Mochi Ice Cream
by Celia Cheng
November 15th, 2007
BUBBIES
Bierkraft
191 5th Ave
(5th & 6th Ave)
Park Slope, Brooklyn
718-230-7600
$
Also sold at Whole Foods stores in New York
I grew up eating Bubbies ice cream in Honolulu (on University Avenue, next to Varsity Theater) and I always loved it. And it seems that mainlanders feel the same way as Bubbies has made its way across the Pacific Ocean, selling products to top restaurants and markets throughout the mainland. Their mochi ice cream has become rather ubiquitous in gourmet food stores in the City. Mochi ice cream, a modern Japanese desset, is an ice-cream-filled rice cake. I’m currently hooked on the guava. It’s light, delicate and flavorful, and the pink mochi skin is soft, thin and chewy. Even when extremely frozen, I can’t help but eagerly pop them in my mouth. Never too hard to bite into, they are a treat I don’t tire of.
Posted in Dessert , Japanese , LES , Park Slope , Sweets , UES , Union Square , UWS
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Speculoos Cookies
by Celia Cheng
September 19th, 2007
LE PAIN QUOTIDIEN
100 Grand St
(Mercer & Greene St)
212-625-9009
more locations
$$
The Belgian bakery-café chain Le Pain Quotidien seems to be continuously opening new stores around the globe, with thirteen locations in New York City alone. In my book, LPQ’s speculoos cookies — Belgian spice cookies — are reason enough for world domination. I love these smooth, flat cookies with sliced almonds because the subtle hint of cinnamon and fresh lemon linger on your palate long after the cookies are gone. The texture of the cookie is hard but refined as it’s made with pastry flour. Each bite starts with a light, crisp crunch, and ends with your hand reaching for another.
Posted in Belgian , Chelsea , Cookies , Midtown West , SoHo , Sweets , UES , Union Square , UWS , West Village
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Cieche alla Pisana (quickly sautéed baby eels)
by Celia Cheng
June 26th, 2007
LA CANTINA TOSCANA
1109 First Ave
(60th & 61st St)
212-754-5454
$$
You don’t see baby eels on the menu often, and this is quite different from the eels you find on the menus at Japanese or Chinese restaurants. However, the baby eels at La Cantina Toscana, remind me of a Shanghainese eel dish I grew up eating. Though the texture of the baby eels at this Upper East Side Florentine trattoria is much more refined, and the preparation with just olive oil and a few fresh leaves of sage makes it pure and light. Quickly sautéed baby eels are a traditional favorite from the Tyrrhenian coast. It’s now forbidden to catch baby eels in Italy, but since La Cantina Toscana gets its baby eels from Costa Brava in Spain, they’re on the menu year-round. Whew! I’d hate to have to wait a year to catch a craving.
Posted in Italian , Seafood , UES
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Piglets in Puff Pastry Blankets
by Celia Cheng
June 24th, 2007
MITCHEL LONDON FOODS
22 E 65th St
(5th & Madison Ave)
212-737-2850
$$$
I must be a glutton for punishment because, despite the consistently rude and unprofessional staff at this chichi gourmet take-out, I can’t stop coming back to Mitchel London for these extremely pricey pigs in blankets. At $1.50 a piece, perhaps the fancier sounding name of “piglets in puff pastry blankets” somehow justifies the Upper East Side price point. Although I have many gripes, the bottom line is that they are delicious, and there seem to be many other masochists out there who will come back withstanding all humiliation just to grab a piglet or two.
Posted in American , Pork , Snack , UES
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Sushi (omakase)
by Celia Cheng
May 30th, 2007
SASABUNE
401 E 73rd St
(1st & 2nd Ave)
212-249-8583
$$$
Sushi at Sasabune is a true joy because the fish is extremely fresh while the restaurant is relaxed and unpretentious. The restaurant’s motto is “trust me” because it’s omakase (chef’s choice) only, and that’s how sushi should be enjoyed. At Sasabune, you are in good hands with Chef Kenji Takashi, so you will be served the best selection of sushi. His specialty is the blue crab roll that ends the meal, but there’s lots of delicious nigiri zushi (hand pressed sushi) to enjoy beforehand. The plates just keep coming until you say no, so feel free to ask for more.
Posted in Japanese , Seafood , Sushi , UES
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