Holey Cream-NYC

Holey Cream
796 9th Ave
(between 52nd St & 53rd St)
New York, NY 10019

As seen on
-Unique Sweets
 
My wife had one request for her birthday. A doughnut ice cream sandwich from Holey Cream. So we stopped in for this heart attack donut ice cream sandwich. Originally, we were going to each get our own sandwich....until we found out that the doughnut is HUGE, you get THREE SCOOPS OF ICE CREAM, then topped with a syrup of choice AND THEN the ice cream is topped with any toppings of your choice AND THEN the doughnut is covered in toppings.. That's when we decided it was better to share. Overall, I can't say that the dohugnut was that good but this was the most glutinous dessert I have ever had... But as for creativity, Holey Cream takes the prize. They had a pretzel ice cream that was very good. Their red velvet and cookie dough  were also yummy. As far as ice cream goes, Holey Cream definitely hits the spot with their homemade concoctions. They also had a variety of muffins/cupcakes and other sweet goodies....but trust me, one donut ice cream sandwich will fulfill a few peoples sweet tooth for a while.

Bouchon Bakery-NYC

Bouchon Bakery
10 Columbus Cir
3rd Fl
New York, NY 10019

As seen on
-The Best Thing I Ever Ate

Located on the 3rd floor of the Time Warner Building, Columbus Circle, the Bouchon Bakery is owned and operated by the famous Thomas Keller. World renowned as maybe the best chef in America if not the world, Thomas Keller brings his desserts to a bakery inside a mall. Located next to Per Se and Landmarc, which are two of the best restaurants in Manhattan, Per se is also owned by Thomas Keller and has a several month waiting list. Per Se is several hundred dollars per person and you don't get to pick what you eat so you start to realize that Bouchon Bakery might be the fanciest upper crust bakery in all of Manhattan. Bouchon has a sit down cafe area with wait staff and a to go bakery section. I grabbed some baked goods to go. This is really a killer location with an amazing view of Columbus Circle and Central Park. With tons of pastries to choose from like macaroons, croissants, cookies, and some small sandwich's and quiche I grabbed a huge homemade oreo cookie and a huge nutter butter. I was not fond of either I am sad to report. The oreo tasted burnt bitter and the filling like butter. The nutter butter wasn't very sweet or peanut buttery. So expensive luxury snobby food doesn't always taste the best. Thank God for that. Places like this aren't made for me. Ill take the hole in the wall bakery any day.

Ess-A-Bagel-NYC

Ess-A-Bagel
831 3rd Ave
New York, NY 10022

As seen on
-The Layover
 
I'm slowly trying all the classic NYC bagel joints one by one. This time around Ess-A-Bagel. Ive heard great things about Ess-A and after seeing them mentioned on Anthony Bourdain's new show they were the obvious choice. I've already had H&H, Tal, and Murray's. My father said this place has the best Lox he has ever had and he's had alot of lox. I judge all bagel places on my staple, an everything bagel with scallion/chive cream cheese. Got here Saturday around noon and this place had a line 20 people deep. I got my go to and my wife got a wild card of a bagel. Cinnamon raisin with banana walnut cream cheese. They had alot of awesome choices of cream cheeses and cured fish like sturgeon, lox, or nova. We walked to a park to indulge. At first bite disappointment set in. My bagel was stale and old and gross. I asked my wife how hers was and she said it was great. So I tried hers and her bagel was totally different. Crusty on the outside and gooey on the inside just like a perfect NY bagel. Mine was definitely at least day old. How the hell does this happen in a place with such high turn over. ARRRGGHHH! My bagel was actually bad. So They loose points for their bagels not being consistent.  I would go back to try the lox but otherwise i'd go somewhere that rotates their old bagels and gets rid of them. It's unfortunate because they might be the best bagels in NY i just got shafted.

Schnitzel and Things-NYC

Schnitzel and Things
723 3rd Ave
New York, NY 10017

As seen on
-Eat St.
-FoodOgraphy
 
I like that Schnitzel & Things is a little different. When do you ever see Austrian food? I actually went to Austria, but I am unfamiliar with their food, so I was excited to try their thinly pounded schnitzel and other things. Schnitzel is traditionally veal pounded thin and fried to a golden brown hue. It was tender, with a pleasing mild flavor, but I was compelled to keep squeezing more hot sauce onto it, as it was slightly bland. I did appreciate that it managed to feel fairly light and not at all greasy spite being a sizable piece of fried veil. The sides were also pretty good, (I tried Austrian potato salad, cucumbers, and spatzel). Not even knowing what spatzel was I ordered it because it sounded authentic. It was simply a pasta with butter and garlic. Nice and simple. The Austrian potato salad is served warm with sour cream folded in to make it creamy smooth and the cucumber salad was really refreshing. It was nice to check out some different food but I wasn't blown away. It was also on the expensive side. $16 with no drink.They serve eggplant and cod schnitzel which I would like to try sometime. They started out as a food truck so look out for that on the streets of Manhattan but more recently opened a brick and mortar shop by grand central.

Peekamoose Restaurant-NY

Peekamoose Restaurant
& Tap Room
8373 State Route 28
Big Indian, NY 12410

As seen on
-FoodOgraphy

Owners Devin and Marybeth Mills have worked in some of New York City's finest restaurants( the Hudson River Club, Picholine, Le Bernadin, Guastavino's, Atlantic Grill, Remi Restaurant, and the famed Gramercy Tavern). They purchased an old run down building in the middle of nowhere and started their own locally grown/locally sourced restaurant to compete with any NYC eatery. I was really impressed. Located right on the banks of the Esopous Creek, were the freshest fly caught trout in the world comes from. They even have their own chicken coops to get their eggs. Always local and always fresh.

This restaurant is really cool. They have an amazing childrens room and off  the bar is a fire pit with free make your own smores. The bar has a different menu then the restaurant but they let us order off of both. Among the food ordered at our table I sampled  were onion rings, endive salad, short ribs, trout, hamburgers, goat cheese gnocchi, and pumpkin bread pudding. The onion rings were by far the best I've ever had anywhere and the hamburger too. Ive had designer burgers all over Manhattan and they cant compare to this deliciousness. Everything was well thought out and presented as if we were dining on the upper east side. Really a first class establishment. Closest thing around here to dining in Manhattan.

Otafuku-NYC

Otafuku
236 E 9th St
New York, NY 10003

As seen on
-Log On & Eat 
 
This place is the only Takoyaki shop in NYC. Japanese Takoyaki (Octopus Balls) is a made to order fried ball of creamy herbs and octopus made into a corn type fritter. Traditional Japanese street food, I have had these before at Mitsuwa (giant Asian market) in NJ. I actually went here because I heard they were the only place in NYC that offered Taiyaki which they didn't have. This was by far the smallest store/restaurant/food stall I have ever seen. When I got there I had to wait for the 2 people in the store to leave before I could actually get inside to order. The octopus balls are covered in a teriyaki type sauce and bonito flakes. The balls themselves were amazing but I have come to find out I cant stand bonito flakes. They are just dried fish and are way to smokey fishy for me. I would definitely go back and order the octopus without the flake and see if they got taiyaki yet. If you have ever wanted truly authentic Japanese street food Otafuku has what you need.

Ronnybrook Farm Dairy-NY

Ronnybrook Farm Dairy
Prospect Hill Rd
Ancramdale, NY 12503

As seen on
-The Best Thing I Ever Ate

Ronnybrook Farms is so lovely, with such happy cows, At least that's how it seems in my head. I was surprised to see that their store upstate is merely a closet! They aren't really set up for visitors, so if you want a good selection of their products, you're better off checking out their location in Chelsea Market. But I had to go straight to the source. Ive been drinking their eggnog for years but after seeing the actually farm, on The Best Thing I Ever Ate Christmas special, I had to go right to the farm. The farm is located right outside Pine Plains, NY and is not easy to find. Once you think you're lost just keep going and then when you think you're lost again keep going down unmarked dirt roads and then 15mins later you arrive at milk paradise. I mean if you have never had their chocolate milk or eggnog you are really missing out. I'm sure its pure fat but its like a melted eggnog milkshake. The eggnog is seasonal so get it while you can. Best milk around hands down and the chocolate milk is to die for!