Chikalicious Dessert Bar in the East Village, NYC, NY

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So, after a first tentative to go to ChikaLicious Dessert Bar and ending up in their Dessert Club, we finally made it. We showed up couple of minutes after they opened, allowing us to get a table, but also to take photos comfortably.

Minutes later, the place was packed! Know that his is small and that they only accept reservations for large groups.

This location is totally different from the other one: a more refined decor as well as a different menu. Here, no cupcake or dossant (a fusion of a croissant and a donut, competitor to the Cronut from Dominique Ansel). At ChikaLicious Dessert Bar, you get a prix-fixe for $16 that includes an amuse-Bouche, a dessert and some petits fours.

The desserts can be paired with a dessert wine for an additional $8 that we did not consider, Jodi preferring a tea:

And myself an espresso:

Both served in a nice china. 

That day, the amuse-bouche was Cara Cara orange (sort of navel orange) with a rosemary ice cream. 

This was a surpising start, the rosemary ice cream being very original, with only a slight taste of rosemary that worked perfectly with the orange.

Then we got our desserts of choice. Know that, as dessert choices change on a regular basis, you may not be able to order what we ate. Jodi ordered the mango-pineapple tartare on crispy kataifi with coconut sorbet and white rum purée.

On my side, I ordered the warm chocolate tart with pink peppercorn ice cream and red wine sauce, that looked like a smiley.

I admit that when the dishes came, I was a bit surprised by the small size of the desserts. Still, the presentation was beautiful and I really liked them, especially the warm chocolate tart whose center was completely liquid, similar to a chocolate soufflé. I admit however that I did not really like the red wine sauce that was served with it. 

We then got some petits fours:

Coconut marshmallow:

Bacardi rum chocolate cookies:

Earl grey tea cakes:

All were good, especially the chocolate cookies (probably because of the rum...). 

The desserts at ChikaLicious are quite good and elegant, with a fantastic presentation, the Chef showcasing a lot of creativity. However, for $16 without a coffee or tea, I find it slightly overpriced. 

Enjoy (I did)!

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ChikaLicious Dessert Bar

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5 Napkin burger in Union Square, NYC

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Our friends from Denmark, Anne and Klaus came recently to visit New York with their kids Signe, Emile and Jonas. We spent some time with them and had to live up to our reputation of foodies (I hate that word). So we picked few places, some of them really representative of Americana. So, of course, we went for burgers. We had to take into account few things: first, there needed to be vegetarian options, Jonas being vegetarian. Second, there should be, a least, a classic cheeseburger. So we de facto eliminated Burger Joint and Umami Burger (although I still salivate like a Pavlov's dog when thinking about the truffle burger there). 

So, we picked 5 Napkin Burger. I went already to the original one in Hell's Kitchen, but never to the one in Union Square. No surprise there: the decor is similar, representing a slaughterhouse, the cleanliness indicating that it represents it after the slaughter. One cannot miss the hooks hanging

Or the multiple scales displayed all over the restaurant. 

If you have never been to 5 Napkin Burger, let me explain to you how it was born. It all started at Nice Matin, a French restaurant located on the Upper West Side. One of their most successful dish was a burger where the meat was so juicy that you needed five napkins for your hands. The owners of the restaurant Simon Oren and Andy D'Amico then got the idea to open a restaurant where their signature burger would be the star. Since then, it has been a success story, with few restaurants in the city, as well as in other cities. 

But do not imagine that the menu offers only burgers, as it's name could lead you to: they serve other dishes, including salads and...sushi! Interesting! Not sure I would think about ordering sushi there. 

The Kroners got their burgers, but, of course, we did too...Jodi ordered the classic cheese, an 8 oz. beef patty served with American cheese, onion, lettuce, tomato, pickles, on a sesame brioche bread. 

It was very good, the meat being juicy and very tasty, topped by a nice amount of cheese. 

But it did not measure up with the 5 Napkin burger that I ordered. 

The beef patty was literally smothered with Gruyere, caramelized onions and rosemary aioli. 

A bit messy for sure, but who cares? Certainly not me who needed more than 5 napkins to clean my hands, the juiciness of the meat adding to the delightful mess.

To go with the burger, I of course ordered a milk shake. Usually, I order a vanilla one, but I got tempted by a cookies and cream that had little pieces of oreo cookie in it.

Everything was fantastic there and it was the perfect introduction to the next few meals we planed for our friends! I certainly did not regret the choice of 5 Napkin Burger: this is definitely one of the best in the City!

Enjoy (I did)!

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Chikalicious Dessert Club in the East Village

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ChikaLicious Dessert Club is an offshoot of ChikaLicious Dessert Bar, located across the street from one another. I wanted to go there after people at work mentioned it to me. I also wanted to try the Dough'Ssant, their response to the Cronut from Chef Dominique Ansel. We decided to show up early on a Saturday afternoon, thinking that there would be a large crowd. I admit that our target was the dessert bar and not the club that we did not know exist. So when we arrived and saw the doors closed until 3pm, we were a bit disappointed. Then we turned our back and saw the dessert club, empty! 

We rushed inside of this tiny place that was empty. I like when there are not too many people, so we have enough time to make up our mind about the pastries. There are not that many in fact, but enough to make us think...

We decided to first try the chocolate chip cookie:

We immediately picked it because of the large quantity of chocolate that it seemed to have and we were not disappointed. Not the best chocolate chip cookie, but a decent one.

Then, we picked the TiMo or Tiramisu Mochi:

That was fantastic: inside the mochi shell was a delicious tiramisu. I am not sure how they are making it, but it is surely successful.

Jodi could not resist ordering the coconut lychee marshmallow:

If you like coconut, this is definitely for you!

Last, was the Dough'Ssant:

As I mentioned, it is the equivalent to the Cronut, but know that it is not fried, but baked, making it, suposedly healthier...Unlike the cronut, besides the demand, they offer different flavors: plain, nutella, Meyer lemon, caramel...We decided to go for crème brûlée.

It was sublime, light, it did not have all the layers of a croissant, but was still airy. Similar to the cronut, there is some custard inside (all Dough'Ssant have a vanilla creme inside) that adds to the decadence of this pastry. I liked it, but would not put it at the same level of the cronut. I just consider it different.

Price wise, it was reasonable as we ended up paying $20 for all of these plus a double espresso and a tea. I liked it and already have my sight on what I will order on my next visit...

Enjoy (I did)!



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Hot Dog Pizza at Ribalta in NYC, New York

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Ok, I admit that the only reason I wanted to go to Ribalta, a restaurant located few steps from Union Square, was to try their hot dog pizza. Yes, you read right: a hot dog pizza. I do not see any problem about having such a pizza, having seen pizza made with cheeseburger, mac and cheese or vodka sauce. I guess it is a good way to show some creativity and have something on your menu that will make people want to try and, sometimes, talk about it...like me! 

There is one thing you need to know about Ribalta: it is owned by Rosario Procino, former founder of Keste pizzeria, and Chef Pasquale Cozzolino, former Executive Chef at Dellaroccos in Brooklyn Heights and Pizza Arte, who want to stay true to the Neapolitan pizza making. 

The place is pretty big, with high ceilings and a giant TV where people were watching the winter olympics in Sochi.

We decided to start with an appetizer and could not resist ordering the meatballs.

They were served in a Neapolitan ragu that was thick and had a very bold flavor, as well as some large slices of parmigiano cheese.

This was a delicious dish, the meatballs being perfectly moist. I admit that the star was the ragu though.

Then came the hot dog pizza:

Called the Americana, it was simply tomato sauce, mozzarella, French fries (crispy on the outside and soft on the inside) and a sliced hot dog sausage. 

Cooked in a brick oven, it had a nice char and the crust was crispy.

Overall, it was a very good pizza, all the components working very well together. Would I go back just to get this pizza? Maybe for fun with friends, as it sounds like a crazy dish. But I would probably go back to try other pizza such as the Nobile, made of mozzarella, gorgonzola, truffle sauce and truffle shaving, or to try pasta. 

Enjoy (I did)!

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Brunch at Momofuku Ssam Bar in the East Village

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I had Momofuky Ssam Bar on my wish list for a while, being a fan of other Momofuku's locations and of their creator, David Chang. Problem is that they do not have that many vegetarian dishes, catering more to meat lovers, especially pork or duck, the later being another reason I wanted to go there, my love for this bird being incommensurable. 

We decided to go on a Saturday for lunch, early enough to get a table as they only take reservation for large group and specific menus served for three people or more, like the  bo ssäm pork shoulder (serves 6-10 people), the whole-rotisserie duck (serves 3-6 people), or the dry aged ribeye (serves 3-6 people).

When we arrived, luckily, there were not that many people in this zen and modern restaurant. Twenty minutes after, it was full of people coming to try their menu made of small plates, perfect for sharing, as well as large ones.

They sat us in front of the kitchen that is located in the back of the restaurant. It was definitely busy over there, the dishes leaving the kitchen at an incredible pace. Surprisingly, our first plates came within few minutes. The first one was the steamed pork buns, one of the signature dishes of Momofuku Noodle Bar and this place.

These buns, made with pork belly, hoisin, cucumbers, scallions were succulent, the cucumber giving a nice crunch, the pork belly being tasty and heavenly fatty and the hoisin sauce giving a fantastic sweetness. Definitely a dish I recommend.

The second dish was the kimchi deviled eggs.

Kimchi is fermented Korean side dish made of vegetables (the most common being cabbage) with a variety of seasonings. Mixing it with the mayo and egg yolk is genius! It was not spicy as I expected and you could taste bits of kimchi that added a bit of texture to the dish. 

Then, we shared the edwards ham and egg sandwich:

It was a nice take on a classic ham end egg sandwich, made with a delicious biscuit (I could eat these with just some butter and honey), a sunny side egg and a red-eye gravy (no idea how they made it, but it was very good). It was served with chicharron that is fried pork skin.

This is another recommended dish.

The last dish was grilled duck hearts served with red cabbage, sunny side egg and toast.

The presentation looked very appetizing and a bit surprising as I thought that they would just serve it on a piece of toast rather than breaking the bread into pieces. What I did was to pierce the yolk so it dripped in the bottom of the plate and soaked the bread.

I really liked the dish, the duck hearts not being chewy and having a nice grilled taste and the cabbage adding some crunch and texture. I thought that this was a better dish than the duck hearts dish I had at Craftbar last year. 

We had a great brunch at Momofuku Ssam Bar. Not surprisingly, the food was original, elaborate and delicious. The only negative is the very limited vegetarian dishes, but I am sure that if you ask they can accommodate you.

Enjoy (I did)!

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