Category

225 E 60th Street, New York City, NY 10022. (212) 838-3531

http://www.serendipity3.com/

During my East Coast Trip in May, I managed to visit Serendipity 3 to try their world famous frrrozen hot chocolate. I had first heard about this place a few years ago in the movie “Serendipity” and I had wanted to try it out since then.

This is the table where Kate Beckinsale and John Cusack sat at (or at least that’s what I was told by the waiter).

We stopped by after watching the Broadway play “Mary Poppins” so it was a little late. They were only serving desserts and drinks instead of their full menu (salads, soups, sandwiches, crepes, pastas, etc.) at that time.

I ordered the Peanut Butter Frrrozen Hot Chocolate ($9) and it was delicious! It was cold and smooth. I could definitely taste the peanut butter, but it wasn’t chunky at all.

My colleague ordered the Dark Double Devil Mousse ($8).

One treat that I’ll probably never be fortunate enough to have is their Golden Opulence Sundae. It holds the Guinness World Record for being the most expensive sundae… $1000!!! This requires a 48 hour notice. Why is it so incredibly expensive? It’s “made with 5 scoops of the richest Tahitian vanilla bean ice cream infused with Madagascar vanilla and covered in 23K edible gold leaf, the sundae is drizzled with the world’s most expensive chocolate, Amedei Porceleana, and covered with chunks of rare Chuao chocolate, which is from cocoa beans harvested by the Caribbean Sea on Venezuela’s coast. The masterpiece is suffused with exotic candied fruits from Paris, gold dragets, truffles and Marzipan Cherries. It is topped with a tiny glass bowl of Grand Passion Caviar, an exclusive dessert caviar, made of salt-free American Golden caviar, known for its sparkling golden color. It’s sweetened and infused with fresh passion fruit, orange and Armagnac. The sundae is served in a baccarat Harcourt crystal goblet with an 18K gold spoon to partake in the indulgence served with a petite mother of pearl spoon and topped with a gilded sugar flower by Ron Ben-Israel.” If anyone has the money for this, please invite me along… =)

This is just a fun place to enjoy a sweet treat. The servings are large enough for two to share. They also have a little shop where you can buy books, candy, and other knick knacks…

Taste: 10/10
Presentation: 5/5
Service/Atmosphere: 4/5
Total: 19/20

South Street Seaport, Pier 17, 3rd Floor, New York

http://www.nathansfamous.com/

Dave says, “As an aspiring Kobayashi wannabe, I just had to try out a Nathan’s hot dog while I had the opportunity. Just got a basic Hot Dog and Fries. The fries weren’t anything special, but I did enjoy the hot dog. Nathan’s hot dogs are a little different than the run-of-the-mill dog because of their outer skin (I’m food channel edumacated). When you bite into them, they have a bit more of a snap to them. Overall, a good dog, but nothing I’d go out of my way to get.”

Well, I liked the thick crinkle cut fries. I prefer those to the skinny shoestring fries. I didn’t try the hot dog though.

I thought it would be okay to do a review on this chain because it’s an east coast chain, but I found out that you can try it in San Diego!  The website says they have a location at North County Mall in Escondido.

Taste: 7/10

http://www.fairwaymarket.com/

When I’m travelling, I love visiting different markets and grocery stores to see what kind of selection other cities get. I found heaven at Fairway Market in NYC. There are a few of these markets in the city and one branch even has a gourmet cafe and steakhouse. Fairway seems like a cross between Henry’s and Whole Foods. Tons of really fresh produce mixed with a huge assortment of prepared and gourmet items. I wished that I’d had a kitchen to use so that I could have shopped and cooked! I am obsessed with olives and cheese so I literally gasped in delight when I saw this:

There were olives as far as the eye could see, every variety and flavor imaginable. It was like being a kid in a candy store! I thought it couldn’t get better but then I saw this:

Fairway offers something like 300 cheeses! The aroma in this corner of the market was amazing. I stood around and tasted cheese for at least 20 minutes. The only drawback about Fairway and other markets in New York is that that liquor and wine are not allowed to be sold in grocery stores so you can’t buy a nice bottle to go with your olives and cheese. Luckily, there always seemed to be a wine store right across the street from every market!

37 E. 50th St., New York, NY 10022. (212) 750-2233. http://www.maloneyandporcelli.com

I recently returned from a long overdue trip to New York and there just weren’t enough meals in the day to eat everything I had on my list. I did manage to fit in quite a bit though and have lots of photos to share but here’s the best thing I ate that week:

I couldn’t take the picture fast enough before my dining companions and I fell upon this giant hunk of meat like hungry cavemen but holy heart disease - this was the most delicious thing I’ve eaten in recent memory. Maloney’s signature dish, the Crackling Pork Shank, starts with two pound-plus pork shank that is cooked very slowly, confit-style in lard, until the meat is meltingly tender. The whole shank then gets deep fried so that the skin becomes shatteringly crisp. It’s served with spicy applesauce and poppy seed-sprinkled sauerkraut. The dish should be illegal but it was so good! I’ve tracked down the recipe in case anyone wants to attempt to make something that calls for 4 pounds of lard. (If you do, let me know!)