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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Fortunato Brothers, Italian Bakery in Williamburg, Brooklyn, NY

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Please note that the meal was complimentary. However, the opinions expressed in my blog are 100% my own!

 

Continuing my discovery of Brooklyn, I gladly accepted the invite I received from Fortunato Brothers Bakery in Williamsbug, an all Italian bakery that opened in 1976. Family business for sure, the establishment's name reflecting the association of three brothers from Naples, Michele, Mario and Sal. Today, they transmitted their passion to their sons, Biagio and Biagio, as well as Frank, another member of the family, and another Biagio! I admit that I met with Biagio, but I have no clue which one!!!

So, as we approached the bakery, we could not miss the delicious smell coming from it, as well as the small Fiat cars in front if it. 

The shop is fairly big, with a seating area on the side that is perfect to enjoy an Italian espresso, a homemade gelato (they have twenty different flavors, my favorite being nocciola or hazelnut), or a cake. 

But of course, the best part was the display, where we could salivate in front of the large choice of cakes and cookies:

As we were close to Easter, they had plenty of items prepared especially for the occasion, some sweet:

and some savory, such as the meat pie that we tasted. 

It was a delicious combination of ham and ricotta wrapped in a crumbly dough. 

So we sat in the seating area, waiting for our tasting, when we noticed a cat sitting (or shall I say sleeping) next to our table.

His name is Rocco: he is the bakery's owners cat and you might see him either sleeping, walking around, or coming to you to get pet or to play. 

Biagio served us a combination of pastries that were mouth watering. Small size though, when possible. I have to say that I love when bakeries offer pastries in a smaller size, as it allows us to try several.

The first I tried was the baba au rum.

It was fantastic: soaked in rum and light. 

There was also a Napoleon:

Similar to the French mille-feuilles, I was glad to see that it had icing and not sugar on top (the best part) and crème pâtissière inside.

The only problem: too small: it was so good that I would have eaten several of them!

Next was the Sfogliatelle (Italian for small, thin leaves/layers):

What is interesting about this pastry is the multiple layers that wrap around a filling made of ricotta, almond flour and candied fruits.

I liked it, but admit that, with a similar dough, I preferred the lobster tail:

It is bigger, but lighter.

In fact, this pastry was invented by Italian-Americans in the 1900s. So, the same dough, but, inside, the filling is made of a cream similar to whipped cream.

Then we got a cream puff that was glazed with a thick layer of dark chocolate.

Inside was a vanilla custard that was delicious and had a perfect consistency.

Following was a classic: cannoli.

It was very good: the ricotta filling was fantastic, not too sweet, and the shell tasted fresh and was crispy. It was my second favorite after the baba.

Last was a cookie called Deliciosa.

It was made with a moca cream. I admit that, although I love coffee, I did not like it.

These pastries could not be eaten without a shot of Italian espresso.

You may think that it was it, but it was not: Biagio proposed to bring home whatever we wanted to try. As Jodi put it, it was like bringing a vampire to a blood bank...

So I went in front of the display and simply (?) asked for some Italian cookies.

So our visit was followed by a cookie tasting.

Here is what we tried:

Rainbow cookies:

Pignoli:

With the equivalent made with pistachio:

Biscotti:

And various cookies.

My favorite were the rainbow cookies and pignoli, maybe because I love any cookie or pastry made with almonds.

So, Fortunato Brothers was definitely a nice discovery of an Italian bakery that seems to stay true to itself, serving customers with traditional Italian specialties, all homemade. Not to mention not too sweet, allowing me to try all of these without falling into a sugar coma!

Enjoy (I did)!

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Restaurant Information

tabelog.us

	* Restaurant Name
	Fortunato Brothers Cafe
	* Overall
	★★★☆☆
	* Neighborhood / Cuisine
	Williamsburg / Italian
	* Street Address
	289 Manhattan Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11211
	* Phone
	(718) 387-2281

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Doughnuts from Dough in Brooklyn

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One of my colleagues, Jason, brought some doughnuts one day for breakfast. They were from Dough, a doughnuttery located in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn. With all the doughnut places in New York, I was curious to see what would set Dough apart. On top of that, I am a huge fan of the Doughnut Plant, so my expectation was very high. 

At first, you cannot miss the size of these doughnut that are fairly big, the size of a bagel. They are yeast doughnuts, as opposed to cake doughnuts. 

Although large, they were soft, chewy, airy and fluffy, not too heavy. And yes, I tried all of them...

Here is what we had:

Hibiscus doughnut:

Coconut doughnuts:

Glazed doughnuts:

Chocolate doughnuts:

Cafe au lait doughnuts:

I was curious what the hibiscus doughnut would taste like, not that I never tried hibiscus before (I had a hibiscus lemonade once at Angelica Kitchen). Do not imagine a flowery taste: it had a nice sweetness and I would not have known it was hibiscus, I would probably think it was food coloring...

The chocolate doughnut was delicious too and would satisfy any chocolate lover, the icing being very chocolate-y. But my favorite was the cafe au lair one that had some crumble as well as nuts, adding some nice texture to it.

I liked the doughnuts at Dough, not only because they taste good, but also because of their originality. However, they would had some filling, it would make them seriously compete with the doughnut plant.

Enjoy (I did)!



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Restaurant Information

tabelog.us

	* Restaurant Name
	Dough
	* Overall
	★★☆☆☆
	* Neighborhood / Cuisine
	Bedford-Stuyvesant / American Traditional / Desserts
	* Street Address
	305 Franklin Ave. (At Lafayette Ave.), Brooklyn, NY 11205
	* Phone
	(347) 533-7544

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