Dominique Ansel - The Cronut

First off, I'm finally writing again after what seems like 1000000000+ years.

Another exciting news (well, for me), I finally tried that darn cronut people have been raving and crazin' about since 2013. The effect?

I have to say, DA knows how to package. But honestly, such a big box for a cronut, was it really necessary? The cronut keeps sliding all over the place even when you pick up the box.

The month's special was Matcha Golden Pineapple. The look of the cronut was very tantalizing which is probably why everyone is willing to stand on line to get or order it in advance. The idea of a cronut and how it visually looks is enough advertisement in itself.

Don't shoot me...
But, I wasn't amazed by this. Period. You can indeed see the layers of pastry inside the cronut but it wasn't exactly flaky, it was more dough-y. I'm guessing it's because of the filling that might have soften the inside. Yes, I like the idea and the flavors worked really nicely but it's honestly no different than a croissant and just slabbing on some jam. I've had other cronuts before and really wanted to try DA's before comparing and now I can!

Well, DA's cronut isn't the best. The only thing that makes it special is the different flavor and taste combinations they come up with each month. But if you're fine with just vanilla or chocolate, get it elsewhere, it's not worth the wait or the headache of online ordering.

Dominique Ansel Bakery
189 Spring Street
New York, NY 10012
(212) 219-2773

Pie Face

Friday night, J and I was going to grab something small because he has to get home and have dinner with his mum for her birthday, how sweet! I had no idea where he was going to take me since I thought we were going to KoreanTown and if we did, there's mad food around there. Little did I know he was taking me somewhere else...

He told me Hooters and yet again, I fell for his trick! Why is he so sneaky?!

We ended up at Pie Face, a place that I mentioned to him a few weeks back.

The outside of the small shop was extremely flashy. It would fit perfectly in Time Square. Good thing there wasn't much people but I did wish they had chairs instead of stand up counters.

The menu was actually on the right side against the wall. The menu that is smacked in the middle is all about coffee, I assume this is a big breakfast spot in the morning also.

They have about 4 different monitors to ring you up on your purchase and each had their own "card swiper thing," yea I have now idea what's it called but you know what I mean. So you look up at that monitor, see how much it is and just swipe away on the bottom screen whenever you're ready. Almost as if it's self paid.

The cute selection of pies. Each different flavor has their own face which is adorable. They also ahve the mini versions if you don't feel like getting the regular size pies.

The cute box and sticker. The packaging is so awesome here.

Yum Yum Yum. I had the Mince Beef Stack ($7.90) and J got the Thai Chicken Curry Stack ($7.90). Stack basically means "the works" which includes mash potatoes, mushy peas and gravy. It's pretty good and quite filling.

Look at that sexy food porn shot.
I love the colors and the layers that are incorporated here.

The way to chow down here is start in the middle. You don't want to start on the side and messing up everything. Dig a hole in the middle and get some of the filling with mash and mushy and gravy, it'll taste awesome.

Texture is quite mushy but the flavor wasn't so bad. I love how the crust of the pie tasted, flaky and buttery.

J also got the Chicken and Bacon Mini Roll ($2.95). Again, the flaky pastry was amazing but the filling wasn't that great. They need to put more flavor into making it savory rather than bland.

Oh and if you get the stack, you get a free bottle of water. Not a lot of places does that and I really appreciate it. I mean, an $8 meal and FREE water...woohoo!

Although as a pie place, they really got the crust part down - it's pretty great but the filling for the roll and the pie seem to lack just a tad bit. If they master that also, then this would be some pretty awesome pie.

Pie Face
1691 Broadway
New York, NY 10019
(212) 247-9065

Dessert Works: Buttercup Bake Shop

It's dangerous how close Buttercup Bake Shop is to my office. Ever since my firm introduced me to the cupcakes they offer, I fell in love. I rarely like sweets, especially cupcakes because I think they're overly sweetened. But there is one from them that I absolutely love, probably mention it in another post. Besides cupcakes, they do sell cakes, cookies, bars and hot/cold drinks.

Brownie with Walnuts.
I was craving for a brownie one rainy day and I never usually do. I'm not a big fan of chocolate sweets but I have my moments, odd moments. My coworker and I walked over to Buttercup and load and behold the sweet scent. I ended up getting one with nuts because I always love a crunch to my food, wouldn't want a chocolate overkill.

It was satisfying, I only had half because consuming the whole would overwork my taste buds. The outside was crunchy and soft and moist on the inside, something I wouldn't expect judging by the looks of it. Not bad for a brownie, or not bad for a person that usually doesn't eat brownies.

Buttercup Bake Shop
973 2nd Ave
New York, NY 10022
(212) 350-4144

Dessert Works: Beard Papa

Hands down the best cream puff in NYC. No doubt, no contemplation, no nothing.

I use to get my cream puff from the Beard Papa by 8 Street NYU, but that closed down. I was going to pay a visit to the one in the West Village but that closed down not too long after the first one closed. So, the only one that is still open in NYC is the one all the way in the Upper West Side. But, in order to get the food that you love, you need to go great lengths. Well, I didn't but J did. The price didn't seem to change, at least I don't think it did. Heck, I would pay $2 each for these suckers but of course it was less than that.

The puffs are freshly made each day and they are ready to be squeezed with the cream filling when you order them so the puffs wouldn't get soggy. The reason I praise this place so much is because their filling is perfect. It's not overly sweetened and they give you a decent amount of cream - no pun intended. On rare days they even have different flavors from green tea to pumpkin. The best which I always find myself ordering is the vanilla, can't go wrong with that.

Pretty big huh?

They're a decent size. And each bite is so light, it even feels light. I like how I can eat 2-3 without feeling guilty or feel too sick because of the cream. Oh, and the powdered sugar on top is a plus!

Beard Papa

2167 Broadway

New York, NY 10024

(212) 799-3770