Wilklow Orchards Apple Cider Donuts: I bought some apples from the Green Market over the weekend and came across Wilklow Orchards apple cider donuts. Apple cider donuts are a seasonal dessert popular in the Northeast, especially at apple orchards. I've never actually had them before, so I was excited to try them, and at 60 cents each, they were wallet friendly. The donuts came in two offerings: coated in sugar, and without coating. I purchased the one without sugar, which I think was the way to go, as it was sweet enough. ... (read more) 3.5/5.0
recommended sweets applecider nyc wilkloworchards apple cider Donuts 3.5Grocers Bottling Co Celery Soda: I've been finding it hard to write snack reviews recently, mostly because I haven't had the time to seek out specialty items that excite me and motivate me to keep writing. But I finally made it out to Court St Grocers in Carroll Gardens this weekend. I've been meaning to check out Court St Grocers ever since I tried their excellent soda offerings at BYGGYZ (RIP), my formerly favorite sandwich shop in NYC. Unfortunately, BYGGYZ didn't have all Grocers Bottling Co (a spin-out from Court St... (read more) 4.5/5.0
exceptional drinks brooklyn nyc courtstgrocers grocersbottlingco celery soda 4.5Shake Shack Hanukoncrete: This special edition custard from the Shake Shack is available until December 14th and consists of vanilla custard, pieces of donut from The Doughnut Project, and a strawberry syrup, all topped with powdered sugar. The powdered sugar felt like an unnecessary flourish as the dessert was sweet enough without it, but the combination of donut, rich vanilla custard, and sharp and tangy strawberry was surprisingly delicious. The best part was definitely the vanilla custard, which was very smooth. 3.5/5.0
recommended nyc dessert icecream custard donut strawberry shakeshack hanukoncrete 3.5Snowdays Ube shaved ice: Taiwanese shaved ice in a classic ube flavor is true to the sweet, earthy flavor of the vegetable. Texture is close to snow - fluffy and light, yet a bit more dense and clumped together at the bottom of the large cup, even for the smallest possible size. Purchased from the East Village location of chain Snowdays. 3.0/5.0
nyc dessert icecream snowdays shaved ice 3.0 ubeLing Kee Beef Jerky: Around the corner from the East Broadway subway stop on the edge of Manhattan's Chinatown is a small shop called Ling Kee Beef Jerkey (sic). The shop sells pork, chicken, and beef jerky by 1/4, 1/2, or lb sizes, each laid out in stacks under a bright heatlamp. The shop specializes in Malaysian Jerky, which I hadn't had before but remind me a lot of Taiwanese beef jerky, which is nothing like American packaged jerky. Typically, asian jerky is moist, with a glistening, sweet glaze rather th... (read more) 4.5/5.0
exceptional nyc jerky manhattan chinatown malaysian beefjerky meat lingkee beef 4.5Culture Plain frozen yogurt with pumpkin cheesecake topping : The pumpkin cheesecake topping at Culture, a yogurt chain in NYC, features cubes of pumpkin-flavored cheesecake and a drizzle of pumpkin syrup / caramel. The cheesecake pieces were well spiced, and the syrup was rich but not too sweet. My favorite part was the plain frozen yogurt, though, which is always smooth, tart, and creamy. 3.5/5.0
recommended froyo nyc dessert culture plain frozen yogurt pumpkin cheesecake topping 3.5