped Cream. 

 So, for the toppings, I picked: 

twix, mochi and non-pareils chocolate. I added some marshmallow sauce...too much in fact...This was delicious! I love the cookies N' Cream yoghurt! 

I also got some of the peach with toasted coconut, strawberries and mango bubbles.

I really liked the peach yogurt that I tried for the first time! I also enjoyed the mango bubbles that exploded in my mouth when biting on them, liberating a delicious flavor.

Love & Yogurt is definitely worth to try. I love the variety of flavors and the large selection of toppings. But of course, frozen yoghurt is as healthy as the toppings that you put on it! 

Enjoy (I did)!

Love & Yogurt

54 Newark Street Hoboken, NJ  07030

Stick & Pop in NYC: what? Cake on a stick?

Yesterday, we were walking in the street, going to Boqueria, when we notice this small store called Stick & Pop. We saw that it was selling some sweets and decided to go back after lunch to grab a treat for later. And we came back!

To give you a bit of history, Stick & Pop has been opened early February in that location, after being an online store (www.stickandpop.com). It has been created by French Culinary Institute graduate, Jacki Caponigro, and design professional, Christy Nyberg. We saw them other there and they were really nice!

To understand what they sell, imagine a candy apple, but instead of an apple, you get cake! It kind of reminds me of the cake bites we ate in Milwaukee (check here), but bigger and with a stick. The size is a close to a golf ball, although Stick & Pop sells small bags with four small sized lollipops. 

What is awesome, is that they do Baby Showers and Weddings, as well as Holiday pops! They also have a Stick & Pop dough kit that allows you to create your own! These pops are so pretty that I am sure a lot of brides are going to get crazy to get some for their wedding!

Now, let me tell you what Pops we got:

We started first with the Griswald: vanilla graham cake with marshmallow center and chocolate chip, dipped in dark chocolate and rolled in graham. As a whole, it looks like this:

Cut in half, it looks like that:

I loved the different layers of the pop!

Then we tried the Teddy Bear: chocolate cake dipped in white chocolate, rolled in multi-colored confetti sprinkles. 

If you love chocolate, the Teddy Bear is for you! The chocolate cake is so good!

There was also the O'Hara: coconut cake with chocolate chips, dipped in dark chocolate and covered with coconut. I am not a big fan of coconut, but I have to say that it was pretty good!

Last, is the almond cake one. I do not have any name, because it was a special one. They proposed us to try it, so I could not refuse!!! This was with the Griswald and the Teddy Bear my favorite too! It was almond cake dipped in white chocolate and drizzled with sugar sprinkles. The almond cake, similar to a paste was incredible!

Cut in half, it looked like this:

I really loved these pops and wish they will expand the choices with things like chocolate and raspberry. These pops are great: pretty and delicious, they are the perfect treat! On top of that, it is not messy to eat, so there is no problem to consume them in the street. Definitely to try!

Enjoy (I did)!

And remember: I just want to eat!

Reference: stickandpop.com