My Favorites of 2008

As this year comes to a close, I figured it'd be a good time to reflect on a few of my favorite things. (I can see you jumping out of your seat, yelling and crying with joy. Yes, it's Neha's favorite things entry!) Now, calm down and compose yourself. Since this is not Oprah, you won't be getting anything for free. However, if you are in the neighborhood of any of these restaurants, do yourself a favor and go--it's worth it!

Food Related:

Favorite dessert: Chocolate Mousse from Payard. Love, love love Payard. Love it.

Favorite alcoholic drink: Pomegranate Margarita (frozen, with salt) from Canyon Road (This is the only time Ash may have to hold my hand when we're walking home. Those suckers are deceivingly strong. And if you don't know already, I have self-control issues when good food is involved.)

Favorite non-alcoholic drink: Frozen Hot Chocolate from Serendipity

Favorite frozen yogurt: Half coffee/ Half chocolate from Forty Carrots at Bloomingdale's

Favorite ice cream: Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Sundae from Friendly's (if you haven't tried Friendly's peanut butter sauce, you're missing out. I buy it by the pint when I go home. No joke.)

Favorite burger: 'Shroom Burger from Shake Shack

Favorite Mexican restaurant: Canyon Road, though the best mexican meal I've had this year was at a restaurant in Scottsdale that our friends took us to. La Cantina Laredo. (Thanks Ashish!)

Favorite Thai restaurant: Land (Nothing amazing, but a good won't-break-the-bank option.)

Favorite Italian restaurant: Pass. Haven't found one I am totally in love with. To be honest, I'm still a sucker for the salad and breadsticks at Olive Garden. And their fettucini alfredo is good too. So there. (Ash and I are trying a new place for dinner tonight--I'm keeping my fingers crossed!)

Favorite Pizza: Thin Crust- Posto; Regular- Two Boots. I also enjoy John's before a Broadway show. So shoot me for choosing three spots--NYC has good pizza. Ooh, and for size, Koronet. Okay, four spots.

Favorite Indian restaurant: It's a tie between Amma and Tamarind. (NOT the chain Tamarind--the single one on East 22nd St. The chain one is blah.) Or Vatan for the full dining experience. Hey, it's my list, I can do whatever I want.

Favorite Chain restaurant: PF Chang's (though the Olive Garden is a close second)

Not Food Related:

Favorite TV Show: How I Met Your Mother -- it is legen...wait for it...dary. (Yes, I know it's not a "new" tv show, but it's the first time I watched it. Absolutely hysterical. Ash and I laugh about things from that show for days.)

Favorite Movie: I didn't see a whole lot of movies this year, but Slumdog Millionaire probably clinches it for me. (Ash would root for The Dark Knight)

Favorite Event: Priya & Vinny's Wedding--the whole week long she-bang! (If you missed it, you can catch up on my old blog, located here.)

Favorite New Thing: A tie between two equally exciting things. Number one- Merrell shoes. I will never buy another brand. Ever. It's like I'm walking on air. (Everyone at work knows--I haven't taken my snow boots off for two weeks. My heels are still in my drawer.) Number two- fiber. (stop laughing!) Seriously, has changed my life. Everyone should eat more fiber--fiber rocks. Fiber One cereal--awesome. (Don't you dare give me that look--there are SO many more health benefits than just what is on your mind...)

Favorite Book: Such a Pretty Fat: One Narcissist's Quest To Discover if Her Life Makes Her Ass LookBig, Or Why Pie is Not The Answer by Jen Lancaster (I actually loved the entire series, but this one was my favorite. I wrote a blog entry on them a short while ago-- click here if you missed it.) This leads right into...

Favorite Blog: Jennsylvania (Jen Lancaster's Blog) So, so funny. It always makes me laugh out loud.

Favorite Single Moment: Sitting on the couch with Ash, watching Obama give his acceptance speech. In one single moment, I felt hope, pride, relief and joy. Looking back, it still feels somewhat surreal.

Well, that's all.
::Lifting glass filled with Moscato D'Asti because I don't like champagne::
Here's to looking forward to 2009--hopefully it'll be a year filled with new experiences, new restaurants, and a new customized template for my blog. (Dan--help!!)

Cheers!

I'm on a mission!

I am now obsessed with the Choco-Pops Dark Hot Chocolate at Max Brenner. Ob-sessed. If you've never had it, you should run, don't walk, to Union Square and try it. It's your choice of hot chocolate (milk, dark or white) with these little crunchy "chocolate waffle" balls. Amazingly, the balls don't melt! I tried to figure out how to make them, but everything I come up with, in theory, either still melts the minute it's heated, or is WAY too messy to even try. I've asked at the gift shop, they don't sell them. Since they sell just about everything they make, I'm not convinced that they make them in-house.

Then, last night Ash and I went to Shake Shack on the UWS. (Priya was correct--their 'Shroom Burger is probably the best vegetarian burger I've ever eaten...and I don't even like mushrooms.) I ordered a Concrete (frozen custard with mix-ins) with a vanilla base, and then peanut butter sauce, hot fudge and Valhrona chocolate crunchies. (Awesome, if I do say so myself.) As I was eating it, I realized that they look eerily similar to the "waffle balls" Max Brenner puts in the hot chocolate and on desserts. After googling them (I already told you I was obsessed), I've found that they are actually called "Valhrona Crunchy Chocolate Pearls." I then gawked at the $9 shipping I would be charged to order the smallest amount, and closed the window.

A few minutes later, I re-googled and ordered them. I'll keep you posted.

Creamy Tomato Soup

It's been freezing lately. And I don't mean to-be-expected-in-December freezing, but holy-crap-cover-every-inch-of-your-skin freezing. I am a big fan of soup as it is, and the cold weather was a perfect opportunity to play around with my immersion blender. I was craving a homemade creamy tomato soup that wouldn't take an hour to simmer (Ash is working nights--we don't have that kind of time right now) like most of my other soups, so I hit the internet to see what I could find. I REALLY wanted to eat it in a big bread bowl, but the store was all out of any kind of bowl-worthy bread. (Apparently I was not the only one craving soup in a bread bowl.)

I am always hesitant with using canned tomatoes in soup, as I am convinced that sometimes they taste like tin. However, the tomatoes in the grocery store looked like they had seen better days, so I didn't have much of a choice. (And I'll be honest--it actually worked out just fine!) I wanted a recipe with everyday ingredients (the whole herbs in kitchen twine thing is fun and all, but only on special occasions when I'm not super lazy), and something super easy. Below is what I ended up doing...

Creamy Tomato Soup (with an Immersion Blender)

1 large can crushed tomatoes
8 basil leaves, chopped (some extra to garnish, if you want)
2 bay leaves
3 tablespoons butter (I've tried olive oil before...not as good, but not bad)
1 large onion, roughly chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
About 12 oz. of vegetable stock
Approximately 1/3 cup of heavy cream (you could probably do milk and thicken with cornstarch or flour, but I didn't try that--I wanted a TRULY creamy soup)
Pinch of sugar
Salt and black pepper to taste

Saute the onions and garlic in 1 tbsp. butter. When translucent, add the bay leaves, crushed tomatoes and vegetable stock. After it boils, remove from heat, remove the bay leaves (if you used dried ones) and and use an immersion blender to blend until there are no large lumps left (about 1 minute). Return to heat, and when it returns to a boil, add the the fresh basil, the remaining 2 tbsp. of butter, the heavy cream, pinch of sugar, and salt and pepper to taste. (I also threw in some italian seasoning, but I am a bit heavy handed with the spices.) You can also add more stock if you prefer a thinner soup--I left this one thick so it was more of a tomato bisque.

When serving it, I grated in some fresh parmesan cheese, threw in a few more pieces of basil and served it with croutons. The whole process probably took about 30 minutes, and Ash gave it two thumbs up! :-) (If I had thought of it at the time, I would've taken a picture...oops!)

Apparently the sugar is supposed to cut the acidity of the canned tomatoes, but I just ended up adding more salt. So, over to you if you want to add it or not. I'll probably omit it when I make it again.

If you don't have an immersion blender, seriously, don't use this recipe. You can probably wait for the whole thing to cool a bit, then place it in a regular blender, then throw it back into the pot, but that's a whole lot of trouble. I love my immersion blender--it turns anything into a nice soup in about 2 minutes flat, so if you love soup, I highly recommend one. (Though you'll be on a smoothie and soup kick for the next month--you've been warned.)

Enjoy!

Why you should go to Las Vegas

Yes, I know I haven't posted in a while--November was a busy month. We had some friends visiting us from Chicago, it was Ash's birthday, and we went on vacation. We visited Phoenix, Scottsdale, Sedona, the Grand Canyon, the Hoover Dam and Las Vegas.

Now, some people go to Las Vegas to gamble...we go to Las Vegas to, well, eat. If you're ever in that city, be SURE to drop by the Bellagio and visit the Jean Philippe Patisserie. After reading a bit in the restaurant, I found out that Jean Philippe was actually rated the best pastry chef in France! Aside from housing the largest chocolate fountain in the world, they have the most amazing crepes you'll ever eat. Mine was the "Chocolate Crepe"--a crepe with chunks of brownie, dark chocolate sauce, whipped cream and chocolate shavings. I believe I got it 3 times during our 4 day stay in Las Vegas. Ash got a custom crepe with strawberries, chocolate sauce and whipped cream. The pictures are below. (Yes, Ash couldn't wait to take a bite before I took the picture...)

I am going to work on finding a way to make them, but first I need a really good recipe for chocolate sauce. They sell the Jean Philippe one, but the whole no-liquids-in-your-carry-on really screwed me up. I'll keep you posted.

Size Does Matter

I don't like plain M&Ms. Peanut, peanut butter and the special holiday-edition mint ones I can get around. (If you haven't had the mint ones, you're missing out!) However, the plain ones, not so much.

That being said, I have no logical explanation for why I am now in love with the Mini M&Ms. They are so good, I had to start buying the fun size packages so I'd stop eating the entire tube in one sitting. However, they are just mini versions of the regular plain M&Ms. The only explanation I can come up with is, well, I guess size does matter.

(Hee hee--I'm snickering even typing that. I can't help it.)

Runs in the Family

Friday, October 24th, approximately 10:00 pm.

(Phone rings)

Neha: Hello?

Priya: (In a very serious tone.) There is a national emergency.

Neha: What happened? (Something could have happened...after all, we are in the midst of election season...)

Priya: Ruby Foo's reduced the size of their chocolate cake!! It used to serve 4-6 people, and now the waiter says it will serve 2-3. I disagree, I could eat that whole thing by myself! It's a disgrace.

See? Some things just run in the family.

Great Wall of Chocolate!

So, today is Priya's birthday. (Happy Birthday Priya!) In honor of her birthday, I figured I'd share my all-time favorite chocolate dessert. I'm usually not one to brag about chain restaurants, but I must admit, P.F. Chang's is one of my all-time favorites. Aside from the fantastic tofu lettuce wraps and the spicy chicken, they have...wait for it...the Great Wall of Chocolate. Since I don't have a picture that will do it justice, I found one on flickr here.

Yes, that's right. Six layers of rich chocolate cake and not-overly-sweet chocolate frosting. To accompany this piece of heaven-on-a-plate they provide you with raspberry sauce and fresh berries. What you do not see in the photo is the best part--the entire back (all six layers) is covered in mini semi-sweet chocolate chips. Amazing. In all fairness, since it is Priya's birthday, I will reveal that she actually prefers "Ruby's Famous Chocolate Cake" at Ruby Foo's, which is a combination of chocolate cake and chocolate mousse. We've already discussed how I feel about that combination, so she's just...well...wrong.

Happy Birthday again--love you! :-)

New Dining Options at JFK!

Yes, I understand the irony in my loving food, yet raving about what to eat at an airport. That being said, this truly is food that I am super excited about!

JetBlue will begin operating in its new home- JFK's Terminal 5-- on October 22nd. (It used to be October 1st--the date was pushed back since some of the restaurants were not ready.) I've been in the terminal a bunch of times for testing and the Crewmember parties, but I think I'm most excited about the dining options. I figured I'd share the super cool restaurants that will be part of the terminal, most past security, so you'll have to be flying to be able to enjoy them. (Or, you'll have to take me with you.) :-)

I pulled some of the descriptions directly from our press releases. The overall framework is to have the terminal restaurants reflect New York City--high quality ethnic tastes, from landmark NYC restaurants.


Sit-down Restaurants:


5iveSteak: "A relaxed approach to the classic American steakhouse."

Aeronuova: (by Mark Ladner of Del Posto) "Traditional Italian cuisine with a modern translation." We met some of the chefs, and they had thick italian accents. That's always a good sign at an italian restaurant.

Deep Blue: (by Michael Schulson, previously of Buddakan) An updated version of the current sushi spot in Terminal 6.

Piquillo: (by Alexandra Raij, previously of Tia Pol) The first tapas restaurant in a US airport.

New York Sports Grill: A traditional sports bar with 48 beers on tap.

Revolucion: (by Roberto Santibanez, previously of Rosa Mexicano) A Mexican joint--we sampled their guacamole during one of the Crewmember parties--unreal. They make fresh tortilla chips in house--it's amazing.

The Loft: "A large restaurant and bar featuring traditional American fare, evoking the style of large lofts in the Meatpacking District."


Food "Hall" Restaurants (Food court style)


Boar's Head: Same as Terminal 6-- sandwiches, wraps and paninis.

Cheeburger Cheeburger: Also from Terminal 6-- burgers and floats.

Fresco Pasta: "A lively pasta and wine bar."

Lucy's Asian Kitchen: A made-to-order Asian spot.

Pommes Frites: Yes, you read that correctly. The famous NYC french fry place will have a location in the Terminal 5 Food Hall.

Roma Pizza: Serves New York-style pizza.

Scattered around the terminal will also be Dunkin Donuts (obviously), Jamba Juice, and the Aunt Butchie's Bakery spot that is currently in Terminal 6, as well as a few other places. However, I cannot wait for Revolucion and Pommes Frites to open!

On a side note, there are also some super cool tables where you can order your meal on a computer screen, slide your credit card, and someone will bring you your meal. That way, you can keep working on your laptop, reading your book, or whatever you happen to be doing, and the food will come to you!



If you have any questions, just ask! (There will be tons of shopping in the terminal as well--a Borders Bookstore, Lacoste, Muji to Go, and a bunch of others...) I'm psyched!

American Express Dish

If you have an AmEx card, and are not signed up as a "Tastemaker," get your behind to a computer and sign up quickly!!

American Express Dish- New York City

I got a random email a while back inviting me to sign up--I don't know how I was targeted (Ash didn't get the email), but maybe they have some sort of she-only-charges-on-food-related-stuff radar, and figured I would enjoy the program. Which, I do!

Essentially it's a review site, and it currently only includes two cities--NYC and San Francisco. You sign up and can leave and read reviews on your favorite restaurants. My favorite part is that they have a "what to order" question, where you can list any menu items that are particularly good. For the restaurants I've been to, it's been on target for the most part.

However, I don't tell you to join solely because of the reviews. I LOVE discounts, and currently they have an amazing promotion going on. There are about 30 restaurants participating, and if you book a reservation through American Express Dish at one of them between now and Oct. 10th, AmEx will refund 20% of your bill on your next credit card statement. (There are a few that are 25% as well). On top of that, within 8-10 weeks you will receive a $50 AmEx gift card!! So, say your meal is $80 for two people (these are pretty pricey places), with 20% off you would actually pay $64 once you receive your statement, and $14 once you receive your $50 gift card!

You can only get one $50 gift card per cardmember, but I believe you can use as many of the percentage discounts as you'd like if it's within the time period, and the restaurant is participating.

The nice thing is that once you sign up with your AmEx card, you don't have to fill out any paperwork or anything. You just make the reservation through the AmEx Dish site, and then it is automatically taken care of on your credit card statement. (You pay full price in the restaurant, but AmEx will credit your statement.) Note: Be sure to sign up with the AmEx card you charge most often at restaurants, otherwise the site won't track it! You must charge the credit card you sign up with.

I highly recommend the program. I also find myself getting random emails from them on various promotions and cool new restaurants, so you have nothing to lose, it's free! Then again, it only works if you have an AmEx card. (Shameless plug--if you don't, American Express is AWESOME.)

Ash and I will be trying Cesca on Monday night (75th & Amsterdam), and we may take advantage of a few others. However, good reservation times are running out, so sign up and make them quickly!

He's so cute.

I finally went to Buddakan for the first time (thanks Swati!), and was blown away by the decor on the inside. So obscure from the outside, but as soon as you walk in, it's like this never-ending gorgeous restaurant. My favorite dish was the "Wild Mushroom Chow Fun"--absolutely wonderful. We ordered the "Crying Chocolate" and the "Chocolate Peanut Butter Bombe" for dessert. The ice cream on the desserts was fantastic--coffee on the first and peanut butter on the latter--so good.

When I got home, Ash was already in bed, half asleep, and asked where we had gone. (It was a wives night--no boys allowed on wives night.) When I told him, he mumbled--"Buddakan? That's an oxymoron. On one hand you have Buddha, who was the epitome of non-violence, and then you have Genghis Khan. What a weird name." Then he turned and fell back asleep. He's so cute.

Email me!

I've heard from a few people that they'd like to be emailed when I post something new, so I looked around for a free service that will do it. On the left you'll now see a spot to enter your email address, powered by "FeedBlitz." If you sign up, you should get an email within 24 hours of a new posting.

Hope that helps!

Fan mail

If you don't know my good friend Atheen, well, you're missing out. Aside from being brilliant and absolutely hysterical, he also has fantastic taste in online reading. Below is the quote he left on my facebook wall:

"I tried the seven-minute kulfi. It took me twice the time because I suck at motor skills, but it was, indeed, pretty amazing!! Your blog rocks."

I'm chalking this up as my first piece of fan mail. :-)

PS- If you care to argue with me about my "brilliant" comment, click here to visit his blog.

7 Minute Kulfi Recipe

Okay, so ever since I posted about the Kool Freeze Kulfi Bars, I haven't been able to find them at Whole Foods. You'd better believe I wrote them a nice email asking (okay, fine, begging) them to begin carrying them again. I used the location finder on the Kool Freeze website, but I searched my zip code in NYC and found that the closest location that sells the bars is in Palm Desert, CA, 2359.37 miles away. (Those lucky CA people!) I then sent an email to the contact person on the Kool Freeze website to find out if any NYC locations that sell the bars, but they never got back to me.

So, I proceeded to google just about every kulfi recipe I could find. Most of them involved boiling milk, reducing it, then adding sugar, nuts and flavor (saffron, cardamom, etc.) and freezing it in molds. I often make kheer (rice pudding), and reducing milk is not something I find enjoyable. However, as I kept looking, I came across a recipe on allrecipes.com that seemed to be way too easy, but the reviews were excellent. As many of you know, I seem to have a problem following recipes exactly. (This is why Priya will always make the best cookies and baked goods.) I can't measure properly, and my hands just throw random ingredients in despite what the paper says is correct. So, I researched a bunch of other easy kulfi recipes, and altered this one slightly. It's certainly not my Mom's kulfi, or the super creamy kulfi served in restaurants, but for a 7 minute prep time, it's not bad at all. (The recipe sounds a bit weird, but it works, I swear!) Below is the recipe:

Super Easy Kulfi (Approx. 8 servings)

3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
3/4 cup evaporated milk (I used fat free)
1 8 oz. container of Cool Whip, thawed (I used Cool Whip Lite)
3 slices of white bread with crusts removed (torn into pieces)
2 tsp. rose water
2 tsp. ground cardamom (optional)

In a blender, combine the condensed milk, evaporated milk and cool whip. When combined, add the pieces of bread and blend until smooth. Finally, add the rose water and ground cardamom, if desired. (Ash and Priya can't stand cardamom-- I can't get enough of it.) Then, pour into popsicle molds or freezer-safe containers (I used the small plastic ziploc containers, as I didn't have any molds), and freeze for at least 4 hours. I found that freezing them for around 8 hours made them taste even better.

See? Isn't that easy? Dump everything in a blender, pour into freezer-safe containers, and you're done! The whole thing took me about seven minutes to prepare--the hardest part was waiting for it to freeze. Next time I'm going to try adding saffron and nuts in it as well. (Though various recipes say to add nuts halfway through freezing time, otherwise they'll settle on the bottom.)

I know the recipe sounds weird, but trust me, it's not bad! It's no Kool Freeze Kulfi, but it'll hold me over for now.

Posto

Yes, I know I haven't posted in a while (thanks to all of you who so kindly reminded me), but I was sucked into the Olympics coverage. I'm trying a new indian restaurant tonight with the family, so I'll report back on that, but for now I thought I'd pass along info on one of our favorite places.

Pizza is one of those foods there is an abundance of in NYC. (If you're looking for value--and want to be shocked by the largest slice you've ever seen-- be sure to try Koronet Pizza at 110th & Broadway.) One of my favorite pizza places does super thin crust pizza, and it's one of those cozy hole-in-the-wall places that can only seat about 30 people at a time. My friend Mike introduced me to it a few years ago, and Mike knows his pizza. His diet consists of plain chicken (no sauce or flavor of any kind--just salt and pepper), some carrots, and any kind of pizza. Living in Manhattan, he found himself eating the latter quite often. Therefore, when he told me he'd found the best pizza in town, I believed him. So, one chilly winter evening after work, he introduced Ash and I to Posto.



Posto is on the corner of 18th St. and 2nd Avenue, and it is perhaps the thinnest crust pizza I've ever had. That being said, it stays crispy, and you can eat a LOT more than you think you can. They also have great garlic bread, but it has chunks of fresh garlic, so if you are trying to make a good impression on a first date, steer away. The ambiance is nice--it has a tavern feel-- slightly dark, wooden tables, and mini booths that seat 2 comfortably, 4 with a squeeze. However, if you go later than 7:00 on a Friday or Saturday, expect to be waiting for a while. (There isn't much room to wait inside, so chances are you'll be waiting outdoors.)

While you're there, be sure to order the root beer-- by far the best root beer I've ever had. It's made by Saranac, and I've only found a few restaurants in the city that sell it. If you go during the summer, they have some picnic tables outside where you can usually get a seat pretty quick.

As for price, it's certainly not cheap. Dinner for Ash and I usually consists of 2 root beers, 1 large or 2 small pizzas, and an order of garlic bread, and we typically pay close to $45 after tax and tip. Considering the fact that it's pizza--it's not cheap, but we find ourselves visiting often. The quality of the food and the cozy atmosphere is just too hard to turn down.

Mike is one of my favorite people--a true friend who always knows what to say. And he knew that on a cold winter day, there's not much that makes me happier than a cozy restaurant, good company and perfectly cooked pizza. (On a personal note- congrats on the super marathon, you crazy, crazy man.)

PS- When you're done, you can walk to Sixteen Handles or Max Brenner for dessert!

16 Handles

My husband is adorable. Not only does he shrug and go along with whatever I feel like eating, he actually looks around for new places he thinks I may enjoy. So, when I received a phone call last week in the middle of the day about a new yogurt place, I knew it had to be good. He had gone and scoped it out, as he didn't want to get me excited about a place and have it end up being a disappointment. (He is usually on the receiving end of my immature tantrums--why go through the pain if you can avoid it?)

After a nice dinner at Thai Terminal with our friend Ashish, the three of us headed over to get dessert. It's on 2nd Ave. around 9th St., and it's called "16 Handles." Super cute. It's pay-by-the-ounce (46 cents/ounce), so you pick up a cup and fill it with as much or as little yogurt as you'd like. They have 16 flavors and a fairly large toppings bar, including chocolate and caramel sauce. Since it was my first time, I obviously had to fit as many flavors as possible into my cup. I tried:

Irish Mint (yum!)
Cheesecake (eh)
Chocolate (just ok)
Coffee (not bad, but an odd aftertaste)
Plain (similar to Pinkberry, but sweeter and softer in consistency--I liked it)

You cannot sample the flavors, but it's fairly easy to put a little bit into your cup and try a bunch. (Just make sure you pay before you start eating!) I believe the flavors change, as Ash tasted some flavors that were no longer available. They also had Peanut Butter, Very Berry, Mango Tango Sorbet, Banana, Strawberry Tart, Euro Tart (tangier version of the "plain")...and a few more I can't remember. The toppings bar had just about anything you could want--nuts, chocolate, candy, fresh fruit, brownie bites, coconut shavings, marshmallows, fruity pebbles (yes Priya, they have real fruity pebbles), and many others. I loved that they had chocolate and caramel sauce--many yogurt places are lacking in the sauce department. The blog post below has some pictures:

New York Magazine- 16 Handles

Overall, it was a great place! Probably second only to Forty Carrots in my mind--it's kind of fun to fill your cup with whatever you want and pay by the ounce. The yogurt may not be amazing on its own, but the whole experience makes for a good time. We paid less than $13 for the three of us, so it's probably in the same price range as other yogurt places, but you can mix and match flavors and toppings as you choose. I highly recommend it. Ash--good job honey. :-)

Who does that?

Ash and I were taking the train to Albany on Friday, so I figured I'd pick up a small sandwich at Penn Station. I went to Hot & Crusty (that name still seems odd to me), picked up half of a chicken salad sandwich, and then saw a small cup of chocolate mousse. Now, Hot & Crusty is half a bakery, so it wasn't completely out of the blue. In fact, on their website, they call themselves "New York's best known and finest bakery." (I beg to differ, but that argument is for another day.) If you've read my earlier post, you know I can't pass up chocolate mousse, so I bought it along with my sandwich, grabbed a spoon, and headed onto the train.

After eating my below-average sandwich, I was really looking forward to my dessert. I opened the container, dug my spoon in, and took my first bite.

(Pause.)

Not good. At all. Not so bad I had to spit it out, but it really tasted like whipped chocolate pudding. I quickly became disappointed, and commented to Ash that it was well below the already low expectations I had in mind.

I thought for a moment and realized that maybe my initial disappointment had clouded my judgement. Perhaps it wasn't all that bad. I dipped my spoon in for the second time, and when I pulled it back out, covered in whipped pudding, you won't believe what I saw.

Cake. Not even chocolate cake. Yellow rum-type cake. It was like someone had read my earlier post and decided to taunt me. If I wasn't on a moving train, I would have made a huge scene. Now, to put things in perspective, this mousse cup was clear. As in transparent. No where could you see any cake in the clear plastic (I always examine my mousse carefully), and so I was happy to plunk down $4.50 for what I thought would be extremely mediocre chocolate mousse. Instead, I was holding whipped chocolate pudding with tiny pieces of yellow rum-type cake...and I was livid. It didn't even have layers of cake--it just had random cake crumbs strewn about, as if specifically intended to aggravate me. (Random pieces of yellow cake in a chocolate mousse cup--who does that??) Ash was actually scared to talk to me for the next several minutes--the scowl on my face and the near-full container thrown into the garbage said it all.

Just a word of caution--steer clear of the chocolate mousse from Hot & Crusty. This may be one of the few times I will not give an item a second chance.

PS- I ordered a chocolate mousse "dessert shooter" at Applebee's last night (we were at Woodbury Commons). It was $1.99 and came in a large shot glass, with whipped cream and some Oreo bits. It was a pleasant surprise...half the price of Hot & Crusty, and more than twice as good. If I was at Applebee's, I'd definitely get it again. (I think they might be $2.99 in NYC, however-- keeping in mind the tiny amount, I'm not sure it's worth the extra buck. On a side note, if you're in NYC, what are you doing eating at Applebee's??)

Best. Kulfi Bars. Ever.

Found them at Whole Foods-- bought the Saffron and Mango flavors. Saffron--amazing. Mango--still pretty good. I'm dying to find the Malai and Faluda ones, but so far have been unsuccessful. They are pricey--something near $6 for a box of four bars, but totally worth it.

Kool Freeze Kulfi Bars

Keep in mind, they do not beat the "real" kulfi from India, but come pretty darn close. They come in the following flavors (with my lovely commentary):

Pistachio-- Not a fan of pistachio, so I haven't tried the bar
Mango-- Tried it, pretty good
Malai-- Will cry soon if I can't find it
Coconut--Haven't tried it, but blah
Faluda-- See "Malai"
Strawberry-- Kulfi? Seriously?
Chikoo-- I can't even stomach the fruit properly
Saffron-- Ah-maze-ing

Yolato

I must preface this post by saying I'm not a huge gelato fan. I enjoy good frozen yogurt or ice cream, but find something about gelato's consistency slightly unappealing. That being said, with my recent yogurt obsession, I felt I owed Yolato a chance.

We walked in to the store on Broadway and 82nd, and I saw about 20 flavors. (The website touts a much higher number--apparently they rotate.) Yolato sells yogurt-based gelato, and after speaking to the exceptionally nice server, I found out that their best selling flavor was based on "Ferrero Rocher." (Heads up--she said they typically sell out of that one by 9:00 pm at the latest...and this was a random Wednesday night.) After handing Ash a tissue to recover from the fact that they had sold out of the flavor "made for him", I settled on purchasing the pink grapefruit and lemon sorbet. I agree it was a slight cop out to not get the yogurt-based gelato, but I was not disappointed. The pink grapefruit was tangy but sweet--very refreshing after the italian meal we had just eaten. It reminded me of the pink grapefruit I tried at Grom a while back, but sweeter. The lemon was good, but it doesn't compare to the lemon sorbet from Eli's. Eli's puts lemon zest in their sorbet--the frozen pieces totally kick it up a notch.

Ash loved the pink grapefruit so much he ordered it as well, along with coconut. (I didn't try the coconut--I'm not such a fan of that flavor.) I'll go back to Yolato, but only because Ash will drag me back to try their Ferrero Rocher flavor. I prefer the sorbet at Eli's (though the pink grapefruit was good), and would go for Forty Carrots yogurt over gelato in a heartbeat.

PS- I purchased the frozen "Yolato Bars" you can get at the grocery store a while back. The one with pomegranate sorbet...I wasn't a fan, but Vinny thought they were good. So, if you're the banana cream pie type, you may want to give them a whirl.

Chocolate Mousse

Could there be a more perfect dessert? I believe my obsession started at a restaurant called "Garcia's" (the Albany clan will know this place), where Priya and I always ordered it for dessert whether we were hungry or not. (We secretly knew my Dad would eat a few spoons of it--he's also a big dessert lover--so we were really just doing the family a favor.) It came in an ice cream dish with whipped cream and a sopapilla on top (I didn't think it was odd at the time...), and would be devoured in a matter of minutes. It was not quite pudding, not quite whipped cream--a delicate balance between the two, with small flecks of chocolate.

Yes, I realize now that excellent chocolate mousse is not supposed to have flecks of chocolate, but we were talking about a restaurant known for their tex-mex fare. Can you really expect a place that has pinata donkeys hanging from the ceiling to have exceptional french desserts? Better yet, do you really expect a ten-year old to appreciate the difference?

When I moved to New York, it was a different ball game. If chocolate mousse is ever on the dessert menu, I will order it. It is the one dessert that trumps all others in my mind--and there is no better end to a meal than a wonderful dessert. My only problem comes when I order chocolate mousse and receive something that resembles a cake.

(Pause. Deep breath.)

Really people? Since when did the world's most perfect dessert get demoted to the level of frosting? Chocolate cake with some layers of mousse is not the same thing--they should put a disclaimer on the menu: "This is not actually chocolate mousse. Since we don't have the ability to make mousse that is good enough to stand on it's own, we've stuffed it between two layers of chocolate cake so you hopefully don't notice the difference. The mousse will be firm, as its role is to keep the cake from collapsing. Enjoy."

Just don't get in my way if I order mousse and end up with cake-- you might be wearing it.

Back to the mousse, however, I've tried it at a number of places, but my all-time favorite still belongs to Payard. It seems logical that a french-trained pastry chef has mastered the art of making a perfectly smooth chocolate mousse (without the flecks of chocolate, I may add), and I find myself going there so often that the pastry waiter gives me a knowing smile every time I walk in. Since they don't sell the mousse in "to-go" containers, I drag Ash there, fork over my $7 for the world's best dessert, and then give him a "you better order your own" look when he attempts to share. (Fine, I let him take a little bit, I am a decent wife.) I've heard rumors that Payard's recipe just uses chocolate, soy milk and tofu...next time I go I'll get the full scoop.

However, if you are also on a chocolate mousse hunt, Serendipity is not a bad option. It's not fantastic, but certainly not horrible--but at $9, it is $2 more than Payard's perfect dessert. If you are there and need to fill a chocolate craving, my favorite thing is (surprise surprise!) their frozen hot chocolate. Oddly enough, another restaurant is a small one called Harry's Burrito's on the Upper West Side. Their mousse is nowhere near perfect (remember the chocolate flecks?), but for some reason it takes me back to eating chocolate mousse at Garcia's. Nothing like a chocolate-fleck filled dessert to remind you of home.

Lots of hype about Red Mango!

Ever since I've mentioned 40 Carrots, I've been told by Rupa & Rahul and Camala (from France!) about Red Mango. Whereas 40 Carrots has sweetened yogurt as well (the coffee and chocolate flavors taste more like ice cream than yogurt, but are fat free!), I understand that Red Mango is more of a Pinkberry-type place.

Though I do like Pinkberry, I know that the toppings either make or break the yogurt. So, I'm asking those who have been before--what topping(s) should I get on my Red Mango yogurt? Let me know, and I'll report back once I visit!

Take 5 Candy Bar

Why have I never tried this candy bar before? I am not a huge candy bar person, but I bought this because it was on sale and sounded intriguing. Pretzel, peanut butter, caramel and peanuts, all wrapped in chocolate...

This candy bar has just about everything you could want wrapped into a made-for-any-mood chocolate bar--except nougat, but who really wants nougat? (The word even looks funny. Nougat. Blah.) That being said, why have I never heard of it? Hershey's needs to make commercials about this bar, because if I saw a picture of it, I would have ran out and bought ten right away. I tried one at work, shared it with two friends, and all three of us looked at each other with the "Oh-we-should-not-have-tried-this-because-now-we'll-want-one-everyday" look. On a personal note, I love that the candy bar is divided into two small bars--it makes me feel like I'm eating two candy bars.

If you want the nutritional stats, click here.

If you don't care so much about nutrition and just want a fantastic snack--go get one!! You may have never have heard of it--but eat one and you won't forget the name again!

40 Carrots (at Bloomingdale's)

I have a problem. I heard Bloomingdale's had good frozen yogurt, and not being one to say no to dessert, I went. I navigated through the store, crossed through bedding, and finally found what I was looking for on the 7th floor. I stood in line, quickly realized you could order two flavors at once, and made the decision to get half chocolate and half coffee when I got to the counter. I forked over my $5, and was handed back enough frozen yogurt to feed a small country. Or me before dinner. I have always been an ice cream fan--take me to Friendly's, order me a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup sundae, and I'll pretty much do whatever you want. Frozen yogurt--eh, that's for healthy people.

I have been so wrong. I'm just glad I went to 40 Carrots (the name of the Bloomingdale's frozen yogurt joint) while we are still in the city for a while--otherwise, I would have kicked myself. Or cried. It is absolutely amazing--and those who know me, know that I am very picky with my desserts. I dragged Ash back to Bloomingdale's, and he too agreed with how good it was. Fat free?? How they do it, I don't care. It's amazing. I'd eat it every day if I could.

Now here's where the problem comes in--40 Carrots closes at 7:00 pm. That's just not going to work for me. I came home, we ate dinner, and then I realized we couldn't go...and I got cranky. I proceeded to look up various yogurt joints in NYC--Yolato, Red Mango, Flurt--I haven't yet tried any of these. Pinkberry--I've tried that. It's good, but doesn't hold a candle to Forty Carrots in my opinion. (The coffee flavor is sweet, unlike at Pinkberry.) In my last ditch effort, I dragged Ash to Tasti-Delite, and ordered "Brownie Batter." Not. Even. Close.

I just may start a petition to get them to stay open later. Until then, if you come across any support groups to help me, please let me know. "Hello, my name is Neha. And I'm addicted to 40 Carrots frozen yogurt." You've been warned-- I have a problem.