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If I did a Cupcake/Dessert Crawl in NYC, this is how it'd go...
I've done the cupcake crawl and I would like to tell you my idea for one. May be places you have not heard of and in that case you are super welcome for being introduced to local deliciousness.
Back in May I wrote about a cupcake crawl my friend Kim and I went on that was ... lackluster, let me be honest, it was lackluster. I kind of had a field day on Twitter in October when people keep suggesting Magnolia Bakery in terms of the must go to bakery in NYC. As in this is the "must" bakery to get for friends outside of the city. It has the "best' cupcakes. That is when I shook my head and tsk tsk tsk'd, my friends. There is so much more to NYC than Magnolia, but thanks for that Sex in the City.
I'm not saying Magnolia is bad. Food, like art, is a subjective thing. What I am saying is that there's a whole lot out there, especially in a place as large and populous as NYC. So I'd suggest broadening your horizons in terms of the cupcake offerings here and what you may have heard is the "best" when in fact there are hidden gems throughout NYC. Many I have yet to try myself and many I have had the pleasure of consuming. So, if I did a cupcake/dessert crawl here's where I'd lead my group. And also, you're welcome.
- First Stop: Silk Cakes (Queens, LES): I adore the Asian-inspired cupcakes and delectables offered at this bakery. The yuzu cupcake with green tea truffle and smooth as silk (see what I did there?) icing is my favorite thing there along with the new limited edition pumpkin roll and their variety of milk cakes. It's such a treat to have them available in Queens.
- Next up, Fay Da Bakery (Queens, Chinatown): I'm a fan of sponge cakes, there's a pillow-like quality to them that is really good but also pretty dangerous because it means you can consume them like crazy. Fay Da offers not only cupcakes, but cake rolls, strawberry shortcake with whipped cream, and some savory items as well as every day bread along with tea. They're a solid chain and you can rest up, eat up, and simply relax.
- After that is, Sugar Sweet Sunshine (LES): They have the pumpkin cupcake year-round so that was my biggest positive with Triple S. But there's also the friendly staff, the steady good taste of their cupcakes, along with their offering of puddings and trifles that adds to the sugar overload. And perhaps because it's a one -off with no other locations makes it even more of a treat because you know there's only one Triple S.
- And then, Lady M Confections (UES, Midtown West): This is the high-roller stop for some light and creamy crepe cake! This is also the place to feel pretty darn fancy whilst hoarding your dollars to have cake and drink tea with a pinky up.
- Penultimate stop, Ivy Bakery (now available at Root Hill Cafe in Brooklyn): Cupcakes, scones, and butter gooies? Yes, please. Daniellan's homemade goods have a new home in Brooklyn, which is great because I missed her SoHo location. So now there's a sit-down place to get your cupcakes and gooies and some coffee in a warm spot this winter and beyond.
- All aboard, last stop! Butter & Scotch (Brooklyn): I'm so glad Allison and Keavy are opening up their dessert/cocktail location next year. I can get my alcohol and my pies in one spot. Fantastic! I'm sure the spot, once open to the public, will be a cool, comfortable place for you to enjoy your sweets and lounge around over drinks post-dinner, lunch, or just cause.
So there you have it. Some you may have heard of, some not. But all are delicious and this is from a name you can trust. :-)
Village Voice's @ChoiceEats 2014
For the third year in a row I attended Village Voice's Choice Eats food bonanza where a couple dozen vendors of alcohol, entrees, and sweets converge to feed several hundred people in a few hours. All-you-can-eat takes on new meaning at Choice Eats.
Once again the Village Voice held one of the biggest vendor events on a really blustery "spring" evening this past Tuesday. The new venue for Choice Eats was Pier 36 on South Street right next to the water. If you were waiting outside you were hit with all kinds of cold winds coming right off the Hudson. But what would keep you warm, or at least hopeful, was knowing that soon, soon, you would be immersed in a smorgasbord of vendors for savory and sweet treats as well as a variety of alcohol (beer, liquors, and wine). One of my first impressions upon entering the building was how much bigger Pier 36 was and how welcoming it felt. The dull colored carpeting and the expansive space allowed for more movement among the several hundred people in attendance. Much more so than the Armory in the Flat Iron District in years prior. This does not mean it didn't get packed, however. By 8pm it was hard to get through sections or view what vendors were doling out because lines extended past one booth and merged with others for booths parallel to the one you may have been interested in in the first place.
What's great about Choice Eats is it allows for attendees to sample items from new or established eateries around NYC. Ones you may not have known existed. Places from Queens, Brooklyn, and all over Manhattan had large display signs in yellow with red type advertising their dish(es) and people with smiling faces trying to feed the masses as quickly as they could.
If you purchased general admission you got in at 7pm. If you opted to go for VIP status you got in at 6pm, got to sample vendors food without the larger crowd, got a goody bag, and a private lounge to sit in. Again this one was swankier than at the Armory. Whereas the Armory's lounge was downstairs away from the bustle Pier 36's was above the bustle so you could still survey the scene and not feel left out.
For me, this year was a bit hit and miss. Many dishes I wasn't a fan of or were too salty or too spicy taking away from actual taste of the dish for me. But, one of my favorite new finds was the first table my friend Joy and I hit, Cafe Glechik.
Cafe Glechik had the largest portions and were well stocked--even at 8:45 (the event ends at 9pm) they had a whole sheet of Napoleon Cake as well as many blinis and dumplings available whereas many places had run out and bolted. The blini is essentially meat in a crepe and then fried on either side to get that nice warm taste inside. It was well seasoned and not at all spicy. The Napoleon Cake was other-worldly and my favorite dessert. Several layers of phyllo dough with light vanilla creme between each layer was delicious. The only downside was the portions were so huge I couldn't finish. I did see some people bring Tupperware so perhaps that's an idea if you can't sample it all in one day; try and take what may be reheatable home. Just a thought.
Other standouts were Bien Cut's apricot danish. A croissant with apricot cream filling. Fantastic and light, they ran out of it fast. Bien Cut also had corn biscuits with a sweet puree on top that had a nice organic taste to it not like your boxed, run-of-the-mill cornmeal but something much more of the earth. Bien Cut's items were perfectly bite size and lovely to look at.
Other items I did like was the array of soul food proteins and sides from Charles' Country Pan Fried Chicken. They had a nice small plate of down home cooking that included candied yams, collard greens, cornbread, fried chicken wings or baked chicken bits, rib tips, and mac n' cheese. This was one of the longer lines as they had the most offerings. In fact if you visited more of the ethnic fare like Ethiopian or Indian eateries they may have had several items, and ultimately served attendees buffet style rather than focusing on one standout dish. This choice can be good or bad for the vendor but at least more items gives a broader sense of what's available.
There were also old faves like Fay Da Bakery. I love the lightness of their sponge cakes, the fact that they have honey tea and bubble tea, and also their egg custard tarts all in small sizes but in large quantities. And the people at the Fay Da booth are friendly every year.
There was also chocolatey goodness of a chocolate chip cookie with a layer of caramel and a layer of chocolate from Robicelli's. Liddabit Sweets served chocolate caramel bonbons with pistachio and salt atop. Butter & Scotch had their Dark & Stormy flavored popcorn that has been gaining speed since they debuted it last year at the food fairs. And there was La Newyorkina whose line was ridiculous by night's end once people diverted from the savory and sought to fulfill their sweet tooth. One day I shall have Newyorkina. It will happen.
What makes Choice Eats great is the variety, going with friends, enjoying food and some alcohol and learning of new places to dine. The vendors are eager to get their name out there and you're looking to eat/drink so it's a win-win situation really. What I would point out is that this is not necessarily a vegan-friendly or gluten-free (GF) friendly event. Many items are meat and do have dairy. As my friend Joy said at one point, "I'm filled with meat." Vegetarians may fair okay, especially in the dessert realm, but if you're vegan or lactose or GF there may be very slim pickins for you here. As is there were several ice cream vendors and many of the cakes, including Fay Da's and Cafe Glechik's had cream. Vendors don't readily advertise what they'll be giving out beforehand, but for the most part there'll be good eats if you're ready to throw down and get in as much as there is to offer.
Tickets for Choice Eat's sister event Choice Streets will be going on sale on April 2nd. And tickets for Choice Eats tend to go on sale in January.
The Village Voice Sixth Annual Tasting Event: @ChoiceEats!
March 19th marked the sixth Choice Eats event presented by Village Voice in New York City. Over a hundred restaurants, bakeries, and spirit/beer vendors were around to allow attendees to sample their product.
Tuesday, March 19th was a day of consumption. Choice Eats was upon us once again and I was prepared, or so I thought. I didn't eat carbs all day in preparation for the amount of goods that'd be available. Last year was a flavor explosion in every sense from savory to sweet to alcoholic and this year was no different. A portion of the proceeds earned from Choice Eats goes to the non-profit company Slow Food NYC which aims to "counteract the culture of fast food" by promoting local traditions in terms of food prep and eating.
Choice Eats is the opportunity for vendors in NYC to showcase some of their signature dishes to hundreds of people. Held at the 69th Regiment Armory it doesn't quite seem large enough to contain all the food lovers ready to mangia, but it does.
Last year at Choice Eats I didn't know where to start and felt I needed to eat everything on site. This wasn't too different, but my friends and I (the same gals who I attended it with last year) just sauntered and stopped where the lines were pretty short and the dishes displayed on the banners behind an establishment's stands intrigued us. (This year we had foldable trays which were increasingly handy to balance a few items rather than doing one at a time.) The gals and I were only through the first of three rows when our stomachs started to protrude and push against our belts. But we pushed on.
General admission for Choice Eats is $50 and you can get VIP status for about $30 more. VIP status grants you early access, some nice goodies and a cool totes, and a lounge. It may be worth the costs for some but you'll definitely eat your fill at the general admission price and then some.
What I love about Choice Eats is the variety and finding new cool finds I didn't know about in NYC. There's Asian, Asian fusion, Yemeni dishes, dim sum, seafood, vegetarian, vegan dishes, desserts, and wine, vodka, and beer. Beer, beer, and more beer. I have to say that there seemed to be more varieties of alcohol available this year than there had been in 2012. I got to sample vodka with cucumber essence (very refreshing) and a nice rose wine from Heritage Link Brands, a wine importer from Africa.
Some of my fave dishes that I sampled were the portobello mushroom ravioli with parmesan from Max Tribeca. It was creamy and light and had a hint of truffle oil. The double broccoli/cheese taco from No. 7 included feta and a nice mash of broccoli and cheese in a hard and soft tortilla, definitely hit the umami spot. There was also the perfectly tender brisket with a side of collard greens from Mable's Smokehouse that was a great treat getting towards the end of the first row. We passed ceviche and bouef borginon and a whole roasted pig from Kuma Inn and Jimmy's No. 43 had a smokey pork dish also. Spicy Bampa had not too spicy cold sesame noodles. There was a lamb and goat cheese puff pastry that mixed the sweet and savory in decadent form from Kaia Wine Bar. After savoring as much as we thought we could take we passed by the dessert aisle to find Yemen Café! I had visited their storefront with Ramen & Friends a few years ago and have been hooked by Yemeni food (and especially Yemeni tea) ever since. Their basmati rice and lamb were flavorful and the lamb fell of the bone!
Highlighted desserts were from one of my favorite Asian bakeries Fay Da Bakery that had egg custard and strawberry shortcake as well as bubble tea. If you've had cake from a Chinese bakery you know how light the sponge cake is that you feel you can eat pounds of it rather than slices. This was the perfect strawberry shortcake for me, not dense, just fluffy. Also available were Carlo's Bakery that had a great red velvet cake with super creamy cream cheese icing. I adored Butter & Scotch's (aka the Drunk Bakers) drunken caramel cupcake and wish I'd gotten multiples instead of just one. Also there representing the sweet were Robicelli's with a super rich brownie and The Good Batch's s'mores cookie that people were waiting in line for towards the end of the event. And SCRATCHBread had mainly different breads and sauces but also had some rich, thick, buttery shortbread cookies.
There were so many more vendors to name. Unfortunately many started to pack up close to 8:30 (even though the event goes to 9:30) due to being sold out. Sad. Whole Foods was around as a sponsor providing bags of snacks and the opportunity to win a giftcard if you followed them on Twitter on the spot. SmartWater was in abundance as well at various tables throughout the armory in case you needed to stay hydrated. I have to say that they thought of everything, booze, coat check, food and sweets galore. What more could you ask for? Nothing much really.
I'll definitely be going to Choice Eats again next year. It'll become an annual thing for me and perhaps I'll better prepare my stomach to get through more than one row of good eats but notes were taken mentally of who I'll be visiting soon and where I'll be bringing friends.
But let me leave you with a few tips if you go next year (which you should!):
1) Try to get in line at least 30 minutes before if not an hour before. The line extends far down and while everyone will get in at some point being closer to the front gets you in faster and on line for eating sooner.
2) Use the coat check! I don't know if people didn't realize there was a coat check or thought they had to pay. It's in the basement and is free! Many people were sweating and having to wear thick coats/jackets. With all the food and burners going and the increasing amount of bodies roaming around you get hot, fast. Utilize the coat check and do tip those working it.
3) This is not the best event for vegans and vegetarians. Are their items for vegans and vegetarians? Absolutely but not in abundance. There's a lot of meat dishes around and often I had to turn away because many contained pork. If you're a vegetarian there'll be eats but not necessarily a lot. So be forewarned.
4) Get water first to carry around. Yes, the bottle may be big but it'll be worth it because those go fast. There was a lot more this year than last so perhaps the organizers got hip to the fact that water was a huge commodity, but it doesn't hurt to stock up as you're going through the aisles.
5) Take breaks. Go drink something, have water, go hang downstairs by the coat check where it's cooler but don't keep stuffing yourself. Listen to your body, but enjoy the event and if you can pocket a couple desserts for home if they'll carry.
Year in Review of NYC's baked good offerings.
In preparation for my year-in-baking wrap-up post(s) here are some of the places in NYC I tried this past year for baked goodies. Some were good, some disappointing, and all were an experience in their own way. I'm pretty sure I gained some cavities along the way, but well earned I say! Cupcake Stop aka the Cupcake Truck
I tried several cupcakes from the ever mobile dessert truck (not to be confused with The Dessert Truck). Their lemon raspberry wasn't as good as the one I've made. Decent but not lemony enough for my taste. Their red velvet was better than some (Magnolia you really disappoint me!) and they had a chocolate peanut butter cupcake that was good. I don't know how good stuff keeps from there, but the cupcakes weren't as super moist as I'd expect the day of.
They also offer mini cupcakes at $1/each, which may be a good buy if you just want to have a little taste.
Love, love, love Milk bar! Their cookies are amazing! I tried their dulce de leche cake which was heavy as heck and a bit dry. So I'd recommend the cookies. My faves are the compost cookie (with chocolate, marshmallow, corn flakes, and pretzels) and the blueberry creme. So freakin' good I took an extra long lunch break to buy some for dinner. Dinner!
Better than average cupcakes and their pumpkin is mighty good. They lost some of my good graces because I kept calling ahead for the pumpkin cupcake and getting denied when I showed up at the store (seems they make small batches day-by-day) but overall I've had a couple of their cupcakes and given some to friends who have been impressed. Plus, their cupcakes are mighty reasonable in Manhattan at $2/each.
Their brownies are spectucular, but are overpriced at $2/each for the tiny size you get.
A former co-worker introduced my friends and I to this spot and it's become a fave since. The only cupcake I truly enjoy from here is their pumpkin, which they offer year-round! So a big plus in my book. Their claim to fame is their buttercream icing and varied flavors of cupcakes, so I'd highly recommend. Also quite cheap at $1.50/each, so splurge people, splurge!
My was I highly disappointed after this place. And thankfully I have a rock hard stomach so it doesn't upset easily. I happened to pass by this place from having lunch with a friend and figured "why not?" I should've kept moving.
Butter Lane is known for it's freshly made, organic buttercream icings and that's pretty much it. The place has a lovely decor but their cupcakes are disappointing and look/feel kind of hard. Also disappointing is that their cupcakes are named for the icing only. So I picked up a pumpkin cupcake thinking I was getting a pumpkin cupcake, but all I was getting was a golden cupcake with pumpkin icing. And such is the same for ALL their cupcakes. They either have golden or chocolate cupcakes and many types of homemade icing. The icing was good, the cupcake was not and I don't purchase cupcakes just for the icing so I probably won't go here again. Also their cupcakes are $3/each a bit hefty considering you're paying for the icing mainly.
I've loved crumbs since I first had it several years ago and that didn't stop this year either. They have a fluffy moist cake in various sizes (tiny, regular, and ginormous!) They have various flavors year round and I've received pretty darn good service from the ones around the city. The regular cupcakes are reasonable at $2.95/each and the massive ones even more reasonable at $3.95/each.
A nice Asian bakery in Chinatown where you can get Asian desserts or savory treats like pork buns, chicken buns, etc. I particularly liked their rolls. Their vanilla roll and lemon rolls are delicious and reasonable. A big one costs about $11 and an individual one would be a little over $1.
How I miss thee! They had amazing goodies like homemade donuts (with jelly), hot chocolate (as thick as pudding and very tasty!), and a chocolate mousse that made me curl my toes in delight! Woowee! Unfortunately something about permits deterred the Dessert Truck from making a resurgence for most of the year, but at least I had that bit and it was lovely!
Crepateria
Since the two locations aren't located that far from me in Queens it's nice to know I can get crepes any time I want! Sweet or savory take your pick, but I have to say I love the warm cinnamon apple crepe with ice cream or banana and nutella (staples at most crepe shops). Good and good for you!
Tried a chocolate cupcake and sea salt brownie. The brownie was quite good I have to say. The salt did not over power the sugary & chocolatey goodness of the colossal sized brownie I had. The cupcake was okay. A bit dry (which tends to be a consistent problem at bakeries) but the peanut butter icing was very good. Plus, the lady at the counter was very knowledgeable and kind about telling my husband and I about the different choices. I also liked how they put the cupcakes in cups (upside down) so as not to smoosh them in transit. I'd recommend.
A co-worker enthusiastically told me about Grom and one day while strolling around West 4th Street and 6th Avenue on a summer's day I just waltzed right in. Grom serves freshly made gelato in various flavors. I had the plan vanilla which was quite good. The small (one scoop) is pricey at $5 but it is good for the money.
This Italian staple became a growing chain when another one opened up just a block or two from my building. They have lots of breads, sandwiches, pizzas, and desserts! One of my favorites is the tortino di cioccolata (aka chocolate tart aka big ol' brownie) delicious. They also have a good sandwich cookie which is two butter cookies with nutella in the middle. They also have tortes (tarts/cakes) and bread pudding! The slices of tarts and cakes is a bit pricey, but individual cookies are pretty good at $3 each considering their size. A slice of their bread pudding would run you $6. I have yet to take the plunge and keep going to Whole Foods for their bread pudding that I can get at $3 or less.
I have yet to try the tarts here, but had a couple of their humongous cookies! Pretty good and reasonably priced for such large confections. I'd say their chocolate chip is better than their peanut butter. Though I will be returning to try their pear tart that just looks darling from its place perched high in their window.
In the heart of family friendly area of Park Slope (there's also a location in Carol Gardens, Brooklyn) sits a cute patisserie started by a lovely lady who seems to enjoy pumpkin as much as I do. I tried the pumpkin bread pudding with caramel rum raisin glaze/icing and loved it. It's not as mushy as your typical bread pudding, more cake like in it's look and portions. But warm with the glaze it is very satisfying. My husband bought me the Sweet Melissa Baking book after we tried her tasty goods. I can't wait to go back when we just happen to be in the area.
I look forward to retrying some of these places and trying many new ones.