BLOGHUNGRY

Serendipity

Serendipity is so deeply rooted is a corny pop culture cliche that I had to go. The number of times they've been on the Food Network for that $1,000 Ice Cream Sundae or Frozen Hot Chocolate is enough to make a grown man cry... or change the channel. However, it's a great place for John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale to fall in love or for rich little girls to eat ice cream with their grandfathers in movies.

Food: I was warned by a few people that the actual food was terrible and to only order dessert. So, I ordered a Frozen Hot Chocolate and a Hot Fudge Sundae. The Frozen Hot Chocolate tasted like a powdered hot chocolate in milkshake form and was both brilliant and trashy. The hot fudge sundae was huge and tasty, but the fudge was room temp. and clearly from a can (Shame on you Serendipity).

Atmosphere: The kitsch that time forgot circa 1994 (two words: dust & update)

Bloghungry Rating: B

Serendipity
225 East 60th Street
between 2nd and 3rd Avenues
New York, NY 10022

Sun-Thur 11:30am to midnight

Friday 11:30am to 1:00am
Saturday 11:30am to 2:00am

Rice to Riches

 

Forget everything you thought you knew about rice pudding. I have never really been a fan of it in the past, but this is no ordinary rice pudding. Rice to Riches' rice pudding is officially my favorite dessert in New York and will no doubt take over the rest of the country and the world soon.

The Food: Over 20 different flavors of Rice Pudding based in a cool, rich, and flavorful custardy texture. I tried the Caramel, Cheesecake, and Rum Raisin flavors and would happily to est a tub of any of them. You can mix flavors or add toppings too, but why mess with perfection.

The Atmosphere: Pink Berry meets Instructo Art

Bloghungry Rating: A+

Rice to Riches
37 Spring St., New York, NY 10012
(
212) 274-0008

Billy's Bakery

The rumors about Billy's bakery spawning from the disgruntled creator of Magnolia Bakery who has since had a sex change is a little more tantalizing than their baked goods, but Billy's Ice box cake is still pretty great.

Food: Billy's bakery serves classic cakes, cupcakes, and pies with slightly modern presentations. I tried the Icebox cake and the Banana cake. The Icebox cake was soft and moist with layers of deliciously subtle chocolate cookie and vanilla creaminess. The banana cake was a little dry with more baking powder than banana flavor and a lackluster cream cheese frosting.

Atmosphere: A straight-friendly gaykery evoking the charming nostalgia of the year 2000

Bloghungry Rating: B-

Billy's Bakery
184 9th Avenue
NYC, 10011
(212) 647-9956

Baked

I love the look and feel of Baked. It's probably the best designed bakery in New York. Unfortunately their baked goods are just average.

Food: Brownies, cakes, cupcakes, whoopie pies, and homemade marshmallows. I tried the Chocolate and Mocha Buttercream sandwich cookie and a Salted Brownie. The buttercream was a little waxy and a lacked flavor and the brownie was crying out for more fudgy saltiness.

Atmosphere: Mod Mountain Lodge Chic

Bloghungry Rating: B-

Baked
359 Van Brunt Street
Brooklyn, New York 11231
Tel: 718.222.0345

Babycakes

 
Usually “easier to digest” is not something I am looking for in a cupcake, but I have to say the smelly hippies and lesbians are really onto something. With some mystical vegan powers Babycakes is trying to reclaim the dying art of cupcake making. Theirs was easily the best cupcake I had in New York.

Food: Vegan cupcakes with your choice of gluten free and spelt varieties. I had a vanilla spelt cupcake and it was filled with a rich complexity of flavor that I have never tasted in a cupcake before. they aren't exactly sweet, but they have depth.

Atmosphere: Earthy Hipster Mommy and Me Bake Sale

Bloghungry Rating: A

Babycakes
248 Broome St.
New York, NY 10002 

(212) 677-5047

Sugar Sweet Sunshine Bakery

 

Everything in the bakery is cheap which is exciting until you realize that you get what you pay for. After touring a handful of bakeries in the area, it became clear that this one wasn't up to snuff.

Food: I had a pistachio cupcake. It was subtle in flavor, a little dry, and topped with a filmy and whipped sad excuse for frosting. I took 2 bites and decided not to finish it.

The Atmosphere: Hipster Kindergarten Bake Sale

Bloghungry Rating: D+

Sugar Sweet Sunshine Bakery
126 Rivington St., NY, NY 10002
(212) 995-1960

Three Tarts

Discovered while looking for coffee after our flight in, Three Tarts became Bloghungry's favorite overall bakery in New York. Note to the Magnolia Clone Nazis: Any bakery worth it's salt should offer more than just one type of baked good and should have their own spin on everything they serve. Three Tarts is a fudgy orange brownie in a world full of dry and bland cupcakes.

The Food: They offer a collection of cookies, brownies, tarts and "petite treats" that are bordering on frou-frou, but looked and tasted great. I had a dark fudgy brownie topped with a thin slice of candied orange. It was probably the best brownie I have ever had, which is saying a lot given the time it took me to find my own favorite brownie recipe.

The Atmosphere: Small but cute bakery meets boutique. If the word "shop" was in the title it would definitely be spelled "shoppe"

Bloghungry Rating: A

Three Tarts
164 9th Ave
New York, NY 10011
Phone: (212) 462-4392

Hours:
Tue-Sat 11am-8pm
Sun 12pm-6pm

Baby Blues BBQ

I have been looking for some decent BBQ in Los Angeles for over 5 years now. After Baby Blues BBQ, the search will continue.

Atmosphere: There is always a long wait to get in due to some misleading write-ups and awards covering the windows from people like Marc Summers and Citysearch. It's clearly trying for Nashville neighborhood BBQ meets Universal City walk. It succeeded in corporate beer can chic meets rundown strip mall with ill-concieved student-grade black and white photography. Our table was next to a hole in the wall that had a draft of cool air blowing in every time the door opened.

Clientele: A mix of LA transplants desperate for BBQ, and waifs doing their best Jessica Simpson/Daisy Duke impression.

The Food: They offer a good-looking menu with Ribs, BBQ Brisket Sandwiches, Shrimp, Catfish, and a random assortment of sides (e.g. stewed tomatoes or sauteed okra). Everything is overpriced and bland and leaves you with a strange aftertaste that you will feel for a full 24 hours. I swear the Cornbread tasted like smoky fish and still haunts me. The safest things on their menu are their red Kool Aid and the Mac and Cheese.

Bloghungry Rating: D+

Baby Blues BBQ
444 Lincoln Blvd
Venice, CA 90291
(310) 396-7675

Home Town Buffet

A few weeks ago Popmuse and I were running some errands and trolling for a hot breakfast in the valley. We finally landed at the Home Town Buffet. You should know that in my youth I was no stranger to my neighborhood buffets. My dad used to call them "food troughs". "Let's go to the food trough tonight", he'd say with his gruff excitement. We went to the local trough at least once a month or more if there was a baseball, football, or soccer banquet. However, even with my history with sneeze-guarded food, I was not prepared for the Home Town Buffet.

Atmosphere: You enter the doors into a crowd-control railway not unlike a theme park. The room opens up to booth seating and rows of bars lined with bulky dark green drapes caked with dust and topped with plastic plants. Around you, top 40's music from the 90's to today plays like a set list for American Idol. However, all of this fades into your peripheral vision as you come up on the oversized vats of food on the bars. The general vibe is that of a crack den for emotionally void suburbanites looking for a fix.

Clientele: church goers, large families with tons of kids, overeaters who have long stopped tasting their food

Food: The food is processed and in bulk. It lacks the flavors and freshness you would get with fresh meats and real produce, but for $7 all-you-can-eat dehydrated frozen food it was pretty decent. It should also be noted that there was a taco bar and nacho bar with enchiladas, mashed potatoes and brown gravy, and a full dessert/ice cream bar at 8:00am.

Bloom Cafe

Recently, Popmuse and I went to the Bloom Cafe for a casual Sunday brunch. It instantly became one of my top 5 favorite breakfast joints in L.A.. If you are in the area you should definitely check it out.

Atmosphere: Small industrial mod cafe complete with concrete floors, hand panted wall graphics, chunky wood tables, and over-sized original color photography.

Clientele: Hipsters, NPR listeners, and neighborhood locals

Food: Fresh organic California cuisine. I had the poached eggs which were served on goat cheese, walnut, and raisin crostini with smoked apple wood bacon and tomato and basil coulis.

Bloom Cafe
5544 W Pico Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90019
323-934-6900