Domino's Pizza

I realized I don't know anything about Domino's Pizza at all, as I've probably only had it once or twice in my life, perhaps at an event in grad school or something.  I know it exists, and has generic pizza, but that's about it.  Just not something I've ever ordered, or lived in a city with (not growing up, not in college, not near me in SF for the 21 years of my adult life ...).  But I moved to NYC during the summer of the $10 Paze promotion (spend $10, get $10 credit back if you pay with Paze), and Dominos was one of the launch partners.  I can't resist a freebie.

But I was in NY, surrounded by amazing pizza, I was most certainly not getting pizza at Dominos.  Did you know Domino's has pastas? (and sandwiches, and many other things, it turns out). I didn't, but the pasta is what jumped out most to me on the menu once I started browsing.  They have three pastas: 5-Cheese Mac and Cheese, Spicy Buffalo 5-Cheese Mac & Cheese, or Chicken Alfredo.  All use the same penne pasta, and all use alfredo sauce as well, the mac and cheese just loads on more cheeses (white American, cheddar, Parmesan, Asiago). 

Chicken Alfredo Pasta. $8.49.
(-chicken).

"Try our savory Chicken Alfredo Pasta. Grilled chicken breast and creamy Alfredo sauce is mixed with penne pasta and baked to creamy perfection."

I was drawn to the mac and cheese, but was actually craving alfredo, so, chicken alfredo it was.  I got it without the chicken, which is easy to do from their online ordering page (side note: why don't they just have a regular alfredo option?  And then make it possible to add chicken, or bacon, or any pizza topping you want?).  I arrived at the specified time, but it wasn't ready yet, so I was able to see it being baked to order in the pizza oven.  It was handed over insanely hot and fresh, inside a small pizza box, which turned out to be quite useful as the foil bowl was extremely hot, as it was baked in it.  I can't say it won any awards for how it looked, a bit meager in the pasta department, and drowning in very cheesy sauce.  I did appreciate the slightly crispy top.

I was fairly confused by this though, as it seemed really cheesy, in a way you don't expect in alfredo, and in a way that didn't seem like it could be from just parmesan and asiago.  The pool of melted cheese on top really screamed out mozzarella, but, they say it only has the hard cheeses.  I believe this is the same alfredo sauce they use on the pizza.  

It ... was pretty underwhelming, fairly thick and gloopy, and didn't have much flavor to it (it has a bit of garlic, but barely noticeable), and it desperately needed salt and pepper ... and red pepper flakes ... and, well, anything.  The flavor was bland and flat.  I realize I'm talking about alfredo sauce from a generic pizza franchise, but even jarred alfredo from a grocery store is better than this.

The pasta too was underwhelming, as generic as can be, just, basic penne.  It wasn't too mushy, but it certainly wasn't al dente.  While it had a tiny bit of color on top, it wasn't really crispy.  

Overall, um, meh.  I could imagine this being better with other pizza toppings added in, and a drizzle of their buffalo sauce, but, at the end of the day, it is low end penne and alfredo sauce, mixed together and put in an oven for a few minutes.  2/5.

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Seven Grams Caffe

Cookies and ... coffee.  Not quite the normal fill-in-the-blank choice of childhood milk & cookies, but, at least in New York it is a duo with some legit competition.  I don't mean a coffee shop that has some token cookies and mediocre baked goods on hand.  I mean businesses that focus on exactly those two things: coffee and cookies.  Such as Seven Grams, coffee roaster and caffe.

"That’s who we are, and that’s what we do: We roast great coffee, we bake sensational cookies (and cakes, and brownies, but, come on – the cookies), and we take immense pride in being a small, independent business. No investors, no suits, no big corporates. Just a dream, hard work, and a deep passion for what we do."

They have only 3 locations, all in Manhattan.  The name comes from the number of grams of espresso needed for the perfect shot.  I haven't had their coffee, but I did finally get to try one of their cookies, which frequent a slot in various "best chocolate chip cookie in NY" lists.  I rarely see them take the top honor, and they might not be as well known as some of the other common names (e.g. Levain, Culture Espresso - which, yes, is another cookies & coffee only place), but their name comes up enough that I took notice, even as someone who doesn't get particularly excited about cookies.

"Ooey-gooey, hand-crafted, and baked fresh to order. Expect a crunchy exterior, melt-in-your-mouth interior, and the best vegan cookies you've ever tasted. Crowned one of NYC's 5 Best Chocolate Chip Cookies."

They always offer a chocolate chip cookie for everyone: a classic chocolate chip cookie, a gluten-free and vegan dark chocolate chip cookie, and a vegan tahini & olive oil dark chocolate chip cookie. They have seasonal specials like pumpkin spice and apple cider in the fall, plus peanut butter dark chocolate chip and matcha white chocolate chip.  The bakery makes a few breads and scones too.

Classic Chocolate Chip Cookie.  $6.50.

"Our irresistible signature recipe of ooey-gooey, luscious, ultra-chocolatey cookies, packed-full of premium dark chocolate chips. Hand-crafted using only the finest ingredients and baked fresh to order, these decadent mega cookies have a crunchy exterior, a melt-in-your-mouth interior, and are packed-full of premium dark chocolate chips."

I had the simple classic.

I loved this cookie.

It was a soft cookie, not underbaked style, but trending that way.  It was thick.  It had plenty of chocolate hunks in it, but not so many it detracted from the taste of the base cookie.  I loved the base cookie flavor, butter, sugar, yes.  A cookie for cookie dough lovers. They say it is dark chocolate, but it was a lighter dark chocolate, a creamier, milkier style that I really liked.  

No edits on this one.  I really, really liked it.  My top chocolate chip cookie in NY so far ... 4.5/5.

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Aux Merveilleux de Fred

I thought I knew basically all types of desserts, and then I was in NY and realized I'd never encountered merveilleux before (I still haven't actually, but I learned about them when reading about a bakery I did have other items from: Aux Merveilleux de Fred).  "Fred", in this case, refers to the baker, Frédéric Vaucamps.  And, merveilleux, a specific kind of French dessert made with meringue, cream, and crumble coatings.  While I don't get excited about meringue (French style hard meringue that is), these still seem interesting, and I'd love to try sometime.

Fancy Box.

"Our cakes and pastries are traditionally made in each of our stores before your own eyes. You will love watching our teams in action as they make our Merveilleux cakes, cramiques and waffles. Our specialties are available in different flavors and sizes to suit all occasions and fancies, from our chocolate cramique as an afternoon snack, to our Merveilleux cakes for an unforgettable birthday celebration. Come and discover our know-how and taste our unmissable desserts!"

I did not have the merveilleux, instead I had some pastries and their other signature item, cramique, at a breakfast event at my office. 

Cramique

"A cramique is a Belgian brioche loaf found in Northern France.  Frédéric Vaucamps has reworked the traditional brioche with raisins. He has combined tradition and modernity with his new cramique recipes that include pearl sugar and chocolate chips. Our doughs are all made using traditional methods. From kneading, to shaping, to baking; watch as they come out of the ovens one after the other: hot cramiques baked all day long from breakfast time until late afternoon!"

These are available in plain, raisin, sugar, raisin & sugar, and chocolate varieties.  All but the raisin are round.  All are $4.95, which felt a bit high for just a simple brioche.  I tried a few to compare.

Plain Cramique.

"Plain brioche."

I started with the plain cramique.  It was ... well, a fairly plain, slightly sweet, fluffy bun.  No more, no less.  Not what I wanted to eat just as is, but I could imagine slathering it with something and enjoying it.  3/5 as there was nothing wrong with it, but it certainly wasn't interesting.

Raisin Cramique.

"Brioche with raisins."

Next I cut off a hunk of the raisin one, just to try it.  For some reason, the raison one only is a oblong shape rather than round roll.  But otherwise the same as all the others, studded with raisins.  Eh, raisins.  Not my thing, and it didn't have any additional spicing like a hot cross bun or other yeasted roll with raisins, so it still was  rather plain and simple for my tastes.  2.5/5.

Sugar Cramique.

"Brioche with sugar pearls."

The pearl sugar studded one was considerably more interesting, and I liked the sweetness, but it still was just a plain brioche, not something I can imagine wanting to just eat.  3/5.

[ Not Pictured ]

Chocolate Cramique

"Brioche with chocolate chips."

The one I picked to have a full size of was the chocolate one, which I somehow failed to get a photo of. It was studded with tiny chocolate chips.  I still found it a bit boring, better when I warmed it up so the chocolate got melty, but again not something I'd seek out.  The best of the bunch.  3/5.

Pastries

Aux Merveilleux de Fred doesn't make many other items, but I think they include croissants (and pain au chocolat) as kinda necessary elements of being a French bakery.

Croissant.

"Crispy pastry made from leavened puff pastry with butter. Our pure butter croissants are made in accordance with a traditional recipe and technique: mixing the pastry, incorporating the butter, shaping the croissant... We insist on the delicious, indulgent, authentic French taste of our croissants."

I had really mixed feelings on the croissant.  It ... wasn't flaky at all.  A good French croissant should be messy, it should shatter when you cut/bite into it, right?  And this did not at all.  But the buttery flavor was fantastic.  I think it would be good perhaps as a croissant sandwich bread, filled with meat/cheese, but really let me down as a standalone croissant, and I was surprised it was such a bready style.  3/5, carried only by the robust buttery flavor.

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Mei Lai Wah

Chinatown.  Most big cities have one, and of course New York does.  I'm often drawn there, not only because I appreciate a lot of the cuisine, but also, forthe great prices and generally no-frills environment.

"Mei Lai Wah is synonymous with Chinatown, an embodiment of the American Dream."

Mei Lai Wah is a Chinatown business I've known about for a while.  It opened in 1968, and for much of its existence was not really standout from other Chinatown spots, but they became relatively famous in 2008 when the New York Times published a passionate piece about it (while it was closed due to health inspection violations ...).  Since then, it seems to have stayed very well known (particularly as it blew up a few times on Tik Tok), and now still has regular lines.  If you say "pineapple bun" in this city, people immediately will jump to talking about it.   It has been on my radar since I moved to NY, so I was thrilled when an event I was attending had all their top hits.

Pineapple Bun with Roast Pork.$3.96.

"Pineapple bun with a crackly crust filled with char siu roast pork."

The very, very famous item from Mei Lai Wah. I finally got to try it!

And ... yeah, wow, I see why it gets such accolades.  The pineapple bun itself is the clear highlight: certainly the best I've ever had, although also the sweetest I've ever had. If you like just a touch of sweetness in your pineapple bun, this is not for you. I thought it was fantastic, the outside shattered and made a mess in all the right ways (just like a high quality croissant!).  4/5 pineapple bun.

Pineapple Bun: Inside.

The inside was good, but not as high quality as the bun itself.  A bit more quality control could be done as I had some bits of pork that really were just rubbery fat.  I also do prefer a less natural more red style of bbq pork, but this was still flavorful and good.  I just wished for fewer pure fatty bits.  3/5 filling.

Overall, a delightful item, and I'm glad I finally got to have it.  Will gladly eat again (although really, I'd love that pineapple buns stuffed with custard as a pure sweet item...). 

Egg Yolk Bun. ($6.60/3).

"Soft, fluffy buns filled with rich egg yolks."

I was also thrilled to get to try the egg yolk buns, the item I would have naturally picked as my second item too.  The bun was fairly standard, soft, steamed, seemed fresh, neutral flavor.

Egg Yolk Bun: Inside.

But inside is what these were all about.  I warmed mine up so the egg yolk reached flow state again.   Soo good.  I loved the very rich salted egg lava.  These were very mildly sweet, more savory really, so not a dessert style custard bun.

Very enjoyable, yes a bit basic, but well made (although it made me yearn for some pork floss, I always love the salted egg and pork floss combo).  3.5/5.

Crushed Cucumber and Peanut Salad.

This was included accidentally in one of my co-worker's orders, and they didn't want it.  So I took it off their hands.

This was actually very tasty.  Crushed cucumber, flavorful "Asian" sauce, tons of peanuts. 3.5/5.

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Carvel Ice Cream

Oh Carvel.  A brand that had such importance during my childhood, when we had a Carvel store in my hometown, and for our birthdays, we always got custom Carvel ice cream cakes.  I remember pouring through the pages and pages of glossy images of the different designs available, and after agonizing (for a child) decision making, picked my choice for my party.  Of course I liked the cakes, but, selecting the design was is what I remember most.  I don't remember ever going to the Carvel shop for anything else, although I guess they actually had a regular ice cream shop, and were not just a place for cakes.

Then at some point the Carvel store closed.  We still got Carvel cakes for parties, but they were just the standard grocery store ones (which I've reviewed before).  They *aren't* nearly as good as freshly made cakes, and obviously come in only one flavor.

Update Review, Summer 2026

Another summer in New York, another pile of Carvel consumed.

Pistachio.

Last summer I tried to get the pistachio several times, but no location I visited ever had it.  So this year I was thrilled when the location I visited managed to have it, even though half their machines were out of order.  However I wasn't allowed to sample it, so I had to just go for it without trying.  Since I tend to enjoy pistachio things, this seemed like a risk worth taking, even though the color was very clearly artificially green.

It was ... ok.  It didn't really taste like pistachio to me.  Or I guess, it did, a tiny bit, in a fake pistachio ways, but it was fairly muted flavor.  Mostly it was like vanilla with a slight not great aftertaste.  The base ice cream was rich and creamy, so that worked for me, but meh, I would not get this flavor again.  Low 3/5.

Pistachio / Oreo Swirl.

I visited a different location and decided to give the pistachio another try, to see if it was a location issue that made it meh.  I really couldn't resist given how elusive the flavor had been to me in the past.  I hedged my bets though, swirling with the Oreo on the same machine.

The result?  Yeah, meh to their pistachio flavor.  Just too fake, and not really pistachio flavored.  The Oreo one was just mildly flavored as well, sorta vaguely chocolate cookie like, but mostly again just vanilla.  Both were very rich and creamy.  3/5.

The cone was fine, but this location had no cone sleeves.  Average size small cone.

Mint (Small).

For all my sadness with the pistachio cones, the mint made up for it.  This was a glorious cone in all ways.  It was considerably bigger than others I've gotten, and the person making it really did seem to care to swirl it pretty perfectly.  It was also the most flavorful of any Carvel I had this year, clearly actually minty. And as always sooo creamy and rich. I quite enjoyed it.  4/5.

The cone was not stale, and I appreciated the cone sleeve thingy.

Mint (Small).

My next visit, to a different location, I got the mint again.  Um, again, please acknowledge the extreme difference in size of these two cones.  Both the same size, same flavor, different server.  This was the smallest one yet (and the most expensive location!).

The flavor was also fairly muted, making it fine vanilla soft serve, but not really mint.  Boo.  3/5.

Vanilla / Chocolate Swirl
(Small).

Another day, another totally different looking cone!  This one was really packed in, she sorta pressed down as it swirled, which you can see in the pattern, so it had considerably more ice cream than the others.  I forgave her for the off-center alignment, as she really loaded me up.

This was a very simple, classic, enjoyable cone.  Both flavors were rich and creamy.  They went together well.  I added my own chocolate sprinkles, and really was happy with this.  Cone not stale, and I love the ice cream catcher.  4/5.

Vanilla / Coffee.
(Small).

This was the day I learned you could do side-by-side at Carvel. I'm not sure why I never asked before.  The woman in front me asked for coffee & vanilla twist, when they weren't on the same machine (vanilla was with chocolate, coffee was with Nutella), and I was surprised when the worker didn't even bat an eye.  And then she made her a side-by-side (so not really a twist, but, still).  I quickly copied.  I don't know if this server was just very generous, or if the side-by-side is harder to portion, but this was one of the biggest small sizes I have gotten, and I wasn't mad about it.

Both flavors were rich and creamy, again, just nice quality soft serve.  This was my first time ever having the coffee flavor.  It was a milkier style, like most Carvel flavors more vanilla than the flavor it is supposed to be, but still enjoyable.  3.5/5.

Vanilla.

This location had only vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, and the seasonal toasted marshmallow (that I sampled, it was fine, but kinda overly sweet), so vanilla it was.

I loved how rich and creamy this ice cream was, but the vanilla flavor wasn't actually very strong, and the mouthfeel got to be a bit much after a while, almost too high fat content (I know, I can't believe I'm saying this either).  Good, but not as exceptional as my past memories of Carvel.  3.5/5.

Vanilla (Small).

Another classic vanilla, not the most generous serving. It was fine.  3.5/5.

[ No photos ]

Toasted Marshmallow: Very sweet, sorta I guess tasted like a gooey marshmallow.  It wasn't offensively cloying sweet, but, close.  Likely too much to have a full cone of, likely great on top of a brownie. Low 3/5.

Strawberry: I tried only because I know people who adore this flavor, and every Carvel seems to have it (along with chocolate and vanilla).  I'm not a strawberry ice cream person at all, but, I was genuinely curious.  I did not care for it much, but it was creamy and, well, strawberry flavored.  2.5/5.

Fudgie the Whale
(very melted).

"Our famous whale of a cake with layers of vanilla and chocolate ice cream, separated by a layer of chocolate crunchies then covered with fudge, crunchies and whipped topping."

I grew up with Carvel ice cream cake.  However, my family always just had the classic ice cream cake, not Fudgie, although most people I know that grew up with Carvel have him as their birthday memories.  I think this may have actually been my first time trying Fudgie!

The cake is made mostly the same as the other ice cream cakes, with the layers of vanilla and chocolate ice cream and crunchies in the middle, but this one comes covered in fudge instead of just the fluffy sweet whipped topping.  I adored the crunchies as always, and honestly didn't mind the melty ice cream as the crunchies stayed crunchy and did not get soggy, but I wasn't that into the fudge.  I think it made the whole thing too sweet, and it dominated.  But I also am not a big fudge person, and I'll admit, I wanted *my* memory of nostalgic Carvel cake, not this!  

I did enjoy (my first?) Fudgie, and was reminded of how great Carvel crunchies are.  3.5/5.

Update Review, Summer 2025

I spent the summer again on the east coast this year, land of Carvel ice cream, and it happened to also be my birthday while I was there, and thus, plentiful free birthday ice cream for me (it is usable every day for two weeks around your birthday)!  I'll admit the allure of Carvel has worn down for me - it is still better than any other fast food style soft serve, or better than most soft serve I can get in San Francisco, but in New York, the land of fantastic ice cream, it doesn't really measure up.

Lemonberry Crumble (Seasonal, early Aug).

"Swirl into summer with Lemonberry Crumble—where lemon and blueberry come together for the perfect creamy soft serve."

This was a seasonal flavor when I visited, so I asked to try it.

The base ice cream was good, exceptionally creamy like all of their soft serve.  It tasted to me like a more mild black raspberry, with notes of lemon to it, but not a particularly strong flavor.  It was sweet, but not too sweet. I think my mother would really like this, as black raspberry and lemon are her favorites.  For me, 3.5/5.

Toasted Marshmallow (Seasonal, late Aug).

A few days after I had tried the lemonberry crumble, I actually returned intending to get it, but alas, the seasonal flavor had just changed to toasted marshmallow.  I tried a sample first.

It was very sweet, and, well, yeah, did taste a bit like a toasted marshmallow, but pretty artificial.  I wasn't into it. The server loved it though, she said it reminds her of those soft caramels stuffed with a little cream center.  But for me, just not the right kind of sweetness.  Still wonderfully creamy premium ice cream of course.  Low 3/5.

Nutella.

"Decadent, rich and single. The flavor of your dreams. The decadent taste of chocolate hazelnut in a soft serve ice cream."

I was craving something a bit chocolately, so asked to sample the Nutella and Oreo, neither flavors I normally gravitate towards as I don't care for either ingredient all that much individually, but, I thought might be decent in soft serve.  First up was the Nutella.

This is definitely the most decadent of their flavors, particularly nutritionally.  A small vanilla (or most others) cup or cone is 350 calories/18g fat/22g sugar, where this is 420 cal/22g fat/31g sugars (Oreo is fairly close behind with 400 cal/20g fat/27g sugar).  The reason of course is that they do indeed use real Nutella, but a small soft serve cone being 420 cal (compared to say, Burger King's 190 calories / McDonald's 200 / Dairy Queen 220) is indeed more decadent, just as they say.

It was very creamy as is all Carvel ice cream, and yes, did taste a bit like Nutella, although it was fairly muted.  It was fine, but not a flavor I was really excited by.  3/5, probably 3.5/5 just given how creamy it was. 

Oreo.

"You don't need any milk for this OREO®. Eat your favorite cookie in the smooth swirls of Carvel® soft serve."

The Oreo looked nearly identical in color and little flecks, but she was careful to keep them separate as I tried them.  It too was nicely creamy, and used real Oreo inside of it, not just vague Oreo flavor, again making it a more decadent (higher cal/sugar/fat) option.

It did taste "cookies and cream", but was still a fairly muted flavor to me.  Since I don't actually love Oreos, this was totally fine, but if you want a lot of Oreo flavor, this is not it.  For me, it was good enough, and I think would be absolutely fantastic with their crunchies on it.  3.5/5.

Vanilla/Chocolate Twist.
(Small).

Vanilla: "The original classic. We've been improving our vanilla for more than 80 years. Yes, 80 years."

Chocolate: "Chocoholics dream of this. This is why chocoholics become chocoholics. Rich, creamy, fresh chocolate that's made especially for you."

Twist: "The best of both worlds. Why settle for one classic flavor. Get the yin and yang of ice cream together in perfect harmony."

This was my first time ever having Carvel chocolate soft serve (and maybe having their vanilla?) but I visited a very small location (inside Macy's near Times Square), with only vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, and the seasonal flavor and I decided to just be basic and try the twist. 

It wasn't exactly made with love, and frankly looked pretty homely, but it was fine. Truly exceptionally creamy rich soft serve, pretty standard vanilla and chocolate flavors, neither was overly pronounced, and it was sweet but not too sweet. Basically, just a classic very good vanilla and chocolate soft serve, high fat content base, classic, indeed.  3.5/5.

Vanilla. (Small).

"The original classic. We've been improving our vanilla for more than 80 years. Yes, 80 years."

Chocolate: "Chocoholics dream of this. This is why chocoholics become chocoholics. Rich, creamy, fresh chocolate that's made especially for you."

A few visits later, I was struck with tragedy.  The location was cleaning their machines, at 12:30pm on a Sunday, and had only chocolate and vanilla available.  I specifically picked that location because they have mango, mint, and birthday cake!  Sigh.  Dejected, I settled on a vanilla cone.

This was the smallest "small" I have received at any Carvel location, although at least it looked like a reasonable twirl.

It was fine.  Average.  Creamy.  Better than fast food vanilla, but actually not as good as the vanilla at other locations.  I don't think this was a very good location in terms of quality control (East Village, Manhattan, for reference).  3/5.

Oreo.
(Small).

"You don't need any milk for this OREO®. Eat your favorite cookie in the smooth swirls of Carvel® soft serve."

Wow, what a difference a different location makes!  When I got my second cone it was from the West Village location, and the staff here were so friendly AND seemed to actually put a bit of thought into making my cone.  This one looked considerably better, and was much bigger.  I settled for the Oreo, not wanting basic vanilla or chocolate again, or Nutella or toasted marshmallow, my other options.

It was unchanged in taste in full cone form (which isn't always the case!).  Very creamy, decent flavor, but not tons of Oreo came through.  I again thought it would be spectacular with their crunch coat added, I settled for chocolate sprinkles I brought with me.  3.5/5.

Mint.
(Small).

"Minty fresh. No matter the weather, it's always a good time for refreshing, creamy mint. Try it with fudge on top. A-maz-ing."

This was the biggest small yet!  Now, maybe a dish you just get more than a cone?  But the volume of ice cream was definitely considerably higher here than any of my cones.

Anyway, the flavor, mint, always a favorite of mine, and absolutely best with chocolate crunchies, sprinkles, fudge, or chocolate shell.  I got it plain, so I could add my own toppings - who wants to pay $1-2 extra for $0.05 worth of toppings!  This also gave me the opportunity to try it without chocolate elements masking the flavor at all.

Like all Carvel ice cream, yes, very creamy, very rich.  And, it seems, like all Carvel these days, just not a very strong flavor otherwise.  Another one that was an enjoyable vanilla-like flavor, with a hint of mint, but the flavor just seemed so muted.  I still liked it, the sweetness level was good, not too sweet, and the texture/consistency are top notch, but, come on, I wanted more actual mint flavor.  3.5/5, but again, just as a slightly interesting vanilla, not as a real mint flavor.

Cake Mix.
(Small).

"Better than licking the bowl. The taste of birthday cake any day of the year."

Another bowl rather than cone, and yeah, at least based on my sample size, you definitely get more ice cream in a dish than a cone.

I think in the past year Carvel changed their birthday cake-esque flavor, as I previously reviewed one called "birthday cake", and this was called "cake mix".  Anyway, this was a slightly sweeter flavor than the others, although not cloying sweet like cake batter things can sometimes be, and yes, sorta ... yeah, cake flavored.  Cake/frosting flavored, in that non-specific way.  It was good, standard Carvel creaminess.  It paired well with some leftover cake I had :)

3.5/5.

[ no Photo ]

Mango

I also sampled the mango.  I was so excited to see mango!  But like many of the flavors, it was just very muted.  I loved the base ice cream, but mango really didn't come through.  3.5/5 as a slightly more interesting vanilla.

Original Review, Summer 2024

This past year, I re-discovered Carvel ice cream shops, when I visited New York, and they had several locations.  It happened to be my birthday month as well, which was double great, because they give a free cone for your birthday reward (with sign-up).  I love a good freebie.

"Each of Carvel's handmade items starts with The Original Soft Serve™, created in 1934. Today, our delicious treats and classic ice cream cakes are a staple at birthdays, holiday parties, or any occasion worth celebrating."

Although they carry hard ice cream, I had eyes only for the soft serve.  Yes, I like all ice cream, but I'm a soft serve ice cream girl to the core.  

Carvel (inside Macy's)

I had no idea that Carvel has so many flavors of soft serve at Carve!  I thought they just had vanilla and chocolate.  But they actually have a slew more, depending on your location of course, including seasonal specials (like birthday cake, pumpkin, etc), and basics like strawberry, cold brew coffee, and chocolate hazelnut, along wtih coconut, pistachio, mint.  This is in addition to some "Carvelite" flavors and Oatly non-dairy flavors.

In Manhattan, the location inside Macy's (pictured here) had only 4 flavors, but the standalone store just a few blocks away had 6 (or 8? I forget).  The Financial District store had only vanilla/chocolate though, so, plan accordingly.

Mint.  Small.

"No matter the weather, it's always a good time for refreshing, creamy mint. Try it with fudge on top. A-maz-ing."

I went for the mint without trying to first.  I know, such a rookie move.  Now, it was good.  Don't get me wrong.  It was rich, creamy, great quality Carvel soft serve.  I really do like their soft serve.  But the mint flavor wasn't quite as strong as I was hoping it would be.  It was a good mint flavor, not medicinal or anything, and the sweetness level was nice, but, just slightly lacking in powerful mint flavor.  I suspect it would be great with chocolate sprinkles or chips . ***+

Birthday Cake. Small.

"A rainbow sprinkled cake-flavored take on The Original Soft Serve™ made in honor of our 90th birthday."

It was my birthday when I visited, so the birthday cake flavor seemed most fitting, right? Available in hard scoops or soft serve.  I asked the staff how sweet the soft serve was, and he immediately just handed me a sample cup.  It wasn't cloying sweet as I feared, and the taste was instantly recognizable: Carvel blue frosting!  It tasted *exactly* like their blue frosting, although it was a off-white color (missed opportunity!).  I do quite like that frosting, but, I don't think I'd want a full cone of this.  In the small sample size though it was enjoyable, and the consistency was excellent, very rich, smooth, creamy. ***+.

Update Review: 

Well, I returned and DID get a full cone of it.

This wasn't the prettiest cone, and it started falling over nearly immediately, but I quite enjoyed it. The birthday cake flavor tastes instantly recognizable if you are familiar with Carvel ice cream cakes. It takes exactly like their blue frosting, which I absolutely love and is my favorite part of Carvel cake (besides the crunchies of course).  Very rich, high fat content for soft serve, and shockingly not cloying sweet.  Best with sprinkles of course, which I added on my own.  Fresh tasting cone.  It turned out to be my favorite flavor. ****. 

Horchata.  Small.

"Traditional horchata flavoring (a mix of sugar & cinnamon with notes of rice flour) blended with vanilla soft serve."

This was really, really good.  Super creamy and rich, proper sweetness level (not too sweet), lovely cinnamon notes, hint of vanilla, hint of rice ... yeah, it was pretty perfect.  I wish I had gotten a full cone of it, but I was too tempted by other flavors.  ****+.

Update Review:

I tried this as a sample on my first visit, but got excited about the mint flavor and got that instead. But I kept thinking back on how good the horchata was so I returned a few days later to get it. It was again quite good- very, very creamy and rich soft serve, some light rice flavor, and mild spicing. I thought I remembered the spicing being stronger, more cinnamon, but it was still good and more interesting than your basic vanilla. ***+.

[ No Photos - Samples Only ]

Pumpkin Cheesecake: 

"A flavor-fall take on The Original Soft Serve™."

It was mid-august, and Carvel launched pumpkin cheesecake flavor, definitely a bit too early for pumpkin spice season if you ask me. But I couldn't resist trying a sample, even though I'm not generally one to love pumpkin spice things as I'm not really into nutmeg, and way too many pumpkin spice items are just far too heavy in the nutmeg. This however, was not too spiced.  It had nice warming spices, but it certainly wasn't aggressive. There was also a light pumpkin in the flavor. I can't say I really tasted any cheesecake though, I expected a different tang or something from that component, and I just didn't detect any of it. So I'd consider this a very mildly flavored pumpkin with a little bit of spices, fairly muted flavors overall. ***.

Chocolate Oatly:

"The Original Soft Serve™ you know and love, made with Oatly. Non-dairy deliciousness. Will be able to get in a variety of flavors based on your shoppe's availability."

I visited one Carvel location when they had the machines offline for cleaning, and only had their Oatly flavors available.  The staff member offered a sample, so I tried it, opting for the chocolate flavor.  It was actually very good - rich and creamy texture, nicely melty, good milk chocolate flavor.  There was a slight oat milk taste to it, but I like oat milk, so this didn't bother me.  Considerably better than expected, and a wonderful offering for those who want/need to be dairy free.  ****.

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Huascar & Company Bakeshop, NYC

New York has a lot of bakeries.  I have places I already love, and ridiculous lists of places I want to try.  I have a list targeted for cakes, another for laminated pastries, another for cinnamon rolls, another for cookies, etc, etc.  One category that doesn't get a lot of entries is pudding.  I adore pudding, of all kinds, hence the label on my blog for it.  Simple banana pudding, custards like crème brûlée, panna cotta, or flan, these all count.  I love them all.  So when a place has a few pudding-adjacent items on a menu, I pay attention.

Huascar & Company Bakeshop is primarily a bakery, with a large lineup of baked goods, all of which I'd be happy to try of course, but they aren't particularly at the tops of my lists for any of those items.  Their menu is extensive though, with a slew of flavors of cakes, cupcakes, and entremets.  Yes, like seemingly everywhere these days, they have a mango mousse that looks like a mango, a lemon ganache that looks like a lemon.  Dubai this and that.  They have cheesecakes and flans.  Cookies, brownies, and bars.  Many items incorporate Dominican flair, as the chef is from the Dominican Republic.  He competed on Food Network’s Sweet Genius and even won Food Network’s Cupcake Wars.

But I had my eyes on the pudding adjacent items, of which we ordered a slew for an event at my office.

Cheesecakes, Flans, Custards & Pies

Key Lime. $8.50.

"Graham cracker crust, fresh key lime custard, and whipped cream topped with lime zest and graham cracker crumbs."

Regular readers of my blog know that I tend to dislike lemon/lime desserts, and I downright loathe graham cracker crust / base, so, why on earth am I including a key lime item?

Simple: we had tons of these leftover, and people were taking just a few spoonfuls of each to try, so I was able to easily take a very small portion just to see if I liked it.  Spoiler: I did not, as expected.

Key Lime.

It was a fine item though, if you like these sorts of things.  The base was a layer of graham cracker crumble (not a crust, it was just loose, which is even worse to me, just, gritty sawdust that easily got mixed in).  The majority of the container was the key lime custard, thick, well set, very tangy.  Very not my thing, but the flavor and consistency were good.  The whipped cream was standard, and the zest on top was attractive and made the flavors pop a bit more.

I didn't care for it, but I have no real points of issue with it, just clearly not my preferences.

Passionfruit Coconut Tres Leches. $9. 

"Our tres leche cake, with a twist—soaked in an our virgin coquito mix, topped with homemade passion fruit jam, coconut whipped cream and sprinkled with toasted coconut."

Next up was the tres leches, which is something I like, but rarely love or get excited about in general.  I've had a lot of kinda mediocre tres leches, but rarely really bad tres leches, and rarely really great tres leches.  I think in my head it lives in the constant realm of things I like in theory, but don't ever get wowed by.

This one did come close to wowing me.  It was far better than any tres leches I'd had in several years but ... partially that is because it wasn't just any tres leches.   It was considerably more interesting than a standard tres leches, as coconut and passionfruit were the real attractions.  The basic formula of multiple milk soaked cake and whipped cream still applied, but otherwise, this was a pretty complex and flavorful dessert.  Also, I kinda think calling it a trifle may be more appropriate?  They do also make a more standard tres leches, spiked with rum.

The middle third of this was the cake, soaked not just in the standard three milks, but in coconut based coquito mix, so it was more flavorful than usual on its own (although I didn't really taste the booziness?). It was very moist, and the ratio of 1/3 cake to everything else made this eat really well.  Yes, it was soggy cake, but it was good.

On top was the coconut whipped cream, a far more substantial portion than what was on top of the key lime where that whipped cream was more of a garnish.  This was a full 1/3 of the dessert, equal ratio with the cake.  It was coconut flavored and had a great thick yet fluffy consistency.  It had a lot of shredded toasted coconut covering it as well, adding even more coconut flavor, lots of texture.  I could have been happy eating this sorta as a coconut cream pie, no cake required.

Below the cake was the passionfruit jam, where even more flavor intensity came from.  While the previous coconut flavors were strong, noticeable, the passion fruit was definitely the dominator.  The jam was so fruity, such concentrated tropical goodness.  Great for those who love passion fruit, and I appreciated that it didn't taste artificial.  It was sweet, but somehow not overly so.  This thick layer was about half the base of the dessert, and again, the ratio just made sense and made it eat so well.  There was a dollop on top of the whipped topping as well.

At the very bottom was a little more very soaked cake, almost so moist it was like pudding.

Overall I found this really easy to enjoy.  An excellent layered tropical trifle where every spoonful just made sense.  4/5.

The portion was large, easily 2 servings, maybe 3, which made the $9 price very reasonable.

Salted Caramel Banana Pudding. $8.25.

"Vanilla pudding with layers of caramelized spiced bananas, vanilla wafers & salted caramel sauce."

And finally, the one I was most excited for, the banana pudding.  Make that, salted caramel banana pudding.  Oh yes.  This took the basic banana pudding format and elevated it considerably (besides the kinda basic vanilla wafers on top, which sorta seems like a miss not to use house made ones?).

I had mixed feelings on this.  It was good, but borderline just too sweet.  I ended up adding a lot of tart blackberries, and regular less sweet whipped cream, to balance it out.  As it was served, it was just too much, even for someone who really loves sweets like me.  Maybe I just needed a black coffee or bitter red wine to pair with it?

Anyway, starting from the top, besides the aforementioned generic throwaway Nilla wafers, there was thick rich whipped cream, lots of it, sweetened, and drizzled with salted caramel sauce.  Very tasty, but even this topping was pretty sweet.

Banana Pudding.

Below that was a layer of the caramelized bananas that were really quite good, and a nice change from just standard sliced bananas in banana pudding / banana cream desserts.  They were nicely spiced, and were a good way to make the dessert less perishable too - I always find slightly brown fresh bananas a bit off putting, but here they were cooked down so this wasn't an issue.  However, this was a really sweet element as they were caramelized, and bananas are already pretty sweet.

After that a thick pudding (they said it was vanilla, but it really tasted banana to me), sweet but not cloying, great consistency, with vanilla wafers embedded within that basically turned into bites of soft cake and bothered me less than the ones on top.  And more salted caramel sauce, more caramelized bananas, more pudding, all kinda layered together in a not distinct fashion.

Put it all together and you had a number of winning elements, and it ate well with thick pudding, soft cake-like layers, sauce and bananas but ... every element was sweet, and some (the salted caramel sauce and caramelized bananas) were overly so.   I found it hard to eat large portions, without adding more plain whipped cream and other fruit.  Lower 4/5, as it was still very good, just, needed a bit less salted caramel sauce, or sweetness toned down in the pudding, to really knock it out of the park.

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Bánh Mì Cô Út

I am not really a sandwich person.  I haven't ever been.  I did have one gas station in my hometown growing up that had bulkie bun sandwiches I liked, but besides that, sandwiches have been something I begrudgingly ate.  My family never went out to actual restaurants when I was growing up (like, ever), but we had a phase of going out on Saturday night to one of Subway or Del Taco.  I always voted against Subway. In grad school, every once in a while my group of grad student friends would splurge and go out for lunch, and I was always saddened when the sandwich shop was the destination of choice for the group.  Going out was a real splurge for me, and paying for a sandwich I didn't really want always made me grumpy.  So suffice to say, you'll never see me seeking out sandwiches of any kind (is a hot dog a sandwich?  Let's not get into that, and yes I adore hot dogs, although I'd prefer a corn dog or bunless generally).

But when I do have a sandwich, a banh mi is pretty high up there on the actually interesting list.  Is it because I like the fillings and find them novel as I didn't grow up with them?  Well, mostly. Do I still dislike the actual sandwich part, and find that particularly with bahn mi the bread is too hard and I discard half of it?  Also yes.  Still, I was sorta craving banh mi, and did a little research on where I should go.

Bánh Mì Cô Út is routinely cited as having the best bread in Manhattan for banh mi. Since that is the element that usually lets me down the most, I decided to optimize on my best shot of having bread I appreciated, and thus, Bánh Mì Cô Út it was.  They make their own bread fresh daily, and yes, it really does make a difference.

#1: Bánh Mì Cô Út Special. $11.10.

"Pork belly, boiled Vietnamese ham, fried Vietnamese ham, jambon, pork floss, pate, mayo, cucumber, cilantro, carrot & daikon."

I went straight for the one with ~everything. There were at least 7 kinds of pork in here: pate and floss, 3 kinds of luncheon meats, two kinds of more standard pork (although, yes, I know the description only lists 6 kinds).  

The pate was spread along the bread on one side, and it was a fairly thin layer, but it was good.  I love pate, so this was a highlight for me, as minimal as it was.  The pork floss was on the other end of all the meats, in the middle of the sandwich, adjacent to the veggies.  I love pork floss too, and this was also good, but again, give me more!  I sorta wished it was positioned differently though, as it got lost in the very center a bit.  These were my two favorite elements, no question.

Next were the three kinds of processed loaf meats.  I'm not sure what they all were, two were sorta pale cold cuts style (one was the boiled Vietnamese ham, the other probably the fried version?), the third was full of all the bits and pieces.  I liked all of these, as again, I just tend to like anything in the bologna/mortadella space, although the one with all the color variations, fat circles, and just kinda mystery bits was my least favorite of the three.

The regular sliced pork was fine, not too tough, but pretty boring (is this the jambon?).  The other had a slight colored crust on it and had a bit more flavor (maybe this was the belly?).  These were the least interesting to me.

Then, all the veggies. There was a generous amount of pickled shredded carrot and diakon which really helped offset the fattiness and saltiness of the meats, and a little cucumber. These all were about as expected, and played their parts well.  I don't really like cilantro, but I understand it has its place in here too.  I barely noticed any mayo, I would prefer more.  I also wanted some jalapeno.

And finally, the bread.  It was very good for banh mi bread. Super crispy/crusty, but quite soft inside.  Clearly very fresh. Better than average, no question.

Overall, this was a good bahn mi, and I enjoyed the adventure of trying everything in it.  I think my ideal would be just the boiled and fried Vietnamese ham loaves, 2x the pork floss, 3x the pate though.  3.5/5.

Banh Mi Lap Xuong Tuoi. $10.20.

"Vietnamese fresh pork sausage, mayo, cucumber, cilantro, carrot & daikon, and homemade soy bean sauce."

Since I was there, I also got my second choice, one with pork sausage, just to try a second item too.  Again some great fresh bread that was shockingly crispy yet soft, same attention paid to ratios of veggie to meat fillings - more veggies in this one, which worked with the more solid meatier sausage.  Alas, no pate nor pork floss in this one.

Banh Mi Nem Nuong: Inside.

The sausage was shockingly good.  Very juicy, but the aromatics were particularly impressive.  Just so well spiced.  

I'm not sure which of these sandwiches I liked more, as they were really quite different, but this was just as good as the first ... if not better. 3.5/5.

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