2013 Year in Review of NYC’s Dessert Offerings (1 of 2)

Another year, more bakeries, patisseries, restaurants, etc. More bakeries to try. More bakeries pop up. Just, more sugar in general. And the cycle continues. Note that not all of the confections I list may be located in NYC but for the most part, this was a good year in desserts, y'all.

City Bakery: I'd been meaning to partake in City Bakery's Hot chocolate month (every February), so when I was in Manhattan one Sunday I had the caramel which was light on the caramel but their hot chocolate is THICK. The homemade marshmallow totally makes it though and amps up the sweetness. Did I mention it was rich as hell? And you know what else they have? Gargantuan cookies! The chocolate chip is worth sharing. This cookie was sweet and rich and the center had a doughy like taste to it that was additionally sweet. This is a cookie where you'd need milk or something not sweet liquid-wise to tone down the sugar. Everything was good, but, and maybe I didn't say this, rich. Keep in mind when going to City Bakery all their sweets are large in size, so go in ready to eat hard or go with friends.

Zugar Haus: I don't normally win things but I did win Shay's Valentine's Day pack! Which amped me up to do an interview with Shay for my site. Everything Shay makes is made with care and you can taste it in her chocolate Cassis Sables w/ Raspberry Jam, the perfect cookie for chocolate lovers as the chocolate is dark and intense! The raspberry jam has some seeds and is tart working well with the semi-sweetness of the chocolate cassis sable (the sable has creme de cassis, orange zest & orange blossom water which you taste hints of for the added tart factor). This cookie was fudgy like a bar not so much chewy which was a nice surprise. Because of the flavorfulness of this cookie eating half may be satisfactory (again, sharing means caring) and I'd highly recommend with some tea. On to Shay's chocolate dipped lavender sables hearts--my a fave. This crumbly cookie was light on the orange essence because of the orange blossom water and zest that complimented the lavender blossom. Add in the dark chocolate edge with sea salted orange peels on the side as a lovely touch and interesting contrast taste-wise for the citrus, floral, and butter.

Coolhaus: It was summer. The truck was near my office. So that could only lead to me purchasing something. I tried their strawberry mojito sorbet...wonderfully refreshing. This sorbet had bits of mint in it that are signature to the mojito cocktail and a wonderfully fruity flavor to it sans alcohol. It was sweet and had the right texture for sorbet. An excellent treat for a warm day.

Cannelle Patisserie: New French patisseries seem to be popping up all over NYC. This one is in Jackson Heights. It's a small pastry shop that offers the whole shebang,  savory quiches, sweets, and coffee. Lots of coffee. Their range of cakes are fabulously light and moist and small. The red velvet was a bit dense for cake, but not too much so that the balance of the slightly heavier cream cheese icing was in every bite of cake. Cannelle's prices were very reasonable, especially if you compare getting the same dessert in Manhattan or Brooklyn would've been twice the price. I got a mini red velvet cake for $3 and it filled me up.

Dauphin Bakery: Dauphin Bakery is known for making gluten-free, soy-free, egg free, peanut free, and dairy free cookies. I tried their salted chocolate chunk and though it was moist (the reason I purchased it) I'm sorry to say that the taste was all kinds of wrong. Not good as a cookie and especially as a gluten-free cookie. There was a chalky taste that made me think paper/cardboard and it stays with you. And an overly grainy texture to this cookie is not pleasant.  Perhaps it's the hemp milk or buckwheat, tapioca, rice flour mix or cane juice and such but I have made gluten free cookies and tried some that have been SUPERIOR. Perhaps it was just a bad day for a cookie.

Whimsy & Spice: When at Smorgasburg I try LOTS of sweets I'm unable to get since they may not have storefronts yet. And thus, I tasted Whimsy & Spice's espresso dulce de leche brownie. Delicious! Moist and almost fudgy, perfect for a brownie. The brownie had chunks of dulce de leche inside and the espresso flavor is hinted at but does not overwhelm, which is great for coffee haters like myself. This was a great find. I also tried their honey lavender shortbread, which was quite good as well with the perfect shortbread texture. I hope to try much more from Whimsy & Spice, soon.

Butter & Scotch: Sooo, I may have invested a good amount of income into desserts from Butter & Scotch (Alison Kave & Keavy Blueher's joint venture) this summer. No regrets on that, people. In order, I had:

• Strawberry/Darryl Pie Shake! A new confection that includes Alison's (First Prize Pies) strawberry basil pie (which in itself is an amazingly deliciously tangy summer pie) in a strawberry/vanilla milkshake with crust on top. This jammy is huge. Great big chunks of pie inside make it like a liquid pie a la mode. Love it, love it, love it, want more OF it. When I returned to Smorgaburg for the 2nd time no pie shakes to be had. But I remember. Oh, I remember.
• Apricot poppyseed mini cupcake that I liked because y'alls know I enjoy my citrus. which I liked. Subtle apricot taste in the icing which was on point! Icings are hard and Keavy does them well. And the poppyseeds worked outside of the standard lemon poppyseed items we may see.
• Lemon lavender cupcake where the lavender is in the frosting and the lemon was also very light in the cake itself.
• Sticky toffee trifle was a bit warm by the time I had it at Smorgasburg but still ridiculously sweet. One of the sweetest trifles I've had with nuts and all kinds of sticky goodness. Be warned this is a very filling dessert with cream, toffee date cake that includes candied pecans/walnuts, so make sure to have room left in your tummy or refrigerate soon after consuming.
• Maple bacon cupcake at Grub Street which is a treat if you love your maple because you get it and then some in this cupcake.

Itizy Ice Cream Truck: Congrats to Itizy for their 2013 Vendy Award for Best Dessert! Itizy regularly comes to my neck of the woods so I tried two of their frozen treats. I was not a huge fan of their strawberry balsamic sorbet which was quite icy in texture and not too sweet. The balsamic was indiscernible in this treat and I couldn't get past the icy texture for the sorbet. I ventured for their ice cream the next time I passed them by and had the hazelnut special. While the texture was fine for ice cream I have to say I wasn't too enthused and couldn't recall the taste several minutes after eating it. The hazelnuts were chewy but quite soft due to being in ice cream, and they were also not pralined or sweetened in any way. While there was a lack of sweetness I can say there was also a lack of taste of preservatives which was very nice. It did taste more natural but not very filling.

People's Pops:  Had the strawberry balsamic pop at Smorgasburg DUMBO which was very good and very red! I tasted balsamic in this and along with the strawberries reminded me of those frozen ices on sticks I'd get as a kid. Sidenote: I found it funny people on line at Smorgasburg  thought these guys shaving ice was "so cool" and new. Have they not seen the Latino ladies on street corners in summer shaving ice?

Empire Cake NYC: Otherwise known as the other place you can get homemade twinkies in lieu of the Hostess shortage. I had the mini red/white cookie which is really cake with white icing on it that is chewy and tasty. It won't make you think red velvet immediately but is a solid red cake with chocolate essence. But it may not hold up for red velvet traditionalists. To pair up I had the black/white cookie which is the same deal as the red velvet but with a yellow cake and chocolate icing. Very nice in mini/tiny doses. I also liked the Homemade Empire Cake Twix with dark chocolate. Again, cookie was more like a thin cake so it was soft and easy to eat with a crapload of caramel. A nice confection to have with milk but melts super fast so do not eat on a humid day. You've been warned. Also got their sandwich peanut butter cookie with icing inside which was fine. The cookie was super chewy/flaky and crumbled in my mouth but the icing was meh. In this case the peanut butter cookie may have been good simply as is. Marble shortbread cookie is also fine. It didn't have the greatest flavors in the marble/chocolate resulting in a more bland cookie yet it had a somewhat solid, not flaky, shortbread texture.

Red Rooster: As part of my dessert for Restaurant Week I indulged in the banana cupcake. The cake was fine, not overly ripe with banana flavors, somewhat moist and all, but the icing, the cream cheese icing was fluffy/creamy perfection! Loved it especially with the pralined walnut on top. I could eat a bowl of that stuff on it's own. Mesa Grill: Again with the Restaurant Week! My dessert of choice was the chocolate bread pudding with chocolate ganache and passion fruit. It was good, and chocolatey as heck, but it was not solid like bread pudding should be. In fact it was a gooey chocolate mess. Great for chocolate overload but will not travel well.

Insomnia Cookies: My one gripe with Insomnia is that they show the calorie count for each cookie. Who wants to know how many calories they are consuming while enjoying a cookie?! Be it the size of your palm or the size of your face?!? For me, Insomnia is still one of the top cookie places around for it being good, basic, comforting, and warm, just like Mom (or grandmom or even grandpa [no gender roles here]) makes. Their newest location is at Columbia and that means good and bad things for my willpower for cookies. On my first of several visits I got the ginormous peanut butter chocolate butter cup cookie which was perfection. All kinds of moist and chewy with the big melted chocolate bits on top of PB cups. And what we love about Insomnia is that the cookies are slightly undercooked so that they maintain a good chewiness to them since they come out of an oven/heater! And during winter that means all kinds of comfort. One of my go-to cookies there is the (smaller) peanut butter cookie. Your mouth is filled with all kinds of sweet, melty PB flavors.

Doughnut Plant: I realized I really enjoy DP's doughseeds. These are like mini filled donuts that they vary up during the seasons. Particularly I  liked the coconut lime doughseed available last summer. Fluffy yeast doughnut covered in glaze and shredded coconut with a tangy lime custard inside. And then in fall there was the pumpkin doughseed...good lord! So fantastic. Perfection. I love the doughseeds now. The pumpkin custard inside was deliciously light, the doughnut was yeast, and the pumpkin seeds on top were crispy and toasted to perfection so they had a great crunch. This was SUPERIOR to the pumpkin pie doughnut at Dunkin Donuts. Doughnut Plant continues to impress.

Breads Bakery: At Super Duper Market I had a sample of their chocolate rugelach, which was like a chocolate croissant! Other samples of their bread were crusty and delishly flaky. This means I have to try more buttery goods from here.

Jack's ChedBread: ChedBread's staple is cornbread, a variety of it both savory and more like the sweet type you may be used to. Me being me I went straight for the plain with the buttery honey crumble on top that was reminiscent of down home cornbread.

Sweet & Simple: Michelle has a storefront in CT and I went partaking in her lemon scone. It reminded me more of a muffin in texture than a scone but the flavors and glaze were really good and not too citrusy. A great lightness to the lemon that stays with you in terms of the sugar and citrus balance.

Lady M Confections: Mille crepe cake means hello pricey! But it was lovely! And I felt very fancy eating it at Lady M across from Bryant Park. The mille crepe cake is a couple dozen layers of crepes with light creme filling resulting in a decadent and light dessert. So delicious and nice to walk off on a sunny day in Manhattan. You will not feel like a glutton after eating this but you will spend some ca$h. I also purchased the apple galette with apricot glaze. The galette is basically an apple tart with a kind of cinnamony dough under the sliced apples and above the crispy flaky crust. A fantastic mix and familiar flavors with apple and cinnamon rarely ever going wrong together. Lady M may be a nice place to splurge or take someone you really, really like on a date. Hint, hint, dudes.

Meryienda Gluten Free Bakeshop: I met Meryienda's founder Elvira via Cookie Swap NYC and when I had some shortbread I needed to bake and give away she was up for 'em. And kindly gave me some of her gluten free items in return. Thanks, Elvira! Unfortunately, or fortunately, it being holiday season you know sugary treats are in full effect so I shared with my co-workers. But I did save the coconut dream bars for myself. And Dream is right! A kind of crumbly cookie crust (akin to that from key lime pies and such) and atop that a mass of shredded coconut, chocolate chips, and other hearty goodness and you will enjoy it. Gluten free means sans gluten but it doesn't mean no taste and Elvira's coconut dream bar was on par with the coconut dream bar I've had at Amy's Bread back in 2010 (yeah, I remember that far back).

Cookiepalooza 2013: #CookieSwapNYC & #CookieTakedown

Cookies, cookies, and more cookies. That's the gist of my weekend. Which was a very nice and blessed one indeed to be able to say, "I had too much sugar." Things started post-work Friday evening with me making over 100 toasted coconut and lime shortbread cookies as my entry for the Cookie Takedown on Sunday, which also happened on Saturday being split into 2 days instead of lumped into one. (Hope everyone had fun on Saturday!)

On Saturday morn I took about a dozen of my cookies from the 100+ batch to The Coffee Foundry in Greenwich Village where there were cookies, bars, and a nice display of Zugar Haus boxes. We set up our cookies along the bar (with labels) and ordered drinks from the great staff at the Foundry for cappuccinos with designs, tea, or even hot chocolate with co-sponsor Divine Chocolates. Along the bar were samples of Divine Chocolates mint chocolate or chocolate with ginger inside for all to taste and some cheese, multigrain crisps, and grapes to set off a bit of the savory vibe.

And then, we got to cookie eating and chatting and more cookie eating.

Kristin and Brittany with City Harvest told us more about how we can help with volunteer opportunities. One-third of the proceeds from each ticket sold went to City Harvest, a great food bank in NYC that provides food to the hungry. And if you tweet using the hashtag #feedourpeople $5 gets donated to City Harvest. So get to tweeting y'all!

I didn't load up on sweets since I had Cookie Takedown the next day but very much enjoyed what I did have such as Jennifer McHenry's bourbon cheesecake brownies made with, yup, Divine Chocolate. Hazel Sy's French macarons were a nice treat as was my introduction to Kouign Amann by Take The Toyz. There was an array of items from gluten-free, to chocolate filled, to zesty, and whoopie, and bar based. So delicious. So comforting for a chilly and windy Saturday morning transitioning into afternoon, and so many wonderful people. Sweets for a cause? I'm in for that every year.

Big, huge, ginormous thanks Divine Chocolate and Zugar Haus for being sponsors of this event and for providing goodies to attendees/donators. Look out for this event again next year right around the holidays by following organizer, foodie, and cool peep Lillian Huang.

Sooo, there was more baking on Saturday evening and then we rested in time for...the Takedown Sunday Edition. I had over 200 cookies, less than the almost 300 I made last year and I was feeling good about how many I made. The fact that they were small in size (thanks to a shot glass used as a cookie cutter) and getting to The Bell House 45 minutes before showtime snagging one of the front tables for me and my gal Angela of Mind Over Batter. After setting up was done I got some pics (and tastes) of some of the other entrants. I saw that I was one of the few if only one who's cookie was citrus based. There were many, many chocolate cookies this time around either with chocolate chips or chocolate based with bourbon or whiskey infused (or mixed) into batters, cookies, and yes even low-fat milk! There were a couple bacon entries and peanut butter was a fave this year as well. My neighbors who had The Last Call Choco Taco had orange zest in their cream but that was it I had the lone citrus cookie that, as Angela deemed it, could serve as a palate cleanser after all those sweets! I got a good amount of compliments on my cookie for it being different and smelling wonderfully like lime. Thanks y'all! And it was so nice to get support from fellow Takedowner Daisy Bow who had won at this year's Ice Cream Takedown and placed in the Bacon Takedown and others who had been entrants in the Ice Cream Takedown. Yay, Takedowner support!

So, as the lines wound around The Bell House and we're an hour in I realize, I'm running out of cookies! I made about 250 (or more) and brought 220+ with me and I was steadily losing ground. A few people around me were also running out of cookies. On the one hand it's good because it's less to take home but bad because you want everyone to taste your cookie! We got through many lines and I found I had 2 cookies left and those, over a course of minutes, were plucked away. And then I had nada. Last year I made about 300 and had a crapload left. This year I make over 200 and run out. Guess there's no winning when it comes to the numbers game but glad people seemed to enjoy my cookies.

Did I win? Nope. Did I place? Nope. Was it a lot of work to make 200+ cookies and test my recipe? Hell to the yeah. Did I have a fun time and get some great cookies, meet nice people, have eggnog, hang with my foodie friends and such? Yes on all counts. Would I do it again? Sure, why not? It's fun to see the variety of cookies that come through and what people, and the judges, like. Matt Timms is a fantastic host for the Takedowns because he appreciates everyone who enters and participates. Once all the work is done it's a really fun time with great people. I was glad to see Emily Hanhan of Nomnivorous place as one of the judge's Top 3 for her Ugly Betties (chocolate cookie packed with salted peanuts and caramel) as well as my FAVE cookie of the day the Smashed and Spiked by Elizabeth Peek of a sweet potato soft cookie that I continuously kept calling a pumpkin cookie. Oh goodness I loved her cookie and was so glad it placed with the people's choice. Elizabeth's as well as Angela's dark peanut butter chocolate and Emily's Ugly Betties were my top picks. And the big winner was the Vermonster cookie packed with peanuts and chocolate and had a maple syrup drizzle that won the people's top choice and the judge's top choice. Hrm, wonder if I had done my maple cookie this year if it would've placed? Who's to say. Either way I am proud of my lime shortbread and was glad to give lime some shine at the Takedown. It just doesn't get as much love as it should.

Online Bake Sale for Philippine Typhoon Victims, #bakesale4pinas

On Monday, Tina De Guzman of Pinay in Texas will be holding an online bake sale with proceeds going to those in need after the major destruction of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines a couple weeks ago. Thousands of people are reported dead/missing and the damage is extensive with a big need for food, water, and shelter by citizens of various districts in this country.

I'm sure you've seen pictures of the destruction and many have been doing great things to help. My buddy Courtney is also holding her own bake sale to donate proceeds to those in need for this cause.

My contribution is a couple dozen freshly made pumpkin chocolate chip cookies.

These are one of my fave things to make in general and particularly come fall. So, stop by Tina's site on Monday, November 25th and review the list of goods that not just I but many bakers, bloggers, culinary professionals will be offering up for purchase and just in time for the Thanksgiving holiday. Please spread the word and stop by to donate or make a donation to places such as the Red Cross.

Happy holidays and lets hope for lots more aid to the Philippines.

Kickstarter Home Stretch for @DrunkBakers: Pie, Cupcakes, Cocktails 7 Days a Week

Kickstarter is all the rage these days. We can fund shows, movies, publications, and the list keeps growing. Well, I support this latest venture by Allison Kave & Keavy Blueher of Butter & Scotch.

Allison was one of the first baking interviews I did and I'm a HUGE fan, as you know, of her pies. S'mores, apple, peanut butter pretzel, candy apple, strawberry basil, all of it goodness in dessert-form. And I've been introduced more to the desserts they've collaborated on (like the sticky toffee trifle) and the diversity of Keavy's mini cupcakes. So, what is this Kickstarter for? A storefront in Brooklyn!

Admittedly, my selfishness would love for them to open a store in Queens but hey dessert and cocktails on the regular? That's right. If you ordered Allison's pies or Keavy's cupcakes online you won't have to anymore. No more waiting for food fairs to spring up in warm climate or for fancy events where they are like Village Voice's Choice Eats. You'll be able to acquire these treats regularly.

Both ladies have built their businesses from being available for those in-the-know to their confections becoming signature desserts in NYC. How can you not have had the hot chocolate pie or the maple bacon cupcakes? And you haven't tried the pie shake?!? [fanning myself] Y'alls need to rectify that ASAP.

The money from this Kickstarter will pay for the essentials like equipment for one as they seek to create Brooklyn's first dessert & cocktail bar. (They need an oven to make more cupcakes!)

Allison & Keavy have been getting lots of great press, Butter & Scotch has already been named as having one of the Best Desserts of 2013 by the Village Voice. They're well known in the food community and are just super nice and generous ladies. Love 'em. I really hope to see the $50,000 fulfilled within the 8 days left on the Kickstarter as of this post, so everything can come full circle for them. You can claim some fantastically cute and/or tasty items based on the donation amount.

Whether one person reads this post and donates or 100 do every bit really does help and the more word spread the better in these last days. Need I remind you about Kickstarter? If you don't get the pledged amount you get nada, so let's bulk up those numbers! I mean in all honest who does not like pie or cupcakes or cocktails or popcorn (yes, they do popcorn too!) cool portraits in crayon or all of the above?

#Chocabaret's Debut!

On Sunday afternoon in Chelsea at the Metropolitan Room the first thing you'd see when looking at Jackie "The Singing Chef" Gordon's Chocabaret event listing is the notation in bold, white letters: SOLD OUT.

You may remember my post earlier this year about Jackie's Kickstarter campaign to fund Chocabaret. I tried several chocolate recipes of hers that came out dynamite and, like many, was excited to contribute in some way to Jackie's dream. Well, the Kickstarter was fully funded with a few days to spare before it ended and garnered a bit more money for Jackie to make a gorgeous chocolate (not real chocolate) necklace to wear for the debut of Chocabaret. The money was raised. Plans were set. Chocolate sorted. It was time.

Sold Out doesn't quite capture the packed audience at the Metropolitan Room. There were foodies, food bloggers, chocolate enthusiasts, friends and family of Jackie's. But there were also those who didn't know about Chocabaret and came to it by way of a friend who donated to the Kickstarter campaign and were unable to make it. I spoke to one audience member who got his seats from a friend in Alabama who donated and couldn't make it out to NYC. "I heard there was chocolate and singing and I was down," he said. Another audience member with a big smile on her face when I spoke with her after the show was gushing about Jackie non-stop. "She's so lively. It was so much fun!" She'd gotten tickets from a friend in Pittsburgh who donated to Kickstarter but also wasn't able to make it.

I saw how much went into Jackie's preparation. The woman is a powerhouse. I see where she gets it too, her mom Bernice is just fantastic. She knew where everything was, what needed to be done, and was the calming force while we got things set up.

Then, the lights go out. The stage is lit. Drinks have been delivered. Time for Jackie's entrance. The velvet curtain separating the performance space from the bar opened and Jackie sauntered in wearing a kind of lab coat with Divalicious Chocolates logo on her pocket. She welcomed everyone. The piano accompaniment played. Warming the crowd up Jackie made some jokes, thanked her "chums" (new ones and old ones), and then the reveal! A gorgeous strapless gown with the chocolate necklace draped over. She was chocolate head-to-toe but not in the literal sense. Though when Jackie noted this she got some hoots and hollers in the positive for wearing chocolate while singing. A saucy crowd? Of course, which also reflected their enthusiasm.

Chocabaret is not just chocolate and singing. It's a full immersion of the senses. It's a chocolate tasting. Getting educated on the aspects of chocolate. It's interactive with you and Jackie (who has owned her own chocolate shops and bakeries not just here but overseas). It's a full on blow-your-mind kind of show that showcases the chocolatiers that have supplied items as well as what you're able to taste on your palate.

The show was carefully planned out. Cocoa beans available for you to know the origins of your chocolate. Nibbling chocolates (milk and dark) at each table to satisfy you before the show began. Saltines to clean the palate. Seltzer on hand to cleanse. And cards from donating chocolate companies as well as program and flavor wheel. A lot to take in but don't worry Jackie will be guiding you through the process.

There's a lot to considering an item good chocolate. Some may like it sweet, some may like it bitter, some may like additions to their chocolates. If so, Jackie had you covered on all bases. White chocolate? Yes! And you know what if it has cocoa bean/butter in it it can be considered chocolate. Learned that from Jackie. The higher the percentage the more actual chocolate and less of everything else in your bar. Maybe you'd like some liqueur in yours? Or some nuts on top? Maybe some edible gold dusting? Done, done, and done.One of my faves was the Elvis skull filled chocolate with a hint of caramel and banana from Fika Choklad and the milk chocolate and toasted white chocolate from Fruition Chocolate. In addition to Jackie's chocolate bark with dark chocolate drizzle and sesame seeds giving a fantastic crunch. Yes, yes, and yes to all. I like my chocolate sweet, yup, I do.

Now it's time to open your box and let the tasting begin. Nine chocolates not including a tenth to take home. Your tasting started with white and milk and got progressively darker, in chocolate. Your box encompassed items from Fruition Chocolate, Oliver Kita Chocolates, Roni-Sue Chocolate (her new storefront on Forsyth St. just opened!), Fika Choklad, Bond Street Chocolate, Raaka Chocolate, Hudson Chocolate, Lagusta's Luscious, Fine and Raw Chocolate, and an additional one (Jackie's own bark) for you to take home if you're a bit overwhelmed.

Jackie guided you through every morsel with a song for each of the nine chocolates. The smooth and warm tone of Jackie's voice was enough to ease you into and out of your tasting in preparation for the next bite. Sweet and slow songs that may make you tear up thinking of home or a catchy tune she came up with for "percentages" in chocolate to a deeply felt rendition with so much soul you couldn't help but clap wildly. The music helped to invoke the feeling and background of each chocolate and enlivened the experience for many who may just like eating chocolate but aren't experiencing it.

Through it all Jackie kept a cool demeanor and the audience laughing and calm while ensuring everyone was all set. As things got straightened out and audience members sated the show did not stop, it did not lose momentum, and Jackie kept a smile on everyone's face. How could you not with that voice and chocolate in front of you?

In the end the crowd was amped up. Not just because of the chocolate but because of the overall entertainment. As Jackie thanked those who supported her and Chocabaret she got teary-eyed and you couldn't help get teary-eyed to see a dream realized and the appreciation and happiness it brought the crowd. Food continues to bring people together and when you have someone as knowledgeable and talented as Jackie Gordon to further promote it you'll leave with a smile on your face, and a high, from sugar and life.