Gina Mango nectar: Containing less than 25% juice, this thick mango flavored beverage has an aftertaste anyone that has had artificial mango bubble tea will recognize. Very sweet. Not recommended. 2.0/5.0
drinks avoid gina mango nectar 2.0
Happy Lemon Lemon cooler slushie: While some may find their drinks to be overwhelming tart, I appreciate the sharp, acidic lemon flavor of the Hapoy lemon classic lemon cooler slushie. This beverage checks all the boxes for an ideal drink: refreshing, well balanced, and affordable. Highly recommended! 4.0/5.0
drinks recommended happylemon lemon cooler slushie 4.0
Mr. Wish Black milk tea with boba: While I found the boba to be a bit too chewy, I otherwise found this classic beverage, which was not too sweet (I specified 25% sweetness) to be good. It is unfortunately too common to purchase black milk tea that doesn't actually have any herbal taste; this one fortunately avoids that pitfall. 3.0/5.0
recommended drinks boba milktea mrwish black milk tea 3.0
Morgenstern's Tour Pine'Our soft serve: One of my favorite chefs, Paul Liebrandt, recently collaborated with the LES ice cream shop Morgenstern's and introduced a series of special soft serve flavors over the course of a month. I sampled the last one, a swirl of strawberry hibiscus sorbet and sunchoke ice cream. The texture of the soft serve was excellent, and I especially loved the sharpness of the sorbet. The sunchoke ice cream was fine, but more of a neutral base for the sorbet. The entire dessert was topped with toasted hazel... (read more) 4.0/5.0
recommended frozen sorbet strawberry hibiscus sunchoke icecream morgensterns tour pine'our soft serve 4.0 softserve
Ferdinando's Focacceria Manhattan Special: I spent some time in NYC before leaving the East Coast, and during a lunch with some old friends, I was informed that the restaurant had a special soda called the Manhattan Special on tap. Given the amount of time I've spent in Manhattan over my entire lifetime (and my love of sodas), I was surprised to have never come across this drink before. The cola-colored carbonated beverage is a mix of espresso and sweetened soda water and has a deep coffee flavor. It's hard to imagine it pairing part... (read more) 3.0/5.0
drinks soda coffee espresso ferdinandosfocacceria manhattan special 3.0
Maxim Bakery Pork Bun: Maxim Bakery is a local Flushing chain that sells a variety of Chinese pastries and treats. For just $1.30, you can get a sizable Asian pork bun: it has a fluffy and slightly sweetened steamed bun exterior and meaty interior with a thick, savory sauce. This bun puts all food truck baos to shame, both in terms of flavor and value (you could easily pay 5x as much for 1/4 of the size). No one seems to speak any English, but they are accommodating and friendly nonetheless. 4.0/5.0
recommended flushing bao maximbakery pork bun 4.0