Restaurants »The Crumpet Shop

Screen-Shot-2013-06-02-at-7.34.14-PMAt The Pike Place Market

Friend Shaun made one important recommendation when we announced our move to Seattle – get a crumpet at The Crumpet Shop.

The charming small bakery, prominently located in the Pike Place Market serves the British classic muffin in a variety of ways: buttered, jammed, with eggs, topped with cheese…

I decided to have my first as simple as possible with just butter and honey while Jim went for it with an impressive creation of maple butter, walnut, cream cheese.

While space is tight, crowds ebb and flow. They also serve scones and coffee.

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Posted on June 1, 2013

Desserts »Ovenly

31 Greenpoint Ave

Ovenly has been selling their baked goods around town at various locations for some time now but only just opened their own brick and mortar.

I was thrilled to find it open early (at 7) making it a viable option for getting a yummy breakfast treat when Van awakes.

The variety of breads, muffins and scones – some right out of the oven – is impressive and features inteeguing flavors like mustard cheddar (scones), jelly donut (muffins) and espresso cookies.

We tried to two former as well as a chocolate banana muffin and loved them all.

It’s a simple, airy space slightly off the beaten path with only one fault – no iced coffees to wash it all down.

So happy they’ve opened and plan on making then part of a new morning ritual.

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Posted on June 1, 2012

Desserts,Drinks »Bouchon Bakery


One Rockefeller Plaza

Creamy lattes and sweet macaroons the size of sand dollars; there’s much to love about the popular Thomas Keller Bouchon Bakery.

The environment is all about civility and the baked goods taste fresh and delicious so you don’t even mind walking out thirteen dollars poorer.

We tried the vanilla and passion fruit macaroons- both recommended.

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Posted on March 20, 2012

Desserts »Charlotte Patisserie

20111104-113149.jpg596 Manhattan Avenue Brooklyn

While Greenpoint certainly isn’t lacking for polish desserts, the recently opened Charlotte Patisserie gives us a taste of French pastries.

We sampled an chocolate covered tiramisu, a tiny cupcake, and and honey and cream puff. The tiramisu was the winner, creamy, decadent and just the right size for having your dessert without gluttony.

The place is friendly with a cute hipster staff and a baker who is very proud of his goods. A nice addition to the neighborhood (certainly beats the Allstate office).

Cash only for now. No word yet on how the coffee is but I’ll try it soon.

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Posted on November 7, 2011

Desserts »Little Oven

12-07 Jackson Avenue, Queens

Oh, the macaroons at Little Oven are good. Really good. So good I almost forgot about that time I trekked up there with a 20 lb baby on me only to find it closed during their listed hours.

The flavors are creative – the Earl Grey and seasonal Spiced Pear were especially notable. The cookie is great but it’s the inside that counts and there’s is rich and wonderful.

Their pastries and cakes look equally yummy.

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Posted on October 7, 2011

Desserts »Milk and Cookies

19 Commerce St

The aptly named West Village bakery Milk and Cookies offers a variety of the home made goodies to sample. Jim brought home half a dozen for a dinner night with friends.

Of the bunch I was partial to the snickerdoodle – which was wonderfully thick and soft – just the way I like sugar cookies to be (but they are so often hard and thin!).

Also of note was the salty oatmeal. The chocolate chip and peanut butter were good too, but rank somewhere in the middle city wide (City Bakery and Momofuku are tough competition).

Jim praises their helpful and friendly staff. I’d love to try their dry cookie mixes some day soon.

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Posted on January 22, 2011

Desserts »Sweet Potato Pie

from Blue Stove

When I inquired about this beautiful looking pie at Blue Stove, the shop girl’s eyes lit up – “That” she beamed “is a sweet potato pie, and if you’ve never had one (I hadn’t) you don’t know what you’re missing”.

She claimed it to be the bakery’s best – high praise for a place that continually churns out the city’s best pies.

I was happy to find that praise wasn’t misdirected though. It’s a taste hard to explain – like an earthier pumpkin pie with maybe just maybe the slightest hint of citrus?

It was delicious for sure – those Southerns know their stuff when it comes to comforting sweets. I am curious to make my own the next time pie baking calls. Any good recipes are welcome.

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Posted on January 18, 2011

Desserts »Pretzel Croissant

From City Bakery

Oh, City Bakery is there anything you can’t do? Your cookies are a baking delight, your hot chocolate is borderline insane and now you introduce me to the pretzel croissant.

It’s as tasty as it is pretty (just look at that golden brown crust, those swirls of soft white center…) These were made even better by the fact that Shaun got them for free.

It’s an insiders trick I’ve never took advantage of myself – but often, if you stop by near closing time – complimentary left over goodies might be offered.

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Posted on January 13, 2011

Desserts »Gift Box Cake

at De Robertis, 176 1st Avenue

Leave it to the over hundred year old East Village bakery De Robertis to make my New Years just a little bit sweeter. This adorable gift box cake with chocolate ganache, a marzipan bright red bow, chocolate mousse, and raspberry filling was superbly delicious without being overly sweet or rich. I love that this corner of Old New York is still alive and well and making goodies that make my belly smile.

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Posted on January 9, 2011

Desserts »Cupcakeland

390 Metropolitan Avenue, Williamsburg, Brooklyn

For such a cheery place: pink exterior, quirky paintings on the windows, and an adorable name like Cupcakeland, I was expecting service with a big old goofy smile. Instead we were surprised with an unexpected aloofness, teetering on rudeness but, what difference does it make if the cupcakes are good, right?

Well, they are quite good and most importantly, not dry – which is often the biggest flaw of a cupcake. I had the coconut with creamy, tangy icing, Jim the cookie. The selection is great – from plain vanilla or chocolate to red velvet, peppermint ganache and carrot. Everyone will find something to take home in a little pink box.

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Posted on December 22, 2010

Desserts »Handmade Snoballs

From Sage General Store, 24-20 Jackson Ave, Long Island City

On my way to the doctor, taking the awkward and on this day, cold outdoor transfer to the 7 train, I often wonder about the adorably hip, quaint Sage General Store, a new-ish shop that reeks of old timey goodness but with a staff of tattooed transplants serving mouth watering comfort foods.

Since yesterday was the first snow (OK, so it didn’t accumulate, but there were flakes) I was even more tempted by the handmade snoballs in the window (choice pink or white) and just had to take one home to split with Jim for dessert.

It’s a hefty dense white cake (probably made denser by my putting it in the fridge) with sugary, yummy frosting both in and outside and big chunks of coconut. To compare with the store bought, processed version is unfair. It’s an entirely different beast – and, for the record, I still have a soft spot for that weird Hostess puck, at least in memory since I haven’t had one in a while, but I do know that it is nowhere near as tasty as this hand made decadence.

The store features all sorts of sweet and savory goodies and will now be the highlight of that train route for me, beating out the one hundred steps it takes to get to the train.

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Posted on December 7, 2010

Desserts »Birdbath Cookies

223 1st Ave, 145 7th Ave, 160 Prince St, 200 Church St, and in the New Museum

The taste duo of chewy and crisp is found perfectly, I believe, in cookies, and only in a few cookies made in some magical way I can’t replicate at that. Birdbath, a neighborhood green bakery, from the people who run City Bakery delivers an array of awesome cookies. Jim picked up a variety from the west village location (there are several throughout the city) and I have to put my vote in for the classic chocolate chip as the favorite (though the dark chocolate with white chocolate chips was not far behind).

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Posted on November 19, 2010

Desserts »Cat Head Cupcakes from Ruthy’s Bakery

75 9th Avenue

If you really want to take your party to the next level, bust out a small army of cat head cupcakes! Shaun was awesome enough to pick these up from Ruthy’s – the bakery with all the wild cookie monster cakes at Chelsea Market. As a lover of icing and cats, there really is nothing better than this, though even me, with a monster sweet tooth had to eat one in two sittings. The head is full of an icing/cake mixture that is not for the faint of heart when it comes to sugar rushes. Seriously, these were the coolest party surprise ever. Ruthy’s can make custom ones to bring delight to your loved ones too even if they’re not cat ladies.

Click here for the rest of Cat Head Cupcakes from Ruthy’s Bakery

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Posted on August 29, 2010

Desserts »Duck and Bunny: A Snuggery

312 Wickenden St, Providence RI

If you find yourself as I was, craving a cupcake in the middle of the day in Providence, there’s no need to worry. Not only will you find a cupcake at the adorable Duck and Bunny, but you’ll find a great buttermilk honey cupcake with Lavender Icing. Nutella sandwiched between two peanut butter cookies was Jim’s preferred indulgence and the modern wonderland in black and white decorated spot also boasted some pretty good coffee and a relaxing back garden.

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Posted on August 8, 2010

Drinks »Maple Cream Soda

from Radish, 158 Bedford Ave, Brooklyn

Radish is a fairly new charming Neo-olde-timey food store that popped up pretty quickly in the old home of no good cupcakes, Pennylicks. The comforting space features a really nice staff, lots of local imported food specialities and home made take home foods like meatballs and pasta salads. However I was drawn in by a sign that read “Maple Cream Soda”. Just the idea was mesmerizing, and the reality is quite delicious. They use soda from their own tap and the cream is a handmade mixture that’s sweet and thick. It’s like a newfangled egg cream and worth a visit to try.

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Posted on June 13, 2010

Desserts »Crack Pie

from Momofuku Milk Bar, 207 2nd Avenue

As you can see, the infamous Crack Pie from Momofuku Milk is like crack not only humans but apparently cats as well. I had a hard time getting a shot of the gooey, indescribably yummy dessert without Tiptoe interfering with a sniff (she likes to just smell, not eat human food).

Of course, if she had eaten it, she would have known the glories of what can be done with butter, sugar, and eggs assembled in the most ingenious of ways.

Click here for the rest of Crack Pie

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Posted on February 14, 2010

Drinks »Cereal Milk

from Momofuku Milk Bar, 207 2nd Avenue

My cat Tiptoe not only found the delectable crack pie from Momofuku totally irresistible, she was unable to keep away from their tasty Cereal Milk.

We wondered how it was made and according to this interview with inventive pastry chef, Christina Tosi:
“We take corn flakes and toast them and steep them in milk, strain them, and then there’s a very small portion of sugar and salt just to balance it a little bit.”

Click here for the rest of Cereal Milk

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Posted on February 14, 2010