Vive la Crêpe!!!

Oftentimes people ask us, "Why do you take pictures of your food?". Well, why wouldn't you want to remember this for the rest of your life?

Crêpes remind me of those carefree, poor-student days of Paris (before the night spent in the airport). It's just so hard to find a Crêpe that comes close to the French, and I don't think this is quite it either.

But, a hot crisp crêpe with dark chocolate, clementines, coconut, and vanilla ice cream? With this, even back to back 70 hour work weeks can't keep you down. So far...

But! O! My! What amazing vanilla ice cream!



Vive la Crêpe!
51 Spring Street
b/t Lafayette & Mulberry

In the WOOOORLD!!!

Quite the haughty, egoistic cafe name if you ask us. Improbable? Impossible! Which is exactly why we just had to try it. And get everyone else to try it too.

How can you so easily claim to have The Best Chocolate Cake IN THE WORLD? Well, it got us to buy a whole cake. So, I guess the name is working for it somehow. Best in the world? Not likely. But, we are chocolate fiends nevertheless. The menu's selection is directly proportionate to the size of the cafe. This slip of a hallway/shop pretty much serves just the one type of cake and the typical coffee/tea fare.

Try it out and let us know where you rate it!
Oh yeah, and HB to July! Thank you for the excuse to purchase a WHOLE cake.


The Best Chocolate Cake in the World
55A Spring Street
b/t Lafayette St & Mulberry St

La Crêpe Parisienne

Can't you just tell from the picture?

La Crêpe Parisienne
51 Spring St
b/t Lafayette St. & Mulberry St.

Lombardi's

A series of lucky and unlucky events occurred during our annual Lunar New Year celebration. Ultimately, we look back on it as more of a win-win situation-- Win for Grandma who doesn't have to cook and happens to LOVE pizza, Win for us who have been salivating over Lombardi's pizza. As we checked out the line snaking out the door and winter vestibule, we thanked the Pizza Gods that we have the option of Take-Out.

Just a week after having tried Frank Pepe's pizza, we attempted to dissect each pizza and compare. Yet, it's much harder when you get different toppings. The sparse sausage? Come on, Mr. Lombardi! Is there some sort of sausage drought?? Those hunks of meat are so good-- no need to be so stingy! Is that really enough fresh mozzarella? J, who doesn't even like cheese outside of pizza, would say outright, "No!". And, we would have to agree.

The WILD mushroom pizza was much more populated-- guess that's the way of the fungi. What can we say, though? We're suckers for WILD mushrooms.

Verdict? Great, fresh, tasty toppings. Supple crust (did we just type that?). But straight up, we've got to say, "More cheese please!". Lombardi's has been just a hop & skip (forget the jump) away from our Gran's apartment for the past 100+ years. OK, maybe not that long. But why has it taken us so long to try it? It's mind-boggling really.


Lombardi's
32 Spring Street
@ Mott Street

des macarons français. français?

When the Lunar New Year lies on Valentine's Day, one has the opportunity to choose from a remarkably larger pool of reasons to convince oneself and family to purchase sweets while in NY. However, we are who we are, and we need no convincing.

Having passed this wee shop at least 15 times in the span of two days, hearing the loud cries from the brightly colored confections, we finally found a chance to squish enter into the shop. After some confusion about the name of the store (the outdoor signage boasts "Organic Ice Cream", yet the name on the box suggests a different title) and pricing (we combine our left brain power to take on simple mathematics, but it's infinitely harder to complete a transaction when the cashier can't do the same), we finally settled on a sampler box of macarons. Sorry! With all the previous confusion, we couldn't even remember the 13 flavors ordered even as we stepped out the door.

Some of the flavors were Litchi Rose, Lavender Chocolate, Lemon, Pistachio, Guava, and Espresso. A lot of the flavors tasted true to name, but there were some we couldn't quite pinpoint, and then there was the Espresso, which tasted nothing like it. If you're in the neighborhood and feelin' for a macaron, definitely check this place out for it's unique flavors. But, you should know-- It's not otherworldly.


J'Chanceux Macaron (or Organic Ice Cream Factory?)
202A Mott Street
(b/t Kenmare St & Spring St)

Village Tart

Having heard various things about this new dig in Nolita, we purchased some nibbles to try back home. When asked, "What's recommended?", the girl behind the counter pointed to the tart pictured above. Though it looks like tomato sauce on a thick crust, dusted with slivered almonds, it's in actuality a grapefruit tart and quite delicious. The crust is thick, hovering between a cake and tart crust, and the grapefruit is just a bit on the tarty side.

To the left is their version of the Alfajores and mini Olive Oil Madeleines. We don't know what the seemingly current Olive Oil craze is, but while one of us is OK with the craze, the other is not so crazy. The Alfajores is made up of two buttery, caramel cookies sandwiching caramel. It's completely different from those KM brought back from Argentina. Not knowing what's authentic, it was completely enjoyable nonetheless. C'mon! Where can you go wrong with flakey cookies and caramel?

This place also serves meals and many other desserts. It's overwhelming, but we're sure after the first visit, you'll have your tasting system down pat.

Rainbow Cookie maker

Ferrara has dressed up for V-day!
It's not very often I get to visit Ferrara, and that's quite unfortunate since they make my FAVORITE RAINBOW COOKIE of all time. I've tried many brands, and though several of them are good in their own sense, no one comes close to making them in that perfect proportion that Ferrara seems to have mastered.

It was C's birthday night, and I hadn't had any dinner (unless you count those 2 curly fries!). Luckily, I caught a ride home with KS, and it just so happened that Ferrara was on the way - not to mention we got an open parking spot right in front (obviously I wasn't the one driving T_T). I walked outta there with a pound of rainbow cookies and some mini-pastries (eclairs, mousse cakes, cannoli) to top it off. My midnight snack (aka dinner) was heavenly.



Ferrara Bakery & Cafe
195 Grand Street
(btwn Mulberry & Mott St)

O_O

We love hot chocolate. No. We luuuuuuurve hot chocolate. So, to become A Memorable Hot Chocolate on our List, that is an accomplishment worthy of a GOLD MEDAL indeed. I'm not sure if it's the rich consistency, the balance of bitter and sweetness, the desserts that go O' So Swell beside it, the cozy comfort as you sip, or just the fact that the waitress remembers my patronage from more than a year ago. But, ORO is one place recommended to all with no reservations. That's right. Straight Up.

The Top Three Late-Night Go-To Confections after a long, cold walk from the LES in NYC:

1. Hot Chocolate
2. Madeleines, &
3. Tomato soup

ORO does them all. And, does them swell.


ORO Bakery & Bar
375 Broome Street
b/t Mulberry & Mott