Du’s Donuts Ice cream sandwich : I really enjoyed the Pyggy sandwich I had at Byggyz, the newly opened sandwich shop in LES (NYC) from Wylie Dufresne’s dad Dewey. We decided to also try their one dessert option, an absurdly priced $7 ice cream sandwich made with Du’s donuts (the donut shop Wylie launched earlier in the year). Inside the ice cream sandwich is a marmalade ice cream, which, flavor-wise, had a satisfying tart flavor. Texturally, though, I found the sandwich as a whole to be a miss. The entire frozen treat is ov... (read more) 2.5/5.0
dessert icecream icecreamsandwich nyc dusdonuts ice cream sandwich 2.5
Smash Strawberries & cream marshmallow treats: I founded out all the Smash marshmallow flavors with their Strawberries & Cream flavored marshmallow treats. The square bars are coated with sugar crystals and bits of freeze dried strawberries. It tastes like Berry Kix cereal, a flavor I haven’t had in over a decade yet was instantly recognizable. I would not recommend this snack - too sweet and artificial tasting. 2.5/5.0
Ricekrispie smash strawberries cream marshmallow treats 2.5
Van Leeuwen Passion fruit ice cream: I ginormous scoop of ice cream so large that it took multiple tries to balance it on a cone. What struck me about this ice cream shop was the strong buttery smell upon entering. I personally prefer lighter, more subtle flavors and found the richness of the passion fruit ice cream to be somewhat overwhelming. Mixed in with the ice cream were oddly dry pieces of cake - what they had to do with passion fruit ice cream I’ll never know. Expensive at almost $6 a scoop. They also don’t mix two flav... (read more) 2.5/5.0
nyc icecream dessert vanleeuwen passion fruit ice cream 2.5
Lotte Cookies and Cream Crunky Chocolate Balls: I bought this bag of candy from the Lawson convenience store, and it instantly brought me back to Hershey's Cookies and Cream chocolate bars, with their waxy white chocolate and dominant vanilla flavor. The form factor of this chocolate are bite-sized balls, and the interior has a crunchy cookie-like texture. Flavor-wise, it was neither good nor bad, but health-wise it was definitely not worth the calories. 2.5/5.0
japanese lawson lotte cookies cream crunky chocolate balls 2.5 cookiesandcream
Doraemon Cafe Grapefruit and peach cream soda: I had planned to go to the “Doraemon” museum from before I came to Japan (technically the Fujiko Fujio museum, the artist who created Doraemon) since the robot cat is a favorite from my childhood. Last weekend, I finally got a solo ticket from Lawson after accepting I wouldn’t be able to convince any of my friends to go all the way out to Kanagawa, about an hour from Tokyo. I ended my trip at the small yet lovely museum with a trip to their cafe, ordering their Doraemon grapefruit and peach ... (read more) 2.5/5.0
Kanagawa japanese drinks doraemoncafe grapefruit peach cream soda 2.5 novelty
Tim’s Sour cream and onion potato chips: When I arrived in Seattle, it was late enough that most restaurants were closed (10pm by the way, which I’m not sure is a COVID thing or just that things close earlier more generally). The only thing open was a little bodega type shop called NYC Deli; in true Seattle style, as I was walking there, I got caught in a sudden downpour and was drenched by the time I arrived. I don’t know if there’s a bigger insult to a former New Yorker than to serve a sandwich with sliced bread and pass it off a... (read more) 2.5/5.0
potatochips sourcreamandonion tims sour cream onion potato chips 2.5