Get to Know a Serious Eater.

Kathy Chan's Profile

Website: http://apassionforfood.blogspot.com/

Location: Manhattan

About:

Favorite foods:

Last bite on earth:

The Ten Most Recent Posts By Kathy Chan

From Serious Eats: New York

Il Laboratorio del Gelato Window Makes For Easier Summertime Access

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

20080708-illab.jpg
20080708gelato-small.jpgIl Laboratorio del Gelato's recently reconfigured shop makes it all the more difficult to resist the temptation and all the more easy to simply pop up to the open street windows and order your two, three, or four scoops. Flavors are still evenly divided between gelato in the left case and sorbets in the right, starting at $3.25 for a small. We were tempted by the lemon & basil sorbet, along with a tart black plum number, but alas, gelato never fails to win our favor in the end. It always works out for the best, and we've yet to taste a flavor that disappoints. One this trip, we enjoyed a cup of buttery smooth and mild Green Tea with Vanilla Bean, and a separate cone with a particularly delightful Amaretto Crunch piled over nut-speckled Pistachio. Is there a sweeter way to cool off the afternoon?

Il Laboratorio del Gelato

95 Orchard St., New York NY 10002 (b/n Broome & Delancey Streets; map)
212-343-9922
laboratoriodelgelato.com

From Serious Eats: New York

Sugar Rush: Genmaicha Cheesecake at Tafu

20080707tafu.jpg

Delicate tea based nibbles and drinks with a Japanese flair are the staples at Tafu in Midtown. Chocolate-miso cakes, matcha lattes, mochi creams with sweet beans, and financiers all please the tongue, but if you are going to choose only one, dive for the nutty and just a tad sweet Genmaicha Cheesecake. $4.50 doesn't stretch too far for the long and narrow cheesecake sweet, infused with a blend of green tea and roasted brown rice... but shouldn't you be going for quality over quantity anyways?

Tafu

569 Lexington Avenue, New York NY 10022 (on 51st Street; map)
212-980-1310
tafuny.com

From Serious Eats: New York

First Taste of the Van Leeuwen Ice Cream Truck

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. Today our resident Sugar Rush expert Kathy YL Chan hits up the new Van Leeuwan Ice Cream Truck. —Zach

20080626-icecreamtruck.jpg

Manhattan has recently been bombarded (and that's a good thing!) with new ice cream trucks, shops, and stops. Our own Ed Levine just checked out Duane Park and Odeon, and the other night I was lucky enough to happen upon the Van Leeuwen Ice Cream Truck parked on the corner of University Place between 11th and 12th streets. The prices at the truck range from $3.50 for a small to $6.75 for a large. I recommend the small; they'll let you combine two flavors and it's just the right size.

With tempting sirens of currants and cream, pistachio, gianduja and a few more calling on the brief menu, I indulged in scoops of espresso and ginger. Both flavors were promising upon the first spoonful, especially the dark, almost chocolately espresso, but a few more dabbles proved otherwise. The ginger was marked by icy shards that outweighed the speckles of candied ginger, while the espresso left memories of gritty bits. With that said, Van Leeuwen has potential, especially with the quality of ingredients employed. Let's hope they're simply working out initial kinks and will be part of the community long enough for improvement.

Set times and locations for the truck are still being worked out, but you are pretty sure to find them seven days a week from Noon to 7 p.m. on the corner of Greene and Prince in Soho. After 7 p.m. they have been parking on University between 11th and 12th streets, but that spot is not entirely solidified. A second truck will likely be unveiled in the next week or two, and at that point locations will be finalized, and availalbe on their website.

From Serious Eats: New York

Sugar Rush: Cestropbeau Ganache Brownies at Oren's

20080623brownies.jpg

Those who consider Midtown a dessert wasteland clearly have not hovered over the sweets lining the walls of Oren's in Grand Central. It's there that you can find the ever-elusive Cestropbeau ganache brownie, made in Smithtown, New York. A deep, dark creation that will satisfy lovers of fudgy brownies, the treat is a tempting blend of Belgian chocolate with demerara sugar, sea salt, espresso, and Saigon cinnamon. Perfect for the afternoon break or to nosh on during that long Metro North ride home.

Oren's Daily Roast

105 East 42nd Street, New York NY 10017 (inside Grand Central Terminal; map)
212-338-0014

From Serious Eats: New York

NYC's Top 10 Ice Cream Sandwiches

Editor's note: In 2006 New York magazine published an indispensable guide to ice cream sandwiches in New York City. While that guide set a solid bar, much has changed in the last two years. To update that list for the summer of 2008, we sent Sugar Rush correspondent Kathy YL Chan out to find the best ice cream sandwiches in New York City. Here is her report. —Zach

20080624-icecreamsam-collage.jpg

In the last seven days I've eaten more ice cream sandwiches than I care to confess, all in an attempt to find our city's ten best ice cream sandwiches. I searched and I ate—from the Lower East Side to the West Village, from DUMBO to Park Slope, from market to restaurant to ice cream shop, even at a department store. Oh man, did I eat. Chocolate-flecked vanilla sandwiched between brownies, crisp chocolate chip cookies packed with strawberry ice cream, creamy scoops of gelato tucked into brioche buns: Nothing was left untouched. Some were bigger than my fist, while others were just about the size of a silver dollar. This city offers ice cream sandwiches in more forms than you dare imagine, but it's for the best—there's something for everyone. After the jump, our ten favorites, in no particular order.

Continue reading »

From Serious Eats: New York

Sugar Rush: Chocolate Covered Halvah Bar at Russ & Daughters

20080620havlah.jpg

Meet Russ & Daughter's Chocolate Covered Halvah Bar. Not quite a candy bar, not just halvah alone, but a combination of all of it in the best possible formula. Priced at just under $2, it is quite possibly one of the best dessert deals in the Lower East Side. The nutty ground sesame seeds crumble oh so easily into a decadent mess with every bite, but man, it's hard not to keep on munching away. Couple that with a rich dip of dark chocolate, just enough to cover, toasted almonds slivers, and you're bound to be addicted.

Russ & Daughters

179 E. Houston St., New York NY 10002; (b/n Allen and Orchard Streets; map)
212-475-4880

From Serious Eats: New York

Sugar Rush: Tres Leches Cake Doughnut from the Doughnut Plant

20080618doughnutplant.jpg

A breakfast luxury, or afternoon snack, sometimes nothing quite satisfies a sweet (and deep-fried!) craving like one of the legendary creations from the Doughnut Plant on the Lower East Side. My personal favorite? The Tres Leches Cake Doughnut. Make sure to get the cake doughnut, which the Doughnut Plant has established their reputation on, and not the heavier and bread-y yeast doughnuts. Like the Latin American cake where it gets its name from, the tres leches doughnut is a glorious concoction infused with a triple dose of evaporated milk, condensed milk and cream. The texture? Right at that very thin line where snowy white powdered sugar meets butter cake. It's indulgent to say the least.

Doughnut Plant

379 Grand St., New York NY 10002; (map)
212-505-3700
doughnutplant.com

From Serious Eats: New York

Sugar Rush: 'Coffee and Donut' Custard at the Shake Shack

20080613shakeshack.jpg

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.

From Serious Eats: New York

Ironically, It's Tea-less Sweets That Shine at Amai Tea & Bake House

20080612-amai-outside.jpg

It's a concept one wants to love: tea infused into pastries of all sorts—cookies, scones, puddings, and muffins galore. A concept with great potential, if it's properly executed. But somewhere between idea and production, something is lost, and that is where Amai Tea & Bake House falls weak.

20080612-amai-cookies1.jpg

Clockwise from top left: matcha, lemongrass and ginger, white tea and strawberry, and chai and almond.

Nowhere is that better evidenced than in their tea cookies, delicate one bite sweets. They are easy on the eyes, darling little cutouts in soft colors, a baby green matcha cookie, and a deep golden lemongrass and ginger oval. But the cookies fall apart in your mouth in an unappealing manner—crumbly and dusty, and while not too sweet, they also don't carry much flavor. It is difficult to make out the tea, much less the strawberry element in the white tea and strawberry. Chai almond was the single most memorable cookie of the set, a crisp and buttery spiced chai tea infused number with finely chopped almonds.

Continue reading »

From Serious Eats: New York

Sugar Rush: Dark Chocolate Sorbet at La Maison du Chocolat

20080611maisonsorbet.jpg

While the lines for matcha frappes at Café Zaiya, custard at Shake Shack, and ice cream at 'wichcraft seem endless during these scorching summer months, it's is indeed curious that the crowds aren't pouring out of La Maison du Chocolat. How could it be that no one knows they carry a line of housemade ice cream and sorbets at just $4 for a generous scoop? There are plenty of drool inducing fruity and chocolatey options, but your best bet is the sultry dark chocolate sorbet which is every bit as delicious as their signature truffles, only turned into a refreshingly icy summertime treat.

La Maison du Chocolat

30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10020 (49th b/n Fifth and Sixth; map)
212-265-9404

The Ten Most Recent Comments By Kathy Chan

From Serious Eats: New York

Il Laboratorio del Gelato Window Makes For Easier Summertime Access

I just called the shop and got a message saying that they're open 7 days a week, closing at 7pm (they didn't give an opening hour).

From Serious Eats: New York

Sugar Rush: New Soft Serve at Kyotofu

o_O, wow! I know where I'm heading for dessert next!

From Serious Eats: New York

NYC's Top 10 Ice Cream Sandwiches

@ raphael - I did say they were a "three-bite dessert" ^_^ Didn't have the old & crystallized problem when I visited...it was the same issue for both sandwiches? P.S. am surprised you didn't make the short walk to Bierkraft for a third sammmich! :)

From Talk

Scones, clotted cream and jam!

I believe it's out of a jar...but if anyone knows where we can get it fresh, inform us please! :)

From Serious Eats: New York

Fiore: Seriously Delicious Budget Italian

The cavatelli looks fantastic! I'm also a big fan of the Bucatini Amatriciana. It's hard not to feel that Fiore is under-priced for both the quality and quantity of the dishes, not to mention the restaurant ambiance, and consistent service - let's hope it stays that way :)

From Serious Eats: New York

NYC's Top 10 Ice Cream Sandwiches

Thanks for the sweet comments everyone! I've a bit of a toothache now and my arms are waggyly for all the ice cream flab I've accumulated, but oh man, so delish! ^_^

@alaina: the one girl cookie's combo was my favourite by far! it was just the right size, not too sweet, and who would have thought pumpkin & ricotta go so well together?!

@danny: haha, I totally agree!

@vegny: I assure you, my work as a "Sugar Rush" correspondent is much more enjoyable than my normal day job as an accountant! ;)

@onewallkitchen: funny you mention the hawaiian bread - I just made a post on that particular bread on my blog this afternoon! (http://apassionforfood.blogspot.com/2008/06/sweet-bread-in-hawaii.html)

From Talk

Scones, clotted cream and jam!

Tea & Sympathy in the West Village has real clotted cream...though I personally feel that the best scones are to be found at the upper west side location of Alice's Tea Cup. Go in the morning, right when they open and get any scone that hust came fresh out of the oven - you can't go wrong! They have the most wonderfully moist interior with a buttery crisp surface. If you're lucky enough, you might run into the blueberry-ginger flavour or pumpkin cream cheese, their savoury scones are also worth the extra calories, heheh...^_^

From Serious Eats: New York

Okonomiyaki and Takoyaki at Otafuku

mmm, awesome post Jenn! - Otafuku has the best okonomiyaki I've tried in this city :)

From Eating Out

America's Best Ice Cream

Oh man, they neglected to include Bubbies Ice Cream in Hawai'i!

From Serious Eats: New York

Sugar Rush: Tres Leches Cake Doughnut from the Doughnut Plant

@ kathryn: When Doughnut Plant first opened in 1994, they sold only yeast doughnuts, the recipe, which you noted, orginated from Mark's grandfather. In late 2005, Mark introduced his cake doughnuts which caught on quickly and today, in both the US and Japan, he is better known and favored for the cake doughnuts.

Responses to Comments by Kathy Chan

From Serious Eats: New York

Sugar Rush: New Soft Serve at Kyotofu

@thesu - I feel like when you compare the price to the gelato at Grom or the froyo at the million places that have opened up, it's totally reasonable (and the small was bigger than I expected.) Plus, one topping is included in the price. I think it's a pretty good deal.

From Serious Eats: New York

Sugar Rush: New Soft Serve at Kyotofu

Ahh, I want sesame!!

From Serious Eats: New York

Sugar Rush: New Soft Serve at Kyotofu

This looks good, but man $3.85 is a lot. Zen Burger also has soy soft serve for $2, but I haven't tried it.

From Serious Eats: New York

Fiore: Seriously Delicious Budget Italian

ate there tonight. great service, nice atmosphere, good prices!

From Recipes

How to Make Spam Musubi

Whaaaa? I've never had it with furikake added, seems unnecessary?Soy Sauce and Sugar.. is a kind of teriyaki sauce... hey have you tried making teriyaki with brown sugar instead of white?? I LOVE IT. But hey, Using a press is soooooo cheating. Come on kids, do it by hand like the pros. (could you imagine a sushi chef trying to show off using a press??)

Bigany... you're gonna die earlier than most just from stressing out about what you eat. You don't eat Spam Musubi everyday, you just eat it once in a while. Haven't you ever heard the 80/20 rule? eat healthy stuff 80% of the time, you can at 20% CRAP and still be as healthy. You'll be much happier too!!

Can you really re-crispify nori in a pan???

Funny... i totally made Spam Musubi Fried Rice by accident! I wanted to see if anyone else has done that

From Serious Eats: New York

NYC's Top 10 Ice Cream Sandwiches

@kathy: It was indeed the same issue for both sandwiches. I mentioned that they were tiny because I felt like it was sorta expensive: $8.50 for two.
I didn't go to Bierkraft because it was late at night and it was closed!

From Serious Eats: New York

NYC's Top 10 Ice Cream Sandwiches

@ raphael - I did say they were a "three-bite dessert" ^_^ Didn't have the old & crystallized problem when I visited...it was the same issue for both sandwiches? P.S. am surprised you didn't make the short walk to Bierkraft for a third sammmich! :)

From Serious Eats: New York

NYC's Top 10 Ice Cream Sandwiches

I went to The Chocolate Room last night, got both kinds of the sandwiches - the strawberry ice cream with dark chocolate cookies and the banana rum ice cream with chocolate and peanut butter cookie. The cookies were good, but the ice cream tasted old and crystallized. And they were tiny!

From Serious Eats: New York

NYC's Top 10 Ice Cream Sandwiches

jacques torres also has an outpost on the uws, for more monster ice cream cookie love...

From Talk

Scones, clotted cream and jam!

Oh yeah..fresh clotted cream, west coast, east coast, Canada...I don't care, I will travel (though not all the way to England, mostly because I don't have the time) for them.