When it runs down your chin, you know it’s a VALOMILK
It’s a weird tagline, I’ll admit, but the taste is pretty awesome. The insides are actually a liquidy, sugary marshmallow (as you can kind of see from my photo). It’s the same recipe that's been used since the company (the same family still runs things today) began making penny candy in the 1920’s.
I had my very first cup today, and that may not be such a bad thing. If these were at the ready when I was growing up with a massive sweet tooth, I probably wouldn’t have any teeth left.
73 West Houston, 81st St and 1st Ave, or Amsterdam Ave between 78th & 79th
Emack and Bolio’s laid back crunchiness feels a bit out of place in the city, so it makes sense it doesn’t originate here. I would have guessed Vermont with its zany names like Trippin on Espresso and Deep Purple Cow, the kindly service from the friendly lesbian behind the counter, and the clientele of vaguely hippie unemployed layabouts with lap tops. Ends up, it began in Boston, so I was pretty close.
There are three locations in the city and the menu shifts often, so I’d like to stop by again soon to try other flavors. The one I got was called Cosmic Crunch (Vanilla ice cream, caramel swirl, chocolate chips, walnuts, and cookies) and it was good in flavor, but surprised me with it’s lack of crunch. The cookies were more like soft lady fingers (the dessert not the human body part) which took me aback.
However, the ice cream itself was very creamy and not too sickly sweet, so I think if I tried a flavor more to my liking such as Butterscotch Toasted Coconut (Butterscotch ice cream with toasted coconut mixed in) I feel I’d be a bit more in love with them.
I’ve had my share of samples of expensive chocolate bars, the luxury item no economic downturn can seem to halt the production of, but rarely (with my less that discerning taste buds) can I say that they are worth the price… until now. Vosges has many unusual flavors, but the Mo's Bacon Bar was the most tempting for me, and finally, I broke down and bought one at Whole Foods.
A square each in hand, Jim and I took our first bite and were almost left speechless. Before you shun the odd pairing, as Katrina
Markoff points out on the back of the bar,"I began experimenting with bacon and chocolate at the tender age of 6, while eating chocolate chip pancakes drenched in Aunt Jemima syrup... beside lay 3 strips of sizzlin' bacon.. I combined the two"
It’s one of those ingenious sweet and salty mixes make eating even more exciting. It’s also not one of those chocolates that claim to have a flavor, but barely register as that actual taste. You can definitely taste the bacon, and it is real, smoky, apple wood bacon.
Available at Whole Foods and the Vosges boutiques, this bar of greatness will cost you eight dollars, but you can make it last for days. It’s just too sensational and rich to eat more than a square at a time.
One of the very best treats I have tasted all year.
I was going to make a batch of palmiers. I have the pastry dough sitting in my freezer... but it’s hot... I’ve been busy and I happened to walk into Ceci Cela and found a huge, perfect, already made one staring me in the face.
Sure, at $2.50 it cost as much as it would to make twelve or so by hand, but I have to admit, I just can’t make them this good. Flaky and sticky, this cookie alone is worth a visit to the Soho pastry super star bakery.
If you’re feeling less lazy than myself and want to make your own, this is a good recipe.
Lately I’ve been craving butterscotch. It’s weird. I wasn’t even sure what it was made from until I did a little research for you, my readers. My findings aren’t too thrilling (although I did learn there is a beatbox/America’s Got Talent performer that goes by the name Butterscotch) the pudding is made of just sugar syrup, butter, cream, and vanilla–no scotch–but the resulting taste is thrilling indeed.
I finally realized why this strange hunger has grown inside of me like gremlin. It began back in April when we went to the Saugerties Lighthouse and ate at the nearby (fantastic) Miss Lucy's. We shared an amazing butterscotch brulee and the memory of that dessert has left a lonely space in my tummy.
I can’t claim this My-T-Fine brand boxed powder mix quite compares to the farm fresh homemade version at Miss Lucy's but, aside from delighting me with its retro packaging, it was a snap to make and the results were satisfyingly tasty. A Cool Whip pairing is a must.
Cotton candy, candy floss, fairy floss.. where ever you call it, we all know it as the irresistible pastel treat at ballgames, fairs, circuses, and amusement parks. It’s almost as close to magic as food can get, the way it transforms in the mouth.
But don’t partake in the sweet goody too often. Aside from pure sugar, I learned the food coloring used in the pink and yellow varieties, tartrazine can cause (in large doses): lower intelligence and hyperactivity! It’s advised that from now on you might want to stick to the blue colored ones, even if it dyes your mouth.
After a long day of zoo, nothing looked better than the ices people were enjoying on the streets. We found a vendor right outside the park who offered coco (coconut), cherry, mango, and passionfruit.
For a dollar, I got a pretty big helping of passionfruit and I have to say I was blown away by how good it tasted. No syrupy phoniness here, only absolute refreshment that genuinely tasted like fruit. And, did I mention? A dollar! A dollar! In a world with a small scoop of gelato costs nearly five, it was one of the best deals in the five boroughs.
One of the best perfect summer moments of 2008 so far.
When Grom, an Italian gelato chain opened its first shop in New York on the Upper West Side, people went nuts. Lines were long and the reviews were glowing. The hype has died down a bit, and you can now easily stroll into their second location on Bleecker right next to Father Demo Square, an ideal place to stop and enjoy your melting gelato and eaves drop on neighboring conversations.
I ordered a small Torroncino, which cost nearly $5. I know, it's just the way of the world right now. I have to learn to understand that that's what I'm going to have to pay for all-the-rage gelato. Still, I would have liked a bit more nougat (like the flavor promised) and a bit less nuts. The gelato is buttery and creamy and very sweet–the perfect getting out early from work indulgence. Next time I'll try the Venezuelan chocolate chip flavor.
You know those places, the seasonal retro ice cream stands that give short pants, pony tailed teenage girls their pocket money for the summer, scattered throughout this great country on the side of the road. If you’re like me you also have a favorite one, one you visit as a tradition every summer. Our is in Lake George, and as I write this I am preparing for our annual visit to Martha’s Dandee Creme and Motel.
We have been making this vintage homage to soft serve and marshmallow toppings our last stop before heading back into the city for several years now. True, it has been bought more recently by the Six Flags conglomerate across the street, but it retains most of it’s charm and quality. Plus it’s still got it’s huge rooster sign out front, in the great tradition of large, eye catching roadside sign-age.
We tend to share mint chocolate chip sundaes or thick milk shakes and are often entertained my little kids eating cones larger than their heads.
I suggest that you go to P*ong, just not in the way I experienced it. We splurged (really splurged–this meal ended up being probably the most expensive since Tailor) on the tasting menu and found that while much of it was good, it was just too sweet over all and we were only really wowed by a few dishes (the menu changes frequently). For the price, there are better spots to spend your time (ten courses takes a while) and money.
One of the reasons the bill can climb is the $14 cocktails (the beer menu is limited, you're encouraged to go with the premium cocktails). For that price, make sure you order wisely. We found the Citrus Gin Fizz and the Caipirimansi to be (again) too sweet. But the Southern Beauty and the Bangkok Margarita were excellent. I also tried the Vegetarian, which included carrot juice and was like a nice subtly sweet Bloody Mary, though not quite as good as the Margarita and the Southern Beauty.
Each dish, savory ones included, has a sweet component, like the excellent peeky toe crab salad, which is served with green apple mousse; on the subway ride home, we felt a bit like we had eaten too many Good and Plentys instead of a proper dinner.
Not surprising, P*ong excels at desserts. I would absolutely recommend you go and indulge in the $30 dessert-only tasting menu. It changes and it's updated often, so I can’t tell you for sure what you’ll get, but the sweet stuff is where chef, Pichet Ong shines.
