Something Extraordinary...(San Diego, Winter 2011)

 Whilst at home in San Diego over my winter break, I decided to have a lunch date with my beloved Thanh. We ended our date with dessert, at the infamous Extraordinary Desserts!

We were so full from our lunch at Lotus Thai, we could not bear the idea of two desserts, so we shared one!

And boy was that a good choice!

We shared the Blood Orange Ricotta Torte!

Part of the reason Extraordinary Desserts is so amazing is because of the presentation.

I mean, look at it!

The cake was moist, the frosting was perfectly whipped, not too heavy not too light. The blood orange added a zing to the sweetness. Perfect choice for something that won't make you feel like you will keel over afterwards!

Overall:

Perfect. Extraordinary Desserts never lets me down!

Check our their website, they were featured on Food Network too!

Website:

http://www.extraordinarydesserts.com/

Junior's! February 2011

One cold night in February, 3 friends ventured to Times Square. 
We were hungry.
We decided on Junior's.


Alex had the pastrami sandwich (below).
He loved it. It was finger lickn' good.

I had the Matzo Ball Soup.

It was wonderful. 

I wanted veggies.

So I got a side of veggies.

The main reason why we went:

THE CHEESECAKE.

Stacy and I shared the original. 

It was breathtaking.

Alex had the strawberry. Intense.

Overall:

Very touristy. 

With touristy prices.

BUT

The cheesecake was PERFECT.

And that's saying a lot. 

Website:

http://www.juniorscheesecake.com/ 

Restaurant Week February 2011!

 

I went to Mezzogiorno with Emma, one of my best friends! 

We wanted to experience restaurant week in NYC! 

Cute place in Soho! 

 

We started with the
Polpettine di melanzane al caprino con insalatina di campo
eggplant croquettes with goat cheese and field greens

GREAT CHOICE!!

Main Course:

We both ordered the
Fiocchetti ai tre formaggi e pera
small pasta pouches filled with cheese and pear (below)

AMAZING!!! LIFE CHANGING!!! 

 

 For dessert, I opted for the Italian Cheesecake. 

Not the best, sadly. It was almost too ricotta-y. I should have chosen something else. By this time, it was too much cheese throughout the dinner. Oh well!

         

OVERALL:

I would give Mezzogiorno a 7/10. 

The main course was the best part!

Website:

http://www.mezzogiorno.com/index.html

Peppermint Bark for the Holidays!

This is one of the easiest recipes in the world and a great gift idea!

1 Bag of Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

2 Bags of White Chocolate Chips

Peppermint Extract

Candy Canes Ground Up

Recipe:

Melt Chocolate in microwave or on the stove top.

Spread it thin along a big cookie sheet.

Put in freezer for 10 min or fridge for 30.

Melt white chocolate in microwave or stove top.

Add in a tiny bit of peppermint extract to the melted white chocolate.

Spread on top of hardened chocolate.

Sprinkle candy canes on top.

Put in fridge over night.

Break into pieces!

Now, in pictures:

What? MORE Cupcakes?!

So it is pretty obvious that I love dessert and even more obvious I love cupcakes.

So...

Here are some more!

First up to bat...

Baked By Melissa = adorable tiny filled cupcakes!

We found the tiny stand on Spring Street but the main shop is on 14th St. in Union Square.

My friend Emma and I devoured them within 45 seconds.

They have fun flavors like mint grasshopper, chocolate chip cookie pancake, and red velvet.

It was $5.00 for 6 little ones. Not the best deal.

Overall:

These were too small to really feel satisfied.

BUT, they were too cute.

Website:

bakedbymelissa.com

NEXT!

Butter Lane!

HUGE UPGRADE FROM THE ABOVE!

(And from Magnolia, jus' sayin'!)

Butter Lane is located on 7th Street near Ave A.
I went on a nice walk with my friend Stacy one night and we made a stop on our way home!

On the left, chocolate cake with BURBON VANILLA frosting- AMAZING

On the right, chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting-AMAZING!

Both had moist cake, they were out of vanilla cake so I did double chocolate.

The frosting was flavorful, rich, creamy, sinful!

It was also $2.00 a cupcake day. Win!

Overall:

Perfect cupcakes!

Website:

butterlane.com

DRUMROLL PLEASE

CRUMBS!!!

Crumbs cupcakes are fantastic!

There is a rivalry between Crumbs and Magnolia, and I still have not decided which side I am on. 

Moist cake, melt in your mouth frosting, very crave-able!

I had the one on the very left, my friends had the other ones!

It was basic vanilla/vanilla, and I was very happy!

There are a lot of fun crazy flavors to try, but I am a traditional when it comes to some desserts!

I went to the one on 8th Street in Greenwich Village.

Overall:

Another great cupcake! Bigger in size than both above!

Website:

www.crumbs.com

Dessert! (Mid October 2010)

So my best friend Katie came to visit me in NYC! 

During our travels, we visited many dessert spots, but the following were documented.

Our mutual friend Alex was with us during most of our adventures because he also goes to school at NYU. 

Katie and I looking rather badass at a bar called "The Village Pourhouse" we made fun of it and called it "The Village Whore-house" Ha. 

On to dessert! 

The first the 3 of us went to was called "The Olive Tree" which is located on 117 Macdougal Street in the West Village.

This place is open until 4am and also has the "Comedy Cellar" in the basement for entertainment.  

As you can see in the photo below, the tables are like chalk boards! You can draw pictures during your meal! Very fun!

This is a full service restaurant but we just went there for dessert.

Alex had the Red Velvet Cake (Above) and I had the Cheesecake (also above).

We made jokes about the fact that one may have a power trip. 

Both were mediocre, the red velvet was a little dry and the cheesecake was just okay. Nothing too special. 

 Katie had the Tiramasu. It was very rich and flavorful.

The presentation was also very cute! 

Overall:

I was disappointed in "The Olive Tree". Alex tells me the cheesecake is usually better than it was. I am curious to try their lunch or dinner.

Website:

http://www.comedycellar.com/olive.shtml

The next place we went for dessert (a different night, don't worry) was a place called "Veselka".

This is a Ukrainian restaurant and it is located 144 2nd Avenue in the East Village.

I had the Carrot Cake (left), Alex had the Cheesecake (middle), and Katie had the Triple Chocolate Mousse Cake (right). 

The carrot cake was terrible. I am usually very kind about reviewing food, but I was just plain offended! The cake was dry, the frosting was way too sugary and had a plastic taste. 
I did not finish my carrot cake.

The cheesecake was also pretty disappointing. Alex did not finish it. It had a weird aftertaste and a different flavor than most cheesecakes.

The "mousse" was not actually a mousse. We were not really sure what it was. It was a kind of cheesecake density and it was extremely light in color. We could not find the triple chocolate nor the mousse. 

Overall:

2 Big Thumbs DOWN. 

"Sorry."

Website:

http://www.veselka.com/

"Let's hit up Magnolia and mack on some cupcakes"
Which is exactly what Katie and I did!

On a fine afternoon of sightseeing in NYC in late October we trekked through the cold to 
Magnolia Bakery on Bleecker Street in the West Village. This place is famous because Carrie and Miranda came here on Sex and The City TV series and Andy Samberg and Chris Parnell used these cupcakes in their hit "Lazy Sunday" which Katie and I re-entacted in the above pictures.


Katie had the Red Velvet and I had the buttercream.


We enjoyed them, but we both decided that we've had better cupcakes. The cake wasn't as moist as we like and the frosting was extremely "buttery". 


The red velvet cupcake did not have a cream cheese frosting, it just had a sugary buttercream frosting, rather disappointing. 


Overall:
Way too much hype, but a quick afternoon snack if the lines are not long. Go on a weekday not a weekend, very touristy.


Website:
http://www.magnoliabakery.com/home.php