A Lovely Tea Party at The Plaza

The classics, dahling: Earl Grey Tea and a Currant Scone
(I'm typing this with a British accent.  In fact, I recommend
reading this entire story with a British accent).

There are few things lovelier in life than high tea.  Donning a beautiful dress and a fabulous hat, I never feel as elegant, ladylike--or British--as when I'm surrounded by scones and strawberries, devonshire cream and soothing hot tea.  In LA, The Peninsula Hotel was a favorite.  Now that I'm in New York, I'm officially on a quest to find the Best Place in New York for High Tea.

The fabulously elegant Palm Court  

But where to start?  So many choices, so little time. I decided to begin at one of my favorite hotels in the city, the classic and gorgeous Plaza Hotel.  And luckily, my fabulous friend Sylvia was in town to join me.

Set across from beautiful Central Park, The Plaza offers gorgeous scenery both inside and outside its grounds.

Palm Court, where high tea is offered on weekend afternoons, is an elegant space, complete with high ceilings, crystal chandeliers, plush velvet chairs, gilded staircases, and a jungle of palm trees.  What a perfect stage for a lovely afternoon tea party.

One of the things I love most about high tea is the high tea stand.  Mini sandwiches, scones, muffins, and petit fours are already fun, but arrange them ever so perfectly on cascading china?  Behold, The Tower of Goodies.

This little egg-filled buttery pastry cup could not be more
adorable (or yummy).

My all-time favorite little sandwich (I asked for 2!)
Smoked salmon with a rich cream cheese and dill.  Divine.

In addition to the standard sandwiches and scones, placed delicately at the top of the stand was a bevy of fabulous little desserts.   The Plaza didn't stop at 2 or 3 choices--this dessert plate offered 6 very different treats- from cakes to macaroons to chocolates to chewy fruit bars.

A warm welcome to you all, my friends.

Well hello little chocolate cake surprise (I'm still not sure
exactly what this was.)

Thank God they're bite-sized or I would have been at the gym for the rest of the day (of course I tried them all).  My favorite dessert was the beautiful little marble sized chocolate button, swirled with beautiful white and red swirls.  Almost too beautiful to eat.  Almost.

Our lovely tea experience was made even more so by the addition of adorable little girls with their mothers, bringing their Eloise dolls, and some even wearing matching Eloise outfits.  If you're not sure who Eloise is, she is the star of a children's story of a little girl who lived in the penthouse of The Plaza.  In fact, there's a lovely painting of Eloise that hangs on the wall next to Palm Court.  It seems to be tradition that when the girls are finished with their tea, they take photos with Eloise and their dolls.  Sylvia and I happened to be sitting next to the painting, and witnessed this cute little scene several times during our 3-hour tea.  Absolutely adorable!

Thank you, Eloise, for making our
tea experience even more enjoyable.

The Plaza Hotel

Fifth Avenue and Central Park South

NY, NY 10019

212-546-5300 

www.theplaza.com 

The Magical Pumpkin Waffle and Muffins at Sarabeth's

Yay for Pumpkin Waffles with lots of fun stuff on top! 

It's time to talk about Sarabeth's.  Glorious, glorious Sarabeth's.

If you're a fellow Fan of Brunch, and you ask any New Yorker for their recommendation, you will hear Sarabeth's--East, West, South, North Pole, whatever--mentioned again and again.  And I quickly found out why. 

It's cute, it's cozy and they happen to serve super yummy brunch items like Lemon Ricotta Pancakes, Pumpkin Waffles topped with Pumpkin Seeds and Raisins, Almond Crusted French Toast and Cheese Blintzes, to name a few.  Carb lovers, rejoice!

Look at these ridiculous choices.
You can't go wrong here, people.

The first time I visited Sarabeth's at the Central Park South location, I met my lovely friend Mel, whom I hadn't seen in 15 years.  Catching up with her was exciting enough, but the experience became even more magical very quickly.  After reminiscing about band camp (seriously), all of a sudden, there was a flurry of excitement in the restaurant.  I looked out the front window and much to my surprise, it was SNOWING!  IN OCTOBER!

I attribute at least 100 of these footsteps to
me frolicking through this winter wonderland.

I quickly grabbed my phone and sprinted outside to capture some shocking pictures of what the pretty weather lady said would be "light rain with a chance of snow."  In actuality, it became a full-blown snowstorm. Ok, I might be slightly exaggerating.  But to a girl from Hawaii whose been living in LA for the last 10 years, it looked like a flipping blizzard.

After capturing a completely silly amount of snow pictures, I skipped back to the restaurant to partake in our fabulous fare.  Mel ordered the Pumpkin Waffles, perhaps at my suggestion.  I tend to make a lot of friendly suggestions; just a slight warning to anyone who may dine with me.

Crispy on the outside, warm and fluffy on the inside, with just a hint of pumpkin--it was a perfectly executed waffle.  The pumpkin seeds added crunch while the raisins and strawberries infused a fruity flavor burst.  And of course the maple syrup perfectly finished off this lovely little dish.

Yummy is all I have to say here. 

I decided on something eggy.  I adore carbs, but considering how much I love them, I try to fit in some protein from time to time.  I honestly can't remember exactly what the eggy thing was (a fritatta? with chives?).  What I do remember is the pumpkin muffin, topped with sunflower seeds and a delicious mixed berry jam.  YUM.

Keeping in theme (I love themes!), I ordered a pumpkin
muffin to complement our pumpkin waffle.  I may have also had
a Pumpkin Spice Latte earlier that morning.  Don't get me started
on my Pumpkin Spice Latte addiction. 

In addition to breakfast, Sarabeth's also offers lunch and dinner, but the crown jewel, and her most famous offering, is her yummy jams.  I've had the pleasure of trying a few--the Blood Orange Marmalade was magically delicious-- and it is my lofty goal to try them all when Autumn, my fantastic friend who makes really fun and unusual jams, comes to visit.  (You can see her blog at www.autumnscopperpot.blogspot.com).

Autumn, I can only imagine how you're
going out of your mind right now.
Miss you, silly.

Sarabeth's
40 Central Park South
New York, NY 10019
(212) 826-5959
www.sarabethscps.com 

http://goddessofbakedom.com/sb/sarabeth/ 

It's Amazing, it's Incredible, it's Extraordinary Desserts

Allow me to introduce you to the appropriately
named Dame Chocolat.  Try not to drool.  

There are precious few dessert places that have made me lose my mind. The first time I walked into this next little gem located in beautiful downtown San Diego, since there were a million beautiful treats displayed everywhere, I literally started skipping from one dessert to the other, in a desperate attempt to view all of these amazing creations in the shortest amount of time possible (thank you to my always-embarrassed friends who accompany me on these little dessert adventures).

In fact, this next little gem inspired me to start a fun contest.  At the end of the year, I will be highlighting My Top 5 Best Desserts of 2011.  Congratulations, Extraordinary Desserts, for being considered for this truly amazing honor.

Even the sign is extraordinary.

In addition to having some of the most beautiful mouth-watering desserts in existence, Extraordinary Desserts is one of the hippest, most artfully decorated venues I have ever seen.  When I took my first step inside, while the space is quite large and slightly overwhelming, I felt a delicious combination of total happiness and yet, total zen.   To better understand this confusing experience, I will explain it in mathematical terms, which should be especially helpful to any engineers.

Gorgeously decorated cakes + pies + cookies + tortes + chocolates = happiness.
Well-organized space + giant silver Buddha = zen.

Surprise!  The Sunday Brunch Buffet!

I met a friend for lunch there--they also serve real food and wonderful and rare teas too--with the strategy of quickly ordering a bowl of soup or something passable as lunch, so we could get to the good stuff immediately.  So imagine my good fortune at stumbling across the Extraordinary Dessert Sunday Brunch Buffet!

Brunch is hands down my favorite mealtime.  Why?  Easy.   Most breakfast items can technically qualify as desserts (Almond crusted french toast drizzled in maple syrup?  Pumpkin waffles with candied walnuts?), but more importantly, it's this: no one thinks you're crazy if you eat dessert at brunch.  Pick up a brownie for breakfast, you might get some stares.  Grab a slice of blueberry cheesecake at brunch?  Perfectly acceptable.

My attempt to appear normal by eating "lunch" type food.
From the super cute make your own sandwich bar.

As if there weren't enough desserts around, luscious
strawberry, blueberry and raspberry pastries
entice you at the end of the buffet.  I tried one of each
for research purposes.

After lunch, which did include mini desserts, it took us 1.24 seconds to decide that additional dessert was in order.  Off to the dessert counter (and more skipping)!

Selecting which beautiful, delectable treat to try was truly one of the most challenging parts of this experience.  I somehow narrowed it down to three choices.  Here they are, for your viewing pleasure.

Toasted Macadamia Caramel Cheesecake,
covered in gorgeous roses, dahlias and calla lilies. 

Honestly I can't remember what these are.  Napoleans?
Does it matter?  Look at these things.  AHHH!

La Dame Chocolat, adorned with a single phalaeonopsis orchid,
roses, gerber daisies, tuberose and a happy little green bow.

Did you guess Dame Chocolat?  (If you didn't, you're slow.  Check out the first photo I shared).  I get a bit crazy over chocolate anything, but the description of this Grande Dame of all Tortes nearly sent me over the edge: intense, dark chocolate mousse floating between a light layer of flourless chocolate cake, covered in chocolate ganache and fresh chocolate shavings.  All I heard was chocolate, chocolate, and more chocolate.

We could have ordered an entire cake, but that would
have been silly.  We just had lunch!  With desserts!
So instead we ordered a little slice.   Silly Ryan.

The Dame Chocolat lived up to her name.  The mousse was perfectly creamy, bursting with the intenseness of rich dark chocolate, while the airy flourless chocolate cake provided a nice balance to the overall richness of the dessert.  Just a few bites were all I needed.

I highly recommend visiting Extraordinary Desserts anytime you're in San Diego.  I also highly recommend that when I'm in San Diego and invite you to a party, and you're asked to bring something to said party, and oh let's also say you also live about 30 seconds away from Extraordinary Desserts, I was thinking maybe you could bring something from Extraordinary Desserts.  You know, maybe. 

Extraordinary Desserts

1430 Union Street 

San Diego, CA 92101
619.294.7001

www.extraordinarydesserts.com 

C is for Cookie

Cookie Monster, you're in for a treat.  As an experienced and longtime Cookie Fan, I can honestly say I have never seen, heard or most importantly, tasted anything as unique as these fun little cookies I just happened to run into at the OB Jazz Fest. 

Peanut Butter Overload Extravaganza.  Love this name
(I may have added the "Extravaganza")

I love Fests, in general.  But a Jazz Fest?  Double love.  So when my sister Aulani told me about the Ocean Beach Jazz Fest in San Diego, I got a bit excited.  Shutting down Newport for an all-day street closure featuring the top jazz bands in socal?  In! 

What we (and when I say we, I mean Aulani) didn't realize, is that not only was there amazing music, this fest featured gourmet food tents, too!  

Me: Aww so there's no food?  

Aulani: Nope, no food.  

And then we turned the corner and saw 80,000 food tents.

Tent after tent of arts, crafts, and oh, food...

I, of course, noticed the Cookie Tent right away.  But everyone wanted to listen to this band that was about to start, so fine, I went to The Harp, one of the many jazzy venues of the day.  And I'm glad I did because I would have missed out on my new favorite jazz band, the Nathan James Trio.  Love!

The Nathan James Trio--not sure what I love more--
their hats or the little washboard guitar!

But I was still thinking about cookies.

And I may have told everyone I was thinking about cookies.

So.  We went to find the cookies. :)

An awesome New Orleans-style jazz band
sashaying down Newport 

What we didn't realize at the time was that we were about to experience Cookie History.  These were not just your average cookies.  These were the most unique and innovative cookies in the history of cookies.

Me infiltrating the Cravory Cookie tent

The geniuses at The Cravory have actually created 950 customized cookies, all of which are available online and at little fairs.  Allow me to highlight a few of my favorites...

Red Velvet and Birthday Cake

Rosemary Balsamic.  Because why not?

And here the crown jewel, (drum roll please...)
Pancake & Bacon Cookies!
Consensus: they were very...interesting. 

All of them were pretty amazing (we tried about 6 different treats).  Perhaps not surprisingly, my favorite was Peanut Butter Overload.  Why?  See if this doesn't move you: Organic Peanut Butter Dough with Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, Reese's Chips and Guittard Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips.  Holy peanuty heaven.

I quickly designated myself as the Cookie Keeper.  This responsibility involved guarding the cookies and generously doling them throughout the day as we listened to amazing band after amazing band.  All in all, an incredible day made even better by the discovery of some of the most special cookies on earth.

Aulani fully enjoying her Peanut Butter Overload.

Speaking of sharing, I leave you with one parting thought from the master himself: "Sometimes me think what is love, and then me think love is what last cookie is for.  Me give up the last cookie for you."   As if I didn't already love Cookie Monster.

http://www.thecravory.com/

Peanut Butter Stuffed Hawaiian Sweet Bread French Toast with Bananas and Walnuts

So breakfast is my absolute faaaaavorite meal of the day.  And I'm always looking for ways to "dessertify" (yes I make up my own words) any food, but especially anything remotely related to the breakfast category (cue my constant debate with co-worker Burton about whether Blueberry Muffins are dessert or breakfast.  Burton, for the last time, they're breakfast-dessertish.  Obviously).

My Little Cooking Fairy

A shout out to Cafe 123 in San Diego, CA for the inspiration of this next insanely tasty breakfast treat.  They had a strong opening act--warmed up the audience a bit, if you will--but I like to think I brought the house down.  Heyo!

The nice thing about The Peanut Butter Stuffed Hawaiian Sweet Bread French Toast with Walnuts and Bananas is that though it's a mouthful to say, they're relatively fast and easy to make.

One caveat before we begin: I highly, highly recommend hiring a Little Cooking Fairy.  They're not just the best helpers on earth, they're pretty adorable, too.  And they're happy to get paid in French Toast.  

So here's what you'll need (this is the closest thing you'll ever get to a recipe from me, so please pay attention, Jenny and Kailey's mom).

- 1 Loaf of King's Hawaiian Sweet Bread (I also love Ani's from Long's in Hawaii and Big Island Punalu'u Sweet Bread but those may be a tad more difficult to source)

- Light Soy milk (fine, you can use fattening regular milk but I do live in LA so there you go)

- Eggs (brown and organic are best.  Just kidding, I think I got some on sale.)

- Cinnamon

- Vanilla Extract

- Bananas

- Walnuts, chopped (or smashed depending on the skill level of your Little Cooking Fairy)

- Peanut Butter (the more creamy and processed and less natural, the better.  That one's for you, Ryan Lau.)

Step 1: Make your french toast batter.  I made breakfast for the whole family (5) so I cracked 10 eggs, then mixed in about 2 cups of soy milk and gave it to the Cooking Fairy to mix (not letting the fairy crack the eggs is crucial, just trust me on this).  I then sprinkled about 2 tablespoons of cinnamon and maybe 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract.  I'll be honest, I kinda winged in.  But it turned out ok.  Just have fun out there, people.

Dipping Time!

Step 2: Dip your Hawaiian Sweet Bread slice in the funky batter.

Nicely cooked on both sides

Step 3: Place the dipped bread onto a hot frying pan (I turned the burner to Medium), already coated in Pam (or butter.  Again I live in LA so I'm trying to make these as healthy as possible.  Yes, I know that sounds ridiculous).  Flip when ready, about 2 minutes on each side until they're cooked all the way through.  I suggest doing two at a time since you'll need 2 for each creation.

Step 4: Place 1 slice of French Toast on a plate. Coat the top in a thick, luscious, rich, delectable, delicious layer of peanut butter (sorry I got a bit carried away).  Coat the bottom of a 2nd slice of French Toast with an equally amazing layer of peanut butter.

Yay for Peanut Butter!

Think of it as a fried peanut butter sandwich but it's healthy
because it includes bananas and walnuts.

 Step 5: Place the second slice of French Toast on top of the first slice, like a peanut butter sandwich.  Cover with sliced bananas and destroyed walnut bits.  Et voila, The Peanut Butter Stuffed Hawaiian Sweet Bread French Toast with Walnuts and Bananas.

Add a little bit of maple syrup...

Holy peanut butter yumminess

They were soooo yummy.  The sweetness of the Hawaiian bread plus the creaminess of the peanut butter combined with the fresh bananas and crunchiness of the walnuts was the perfect combination of tastes and textures.  Oh boy I love these.  If you'll excuse me, I think I'll go make some right now...

This picture has nothing to do with anything,
I just can't stand how flippin cute she is.

Life is Short...Eat Dessert First!

Jacques Torres, brilliant chocolatier and sign maker

I could not agree with you more, Jacques Torres.  It turns out I basically agree with you about everything, but especially this little gem of a motto.  (I could not have been more excited to take this picture, can you tell???  In fact, this was one of the only publishable photos where I wasn't grinning like a giant dork.  Keri, you're seriously one of the most patient people on earth.  Nothing but love for you.)

I recently had the awesome privilege of visiting Jacques Torres' adorable little chocolate haven in Brooklyn (it's actually in DUMBO--Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass--is that not the cutest thing ever?  But I digress.)  Ever dreamed of visiting Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory?  Well, here's your chance.

Entering Chocolateland (cue the singing angels).

Jacques Torres is a master pastry chef and chocolatier, with thousands of delectable treats to prove it, but his true genius is in the completely charming and almost overwhelming display of chocolateness that literally makes you want to eat or buy everything the minute you walk into the store.  

The building's exterior is plain yet very clever--it's a working chocolate factory, so the windows expose their magical chocolate-making machines.  And the minute you step inside...the wonderful and powerful scent of all things chocolate wafts through the air.  Combined with the gorgeous dark brown and orange color palette and overwhelming displays of all things chocolate, I felt Instant Chocolate Happiness.  Forget a kid on Christmas.  At Jacques Torres, I felt like a kid on crack riding a pony on Christmas. 

Perfectly packaged, delightfully delicious.

Row upon row of any and every imaginable chocolate treat lives in this store--chocolate malt balls, chocolate cheerios, chocolate bark with roasted hazelnuts, candied ginger bars, chocolate chip cookies, hot chocolate, dark chocolate bars, milk chocolate bars, white chocolate bars with almonds, dark chocolate covered peanuts...you get the idea.

[Enter Crazy Chocolate Freak to counter]
Me: I'll take it.
Chocolate Lady: You buy the bark by the pound.
Me: Ok, I'll take 10.
Chocolate Lady: That's a lot.  I think you mean 1.
Me:*pause* Nope.
Chocolate Lady: *blank stare*
[And scene]

I bought a bit of everything.  You know, as gifts.  For others.  Because I'm a giver.   Seriously, I did give some away.  That's the nice thing about chocolate.  Who doesn't like it?  I don't know anyone who would refuse the Gift of Chocolate.

I chose almost one of everything because
variety is the spice of life.  

Here I am in front of the store with my glorious chocolate gift box filled with beautiful, delectable chocolate treats, intended for my co-workers.

Geeking out!  

And here is the above mentioned box that I opened in my hotel room.  I forgot what I had ordered so I wanted to take a peek.   And I then remembered that I wanted to try the Peanut Butter Chocolate Ganache--ummm to die for.  Wish I had bought a whole box of it.  

Life is like a box of chocolates.  (Except I knew what I was
getting since I hand picked each one).

It is a small miracle that 10 of these chocolates actually made it back to LA.  Co-workers, you are welcome. 


Jacques Torres
66 Water Street
Brooklyn, NY 11201
718-875-1269
www.mrchocolate.com 

The Popsicle Part II: Dark Chocolate Mixed Berry with Hazelnuts

The fabulous Irene with
her fabulous creation

I never thought I'd utter "popsicle" and "genius" in the same sentence, but boy, Pop Bar, do you deserve it. 

So gourmet popsicles are kind of a big deal right now.  I make this bold statement based on the fact that in one day, I ran into TWO different popsicle places!  (I tend to exaggerate.  A little.  Ok a lot).  I thought the Doughnut Peach Basil Popsicle was inventive.  Holy wow Pop Bar, you took the popsicle to another level entirely.   

My friend Irene and I had a somewhat disappointing dinner--gorgeous atmosphere but hello Flavor, we missed you.  Needless to say, we were very hesitant to try their dessert.  

That's when Irene brilliantly suggested Pop Bar, which happened to be around the corner.  At first the idea of another popsicle wasn't that exciting to me.  I had just tried a doughnut popsicle that afternoon, and there were sooooo many other dessert places I wanted to try. But when she described how unique this popsicle place was, I couldn't resist.

What's so different about Pop Bar?  You get to customize your popsicle!  Allow me (and Paul, the personal popsicle professional) to walk you through this fun, easy process.

Step 1: So many flavors, so little time!

Step 1: Choose your Flavor.  A wide variety of fabulous freshly frozen flavors are available, made from Gelato, Sorbetto, or Yogurt: Blood Orange, Grapefruit, Mango, Chocolate, Strawberry, Pistachio, Peach...you get the picture. I chose Mixed Berry, a combination of (I think) Blueberries, Strawberries and Raspberries.  Yay for summer fruit!

Step 2: Choose your Chocolate.  White, Milk, or Dark.  You really can't go wrong with any of these choices.  Your popsicle can be fully dipped or half dipped, depending on your preference.  I of course chose to let my popsicle completely submerge in the yummy pool of dark chocolate.

Step 2: Chocolate Time!  I like dark chocolate because
it contains antioxidants.  That makes it good for you.

Step 3: Choose your Nuts.  Almonds, Pistachios, Peanuts, or Hazelnuts.  Decisions, decisions!  While Paul was pushing pistachios, the hazelnuts were calling to me.  Here I reveal my complex thought process: chocolate + hazelnuts = Nutella.  Done.
 

Step 3: It's nuts in here.  Paul was encouraging
pistachios but I was feeling hazelnutty.

Et voila!  The Dark Chocolate Dipped Mixed Berry with Hazelnuts Popsicle, made just for me!

The finished masterpiece!

These little treats were exactly what we were looking for, and completely made up for our dinner misadventure.  The crunchy hazelnuts added a unique texture to the smooth, rich dark chocolate, which elegantly coated the sweet frozen berries.  Refreshing, sweet, and savory-yum yum yum.

To complete the wonderful experience, we headed to the park across the street and sat on a bench, enjoying our tasty creations on a warm, beautiful night.  

Thank you, Irene, for informing me AFTER we left the park that hundreds of little mice were running around our feet THE ENTIRE TIME.  (She wisely concluded that I would freak the hell out.  Which I did, later).   

In conclusion, I highly recommend visiting Pop Bar.  I also highly recommend not eating them in the park.

Popsicles in the park on a warm
New York summer night....bliss.

Pop Bar
5 Carmine St. (@ 6^th Ave.)
New York, NY 10014
212 255 4874