Brooklyn: Dumbo
Posted by Kathy YL Chan, June 3, 2009 at 4:00 PM
Wicked chocolate, banana rum sorbet, and vanilla rum caramel were but a few flavors outfitting the Jacques Torres ice cream cart at the Hudson Street store this week (rotating flavors are also at the DUMBO location). Fresh-made waffle cones and waffles were tempting, but after sampling a few flavors, I stuck with the plain and simple in-a-cup method. At $3 a scoop, this is one of the lowest-priced scoops in town. Gelato runs nearly $5 a cup nowadays, and ice cream standbys such as Sundaes and Cones and Chinatown Ice Cream Factory take you close to the $4 range.
Banana-chocolate ice cream.
Banana-chocolate was my flavor of choice—heavier on the banana in flavor and lighter on chocolate. The ice cream itself was of fine texture: lush, consistently smooth, and just a note stickier than most ice creams. Delicious though not quite destination ice cream. When I go to Jacques Torres, even during the sweltering summer days, Mudslide cookies and frozen hot chocolate will be on the top of my agenda. Ice cream will simply be a sweet bonus.
Scooping it all up.
Jacques Torres
350 Hudson, New York NY 10014 (at King Street; map); 212-2414262
66 Water Street, Brooklyn NY 11201 (map); 718-875-9772
Posted by Erin Zimmer, April 22, 2009 at 4:15 PM
Robert LaValva has been lobbying to get the New Amsterdam Market inside the old Fulton Fish Market at the South Street Seaport for a while, but for a handful of reasons, it hasn't worked out. Now he's hoping to take the market—what he envisions to be a super-sized Greenmarket that runs year-round indoors, kind of like London's Borough Market or Philadelphia's Reading Terminal—to Dumbo. The archway under the Manhattan Bridge, formerly a dumping ground for the Department of Transportation, could be that new home.
According to The Architect Newspaper, the tentative debut is June 28. But as Curbed reminds us, it's really not a done deal yet.
Related
Meet & Eat: Robert LaValva, New Amsterdam Market
Free Sample Sunday at the New Amsterdam Market
New Amsterdam Market Will Help Aspiring Bee Keepers
Posted by Erin Zimmer, March 30, 2009 at 1:30 PM
You still have until this Thursday, April 2, to hit up Dine in Brooklyn, Brooklyn's annual Restaurant Week. With over 175 eateries [PDF] offering the $23 prix fixe deal, choosing can be a tad overwhelming.
Who better to dish out advice on where to go than the Brooklyn blogosphere. What the locals have to say:
Dumbo NYC: "One of our favorites is Hibino in Cobble Hill. They are run by chefs Hirohisa and Masaru, who provide a truly authentic Kyoto style obanzai (daily specials). Try their fresh tofu and delicate sashimi. Being at Hibino brings us back to where we're from, Japan." 333 Henry Street, Cobble Hill (map); 718-260-8052
Blondie and Brownie: "I defintitely have Miriam on my list. I love their brunch and I've been curious to try their dinner and at $23 for 3 mezes, an entree, and baklava the price is definitely right. 79 5th Avenue, Park Slope (map); 718-622-2250. Blue Ribbon is also a worthwhile pick—just be sure to go later in the evening because dinner tends to attract the stroller crowd. 280 5th Avenue, Park Slope (map); 718-840-0404 —Brownie
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Posted by Robyn Lee, February 6, 2009 at 5:30 PM
This Saturday only (not Sunday), February 7, Mitzy Budiono of Itzy Bitzy Patisserie will be selling her macarons at Brooklyn Flea's Winter Pop-Up Market in Dumbo from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. She couldn't make it to the market last weekend, so you can be among the first to check out her new flavors for February: Champagne, chocolate strawberry, chocolate hazelnut, coffee, Earl Grey, and houjicha. My favorite is the chocolate hazelnut—of course, you should try all of them.
Winter Pop-Up Market
76 Front Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201 (at Washington Street; map)
718-935-1052
As VittlesVamp points out, "this could be dangerous." In attendance last weekend at the Brooklyn Flea's winter venue on Front Street: Rafael Soler’s pupusas of Red Hook ballfield fame, Kumquat Cupcakery's lilliputian cupcakes, McClure's Pickles, and a cloud of fine smoky smells streaming from the red Kings County BBQ truck.
Posted by Robyn Lee, January 23, 2009 at 4:00 PM
Photograph from dumbonyc on Flickr
The winter location of Brooklyn Flea's Antiques Market in Dumbo was food vendor-less until now. Eater reports that food vendors—such as Kumquat Cupcakery, McClure's Pickles, and Hot Blondies Bakery—will open across the street from the antiques market starting the weekend of January 31. 76 Front Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201 (map); Weekends, 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Posted by Erin Zimmer, December 23, 2008 at 1:30 PM
Editor's note: This concludes our 12 Days of Hot Chocolate series. We end on the classic Jacques Torres.
From left: "Classic" hot chocolate and "Wicked." Hardly distinguishable.
">Photograph from wallyg on Flickr
Price: $3 (for eight ounces), $4 (for twelve ounces), or a free ounce-ish sample
The Deal: Jacques confidently calls his hot chocolate "famous." It's part of the title. If you like your cocoa super thick, almost pudding texture, then the adjective is rightfully earned. Similar to the Dessert Truck's version, this is a throat-coater. The staff uses the powder mix for sale in tins in the shop for $18, with a 2-to-1 milk-to-powder ratio. Personally, I'm weak and cannot handle a whole cup. Maybe I'm just not a chocofreak? I was guzzling water just to wash down a few ounces in the little "shot" cups. The spicier "Wicked" flavor isn't sucker punch spicy, but the chili pepper loiters in a friendly way.
Jacques Torres
66 Water Street, Brooklyn NY 11201 (map)
350 Hudson, New York NY 10014 (at King Street; map)
285 Amsterdam Avenue, New York NY 10023 (b/n West 73rd and 74th Streets; map)
jacquestorres.com
Previously
12 Days of Hot Chocolate: Shake Shack
12 Days of Hot Chocolate: City Bakery
12 Days of Hot Chocolate: Vosges Haut Chocolat
12 Days of Hot Chocolate: One Girl Cookies
Posted by Kathy YL Chan, September 18, 2008 at 6:00 PM
Reliable classics are always worth returning to, and the vanilla chocolate chip ice cream, from the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory, is a prime example. Simple and to the point, a single scoop of creamy rich vanilla, liberally dotted with chocolate chunks, runs $3.50. Gelato is great, and asian inspired ice cream is all the rage, but sometimes (as Robyn mentioned in yesterday's Hot Fudge Sundae post) you just need some good old fashioned ice cream. Flavor options here are limited; the menu is dominated by chocolate, coffee, strawberry, and butter pecan. But it's for the best—a few flavors done right is much preferable to more choices of lesser quality. But if you still can't settle upon a flavor, we spotted a couple diving into an absolutely mouthwatering banana split. Besides, the beautiful view, and an opportunity to walk over the Brooklyn Bridge before or after your visit, is bound to whet your appetite.
Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory
1 Water Street, Brooklyn NY 11201; (nr. Old Fulton Street; map)
718-246-3963
Posted by Zach Brooks, July 15, 2008 at 6:00 PM
Photograph by Front Studio
I read about this perfect-for-summer fruit eclair from the Almondine Bakery in Dumbo, on the Front Studio Lunch blog. According to them, "the barely present cream filling lets the fruit really fill every bite, with some crunchy almonds for textural contrast." Sounds good to me. 85 Water Street, Brooklyn, NY; (nr. Main Street; map)
Posted by Kathy YL Chan, June 24, 2008 at 2:45 PM
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
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.
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Posted by Ed Levine, November 14, 2007 at 11:17 AM
A selection of pies and tarts from Trois Pommes Patisserie.
As many of you know I am a pie freak, which in New York is not a bad thing, as New York has quietly become an excellent pie town. Last year some of you might recall I posted about New York's five best pies. It is now time to move beyond my top five pie list in New York, to a place called Pie Heaven.
I have eaten hundreds of pies in Gotham, and I believe that no one should want for a great piece of pie on Thanksgiving. So in honor of Ben Leventhal and the rest of the crew at Eater I give you my current, up-to-the-minute list of fine pie establishments in and around New York. A lot of these places don't allow walk-in pie purchases on either the day before Thanksgiving or on Turkey Day itself, so to avoid extreme Thanksgiving pie disappointment, call now.
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Posted by Ed Levine, November 2, 2007 at 7:45 AM
Here's a baker's dozen plus two of my favorite bakeries in New York. Are they the best fifteen in Gotham? You tell me.
As the northeast weather turns colder and Thanksgiving approaches this man's attention turns to baked goods. Of course it doesn't take much to get me thinking about pies, cakes, cookies, and any other food item containing the holy trinity of butter, sugar, and flour. That smell, that wondrous, incredibly alluring bakery smell, is what I live for. If I'm feeling blue, that smell transports me to a better, happier place.
New York City happens to be home to more great bakeries per square block than any other city in the country. Why? A couple of reasons. New York has long been the first stop in America for an incredibly diverse ethnic groups. Many of those ethnic groups, the Germans, the Russian and Polish Jews, the Hungarians, the Austrians, the southern Italians, and even in smaller number the French settled here at different points starting at the turn of the twentieth century. Many of these folks brought incredibly rich baking traditions with them.
During the eighties, however, as ethnic enclaves began to break down and disperse, many of the great ethnic bakeries of New York closed. French bakeries like Dumas, Bonte, and Colette shut their doors. So did the great Hungarian bakeries Riga and Mrs. Herbst's. Ditto for great Jewish-style bakeries like Litchtman's and Grossinger's.
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Posted by Ed Levine, August 4, 2006 at 9:21 AM
These last few days have almost done me in. So I've been treating myself to one scoop of ice cream a day (no more, no less, given my "eat less" diet, which has me down 40 pounds). Here are my NYC faves:
1. Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory: Old-fashioned American, not particularly high in butterfat, ice cream.
2. Otto cart in Washington Square Park: The cheapest way to sample Meredith Kurtzman's amazing gelato.
3. Shake Shack: I know it's a cliché, but the frozen custard here rocks, and the ice cream and shake only line is consistently short.
4. Il Laboratio de Gelato: Where Ciao Bella (see below) founder Jon Snyder now plies his trade.
5. Ciao Bella: It's still pretty damned fine, even without Snyder, especially the malted milk ball.
6. Cones: I love the fruit-based gelati and sorbetti here. Bleecker Street, just east of Seventh Avenue South.
7. Eli's: Eli is a ganef, but the man knows how to make great food.
8. Creme Cremaillere: Try the Mission Fig. Sold by the scoop at Manhattan Fruitier, 29th Street, between Park and Lex.
9. Emack & Bolio: I know they're from Boston, but the ice cream is really good.
10. Eddie's (Maspeth): For old time's sake.
Have I missed any?
Häagen-Dazs is by far my favorite mass-produced ice cream, a rare example of a formerly boutique brand that's maintained its quality standards after being bought.
