Posted by Ed Levine, October 9, 2008 at 3:30 PM
Here at SE:NY we don't mess around. As soon as we heard about Shake Shack's Shacktober Fest, we descended en masse to taste test every item on the Shacktober Fest menu. It is indeed a tough job, but someone has to do it—and since we consider it our mission to lead you to everything delicious in New York, that someone happened to be us.
Our order that cloudy Monday:
1 Bratwurst with cranberry horseradish relish
1 Andouille Sausage with braised red cabbage
1 Polish Sausage with celery root slaw
1 Cran-Apple Strudel Concrete
1 German Chocolate Cake Concrete
1 Apple Honey Cake Concrete (it was the concrete of the day)
2 pints of the pumpkin spice custard
An order of spicy mustard (it's only .25)
The verdict after the jump:
Continue reading »
Posted by Kathy YL Chan, October 6, 2008 at 6:00 PM
When most people think of City Bakery, blue and white cups filled with hot chocolate, enormous wedges of caramelized french toast, and chocolate chip cookies are what usually come to mind. But I'm not most people. The peanut butter cookies are what I've come to love far more than any of the other typical favorites. The smallest of all City Bakery cookies, the peanut butter numbers are not large flat disks easily piled upon one another. Instead you'll encounter scoops, no more than an inch and a half high and two inches in diameter—a dainty baked ice cream scoop. But oh goodness, one taste and it'll be hard to return for any other cookie. It's far too easy to love the butter-rich, crumbly, melt-in-your-mouth texture; so generous, easy, and giving on the tongue. Like the melting moments of Mexican wedding cookies, powdered sugar must be a key contributor to this wonder. Playing on the lines of sweet with salty touches, why have one when you can have two? Lucky for us they're sold in pairs, and at $1.50 they're one of the cheapest items at the Bakery.
City Bakery
3 W 18th Street, New York, NY 10011
212-366-1414
thecitybakery.com/index2.htm
Posted by Erin Zimmer, October 2, 2008 at 6:00 PM
It's the first week of October, which only means two things: the best month of the year is here, and with it, the new autumnal Custard Calendar [PDF] at Shake Shack. This month, Thursdays are "Pancake" because, you know, people eat more pancakes in October.
Our Gordon Mark trekked over today with the office ice cooler. Overall, it's a solid flavor, but not overwhelmingly pancakey. Little specks of what very well could be pancake are swirled in, but disappointingly, no big chunks. I didn't feel like I was sitting down to my Nana's pancakes. Still good though, and any Heath Bar Crunch or toffee lover will appreciate the super sweet flavor with buttery aftertaste. Personally, I'm more excited for Pumpkin Spice Mondays.
Serious Eats overlord Ed Levine had this to say: "I lurve this custard. It's the essence of frozen custard: creamy, rich, eggy, full-flavored, and completely addictive. There's only one problem, and it verges on the existential—it has no discernible pancake flavor. So my question is this: Can a pancake custard be considered great if it doesn't taste like pancakes? Help me answer the above question by having some pancake custard yourself on Thursdays in October and commenting on this post."
Posted by Carey Jones, September 30, 2008 at 11:30 AM
These days, you’re much more likely to see Tom Colicchio at the Judges’ Table on Top Chef then on the line at any of his eight Craft restaurants. But he’s getting back to the kitchen starting on October 14, as the Diner’s Journal blog at the New York Times reports. Every other Tuesday, he’ll serve set multi-course dinners in Craft’s private dining room, ranging from $150-$250; Grub Street tells us we can expect "squab with honey-glazed onions, licorice root, and black fermented garlic." He'll call the new venture Tom: Tuesday Dinner. No word on whether a Suzanne Vega song is to follow.
Craft
47 East 19th Street, New York NY 10003 (b/n Broadway and Park Avenue South; map)
212-400-6495
craftrestaurant.com
If you've ever watched Iron Chef with dreams of getting to taste the food alongside the judges, here is your chance. This past Sunday snails were the secret ingredient in the Kitchen Stadium battle between Chef Floyd Cardoz and Bobby Flay. Cardoz lost, but he's still offering the dishes as part of a "Battle Snails" tasting menu at his restaurant Tabla. The seven course meal is $95 and will be offered through October 31st.
Posted by Allison Hemler, August 22, 2008 at 6:00 PM
Photographs by The Wandering Eater
Our mouths watered at the sight of the milk chocolate bacon tart from Gramercy Tavern, offered only on the tavern menu served at the front of the restaurant. According to The Wandering Eater, the "sophisticated" tart is enhanced by the crème fraîche, which "cut the sweetness, and added [a] tangy tartness" to the dessert.
Gramercy Tavern
42 East 20th Street, New York NY 10003 (nr. Fifth Avenue; map)
212-477-0777
Related:
Sugar Rush: Blackberry Streusel Cake at Gramercy Tavern
Posted by Zach Brooks, July 23, 2008 at 6:30 PM
Photograph by thewanderingeater
From the Gramercy Tavern restaurant week and regular dessert menu: "My blackberry streusel cake with blackberry lime sherbert was simple yet so delicious. The cake was moist [and] densely dotted with whole sweet-tart blackberries, the streusel added a crunchy dimension, and the sherbet added a touch of creamy-tartness." Read about the whole meal on The Wandering Eater.
Gramercy Tavern
42 East 20th Street, New York NY 10003 (nr. Fifth Avenue; map)
212-477-0777
Posted by Ed Levine, July 18, 2008 at 10:00 AM
The kati roll is quickly becoming a ubiquitous fixture of the New York fast food scene, but who would have thought that fancypants starred New York Times chefs would jump on the bandwagon. Tabla's Floyd Cardoz is getting into the kati act with a cart parked outside his restaurant from 11:30 to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Though Serious Eats New York chief eater Zach Brooks could barely contain his disdain for the $8 price tag, when he took a bite he was all smiles. With good reason. Cardoz' Frankie (kati roll) puts every other kati roll specimen in this town that I've tasted to shame. The housemade egg-washed roti wrapper houses tender chunks of Bread Bar chicken tikka, fresh herbs, and mint chutney. Why Zach didn't bring the rest of the menu into Serious Eats World HQ I'll never know. Surely he knew that we would want to taste the Bhel Puri ($6), a Bombay street salad of local apples, green mango, and puffed rice dressed with tamarind chutney, the vanilla kulfi pop dipped in chocolate ($4), and the sparkling pomegranate limeade alluringly called a Pomgupani ($4). C'mon Zach. You've got some serious eaters in this office.
Tabla
11 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10010 (on 24th Street; map)
212-889-0667
Posted by Erin Zimmer, July 1, 2008 at 5:45 PM
Editor's note: Every afternoon we like to post a short Sugar Rush to end your day. Think of it as the dessert to your daily blog reading. —Zach
The first of the month can evoke fear (rent, already?) but for Shake Shack custard fans, it's a glorious day. Kicking off July, another Custard Calendar [PDF] rolled out today, and that was not pistachio filling cups this afternoon. Basil custard, folks.
Our reactions: Not too sweet and with such an intense basil flavor, our Alaina Browne blurted out, "I feel like I should throw that into my pasta!" Maybe all those caprese salads prepared us for the dairy-basil synthesis. Not an everyday flavor, but definitely good. (As far as basil frozen custards go?)
Don't worry if you missed it, there are four more Tuesdays left in the month, or you can sample one of the six other flavors, including plum crumb (Wednesdays), milk chocolate chunk (Thursdays) and peach cobbler (Sundays). Shake Shack: Southeast corner of Madison Square Park (corner of 23rd Street and Madison Avenue; map); shakeshacknyc.com
Related
Sugar Rush: 'Coffee and Donut' Custard at the Shake Shack
The Peach Custard at the Shake Shack Rocks!
Posted by Kathy YL Chan, June 13, 2008 at 5:30 PM
The custard flavors at the Shake Shack this month are particularly intriguing, Coffee & Donuts or Raspberry Jalapeno, anyone? The popular Salted Caramel is back on the custard calendar [PDF], along with a refreshing Yogurt and Strawberry Swirl on weekends. The B line wait on Wednesday afternoon for the "coffee and donuts" custard was short; two minutes and $2.75 later for a single dip, I was happy as a plum. Dark and speckled with coffee grounds, it was more a coffee custard with few doughnut chunks folded in, than a half coffee/half doughnut creation. Nonetheless, it's tough to complain while luxuriously creamy custard is slipping down your throat on a warm afternoon.
