Dominique Ansel Kitchen and Bakery, NYC

Baked goods.  Desserts.  Ice cream.  Some of my all time favorite things, and all signature items at the famous Dominique Ansel establishments in New York.

If you lived under a rock in 2013, or didn't pay attention to the baked goods scene, perhaps you missed out on the most famous item produced by Chef Dominique Ansel: the cronut.  Yup, the cronut, the croissant-donut hybrid, that took the country by storm and skyrocketed Dominique Ansel into culinary celebrity status (which, to be fair, is also due to his success as a James Beard winning, work at Michelin starred restaurants, etc).  But the cronut was his big rise to fame.

Hot off the heels of the cronut was another creation: the DKA.  Dominique's Kouign Amann.  While he didn't create the glorious kouign amann, he certainly perfected it.  Like the cronut, it quickly got a cult following, and required reservations in advance.

I had many imposter cronuts and kouign amann over the years, and in the summer of 2019, I finally got to try the later.  I had mediocre expectations, given the hype, but ... well, it lived up.  And it isn't just because a kouign amann is delicious by nature (which, it is), but, well, he really did master this namesake item.

Update Review, Dominique Ansel Bakery, August 2024

My offices have a regular donut rotation, where someone brings in donuts every week, from the place of their choice (hence why I have so many donuts!).  When I was visiting my NY office, my amazing coworker decided to up the ante and go to Dominique Ansel Bakery for cronuts, not just regular donuts from any nearby shop.  I was thrilled to say the least. 

Cronut Box.

I realized when I saw the box, that I think this was my first ever actual Dominique Ansel cronut.  I'd had the DKA, and other goodies, a few years prior (review below), but not the actual signature cronut. 

"This pastry has a short shelf-life and should not be consumed after 8 hours of pick up."

I appreciate that they don't even say, "best within 8 hours", nope, its literally, "should not be consumed" when it is more than 8 hours old.  #standards.

Guava & Coconut Cronut.
 (August Monthly Flavor).

"Filled with tropical guava jam and creamy coconut ganache."

Dominique Ansel Bakery produces only one flavor each month, and it rotates monthly.  During my visit, it was guava & coconut.  Warning: those who do not like guava need to just move on.  This isn't for you.  But if you like guava, and fruity things, this certainly delivered.  So. Much. Guava.

The cronut base itself was the least interesting part to me.  As a caveat, I will say that I had it at 7pm, so definitely not as fresh as it should be.  It was well coated in sugar, and the layers were nice, but it was soft and not flaky.  Again, I suspect this was a freshness thing, as it was end of day, and had been in the fridge.  The pastry though was really not the star of the show anyway.  The other elements were the strong players, particularly the gauva, that was clearly MVP.

Inside there was a generous amount of guava jam.  Very thick, very fruity, very intense guava jam.  It was tropical and very summer appropriate.  Fairly sweet.  And on top, a thicker-than-expected coating of guava (and coconut?) icing.  It was really quite sweet, and again, very fruity and very guava forward.  A bit too sweet for me after all that jam too.  The coconut ganache was harder to find, less of it, and less strongly flavored, but I appreciated the creamy element it added.

Overall, I was very glad to try this.  The guava was a showstopper, and I wish I'd been able to actually try it fresh.  ***+.

Original Review, Dominique Ansel Kitchen, September 2021

In SF, I've tried all the "famous" local versions of kouign amann, such as the decent but average one from Starter Bakery, the much better one from b. patisserie, and the not-so-good one from Firebrand.  I've also had several from the oldest pastry shop in Paris (Stohrer), a fantastic version turned into a formal dessert at Clio in Boston, and, a memorable take home treat from an incredible meal at the (now closed) Cyrus in Napa.  I've had great kouign amann, ones that, at the time, I declared the best ever.  But the DKA ... yup, it blew them away.

Setting

The shop has an ice cream window outside to streamline those orders, and inside is the bakery counter (with everything on display!) and seating.

Ice Cream Window.

Another one of Dominique Ansel's well known creation is the soft serve.  Yup, the ice cream.  And you know how much I love my soft serve.

I was pretty excited to try the burrata soft serve, as, well, I do love burrata, and I loved the sound of the microbasil in it (I've had fabuous basil ice cream before), and the strawberry confit ... but, alas, the other flavor was What-A-Melon, which uses real watermelon, AND is served in a carved out watermelon rind, and thus ... danger, danger, danger for me, given my life threatening watermelon allergy.  I couldn't take the risk to order the other soft serve.

On another visit, they only had a cold brew flavor, and it wasn't very good, really, quite icy.  If you want great soft serve in New York, there are plenty of other places to get it, like Big Gay Ice Cream right around the corner, or my fav for the incredible ube soft serve (with halo halo toppings no less!), Soft Swerve.

Seating.

The seating area is tastefully decorated, and I appreciated all the floral touches.

Bakery Counter

Of course, most people go to Dominique Ansel Kitchen for the stunning, and unique, pastries and desserts.  All are on full display, tempting you as you want in the generally long line to place your order.

Baked Goods.

The array of tempting looking baked goods is extensive, ranging from thick cookies, to all kinds of filled croissants (including some unexpected versions like garlic confit, Nutella, and almond lavender), to the oh-so-notoriously hard to make canelé.  I honestly wanted to try nearly all of them.

More Baked Goods.

There were also some simple classics, like a plain or ham & cheese croissant for the traditionalists, and the cinnamon spun roll jumped out at me too.  Even the brownies had an interesting element to them, incorporating smoked sage.

Desserts.

And then ... the even more stunning creations, the desserts.
 

This section also showed models of the made-to-order items, like the a la minute mousse, the baked to order hazelnut madelines, nad the freshly made "Ultimate" S'more.

Beautiful Creations.

Every item was stunning, expertly made, and full of little twists.  I don't even like pavlova that much, but the brown sugar orange pavlova was gorgeous, just like the grapefruit honey tart, again, tarts aren't usualy what I go for, but these looked, and sounded, fascinating.

4th of July Religieuse.

The banana cream pie looked downright incredible, and, because it was 4th of July, the religieuse took a festive slant, decked out like Uncle Sam.  Oh, and the cheesecake?  Certainly not slouch, it was made with black truffle honey.

Retail.

The packaged retail section also includes some take-home items, like housemade granola or burnt caramel popcorn (which you know I almost grabbed, given my love of popcorn!)

Food

I would gladly have ordered a savory meal, or any of the breakfast items, or grabbed a slew of things to take home, but, alas, this visit was directly after visiting Big Gay Ice Cream one last time, and I was literally on my way to the airport from there.  Thus, I had restraint, and only got the one thing: the signature DKA.  I mean, I had no other choice, right?

Brown Sugar DKA. $5.50.

“Dominique’s Kouign Amann”: Our signature pastry made with brown sugar, similar to a “caramelized croissant,” flaky and caramelized on the outside with tender layers on the inside."

I could tell just by inspection that this kouign amann was in a league of its own.  The caramelization on the exterior was noticeable from a distance.  This is *clearly* unlike any generic bakery kouign amann.  But, I have had good koiugn amann before too.

My standards were set high.

I took a tentative bite.  Yes, wow, that was crispy.  So crispy.  So rich.  This is clearly a special item.

Bottom: That caramelization!!!!

Turning it over revealed even more ridiculous caramelized goodness.  It looked like the top of a crème brûlée!

I can safely say, on the caramelization dimension alone, this is the best I've ever had. 

At this point, I expected a good, crispy kouign amann.  Nicely layered, very rich, decadent treat.  Which it was.  I also expected, a slightly more interesting flavor, from the use of brown sugar, which isn't as standard.  And, that was there as well.

This was a good kouign amann.

But I still didn't know to expect what I found ... inside.

Inside: So gooey!

Yes, inside.  Among the crispy layers, a gooey pocket of sugary goodness.  Now *this* was unique.  I've had filled kouign amann before, usually chocolate filled, sometimes with creams or fruits, but this?  Unexpected, and I loved the quality it added to the treat.

So yes, this was an excellent treat.  Far more caramel forward than most, sweeter, and richer as as result.  While I'll eat a kouign amann for breakfast sometimes, this one I wouldn't really find breakfast appropriate.  It was just *too* much.  Actually.  

****, I still enjoyed it very much, and I think it would be lovely with a scoop of vanilla ice cream to help temper the sweet richness (they do serve it as an ice cream sandwich, but with salted caramel ice cream, which I think would be just too much).

I don't feel the need to get this again though - given my limited time in New York, I have too many other things to explore.

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Brenda's Meat & Three

Ask a San Franciscan where to get good southern food, and chances are high that Brenda's name will come up.  Particularly if you are asking about southern brunch.  Brenda's is notorious in the long-lines-at-brunch scene, even given the less than ideal location in the Tenderloin.  But the masses still line up, and although I never lined up myself, I finally got to try it.

Brenda's original restaurant was so successful they are now a mini-chain in the Bay Area, with three locations: the original Brenda's French Soul Food, an outpost in Oakland, and a slightly different second concept also in San Francisco, Brenda's Meat & Three.  It is the later that I tried.

The name is a bit perplexing if you are unfamiliar with the meat & three southern concept.  Yes, the tie in to the well known Brenda's French Soul Food is clear, but, what about the "Meat & Three" part?  The answer, per their website:

"A southern culinary tradition, meat & three diners are popular with locals who choose one meat (or entrée) and three side dishes from a daily selection of down-home favorites."

This is a fairly standard concept at southern style restaurants, which I recently discovered when I went to Atlanta (although, maybe this is the economy, or more awareness of health consequences, but "meat and two" seemed more prevalent).  

The menu at Brenda's for every meal period is fairly large, at all locations.  While they differ slightly, for the most part, they offer similar items.

For lunch and dinner, you can pick from a number of comfort food sandwiches, like pulled pork, classic muffuletta, several kinds of po'boys, a signature fried bologna, and of course a fried chicken sandwich, but they also have unique items like a vegan sloppy joe or fried veggie po'boy to really cater to a larger audience.  If you prefer more substantial entrees, you can pick from everything from shrimp & grits to an interesting pasta creation loaded with seafood.  And of course, there are platters of fried chicken, fried catfish or shrimp, ribs, pulled pork, and more.  Appetizers include hush puppies, gumbo, salads, and shrimp in a cayenne butter sauce.  And then there are beignets, both sweet and savory, offered at every location, every meal.

The breakfast/brunch menu adds in specials like biscuits & gravy, a slew of egg options (benedicts - with their southern style biscuits rather than english muffins and creole hollandaise!, omelettes, etc), french toast, hash, and breakfast meats.

I ordered for delivery, so I can't comment on the restaurant experience, but my delivery experience was reasonable - well packaged, timely arrival.

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Beignets

Beignets at Brenda's are signature items.  Available at brunch, lunch, and dinner, and in a variety of flavors, mostly sweet (chocolate or granny smith filled are their classics, but they now also have a trendy ube version!), or plain.  The sweet options definitely appeal to me, but, I actually was looking for something savory, and the idea of the savory beignet intrigued me. 

Beignet Bag.

I was a little surprised when I opened my large takeout bag to find my beignet in a smaller paper bag (but still quite sizable), with a "crawfish" stamp on it.  I suspect if you order more than one kind, this makes sense, and the bag was absolutely fine for packaging in a way that didn't make it get soggy (although it didn't really keep it warm).  It looked a little silly to have the single beignet in the big bag though.

Crawfish Beignet. $4.50.

"Spiced with cayenne, scallions & cheddar."

The beignet was covered in a messy coating (cayenne and other blackening spices I think?), much like you'd find powdered sugar coating a sweet beignet.  This is the kind of item you eat with your hands, but, yes, you'll get messy fingers, in a Cheetos kind of way (just, not quite as artificially orange).  I actually didn't care for the coating, as it made the beignet eat a bit dry.  I did appreciate the flavor, but, I'd actually prefer it without.

The beignet itself was crispy on the outside, and fluffy inside.  It didn't taste oily nor fried.  Good dough.  It was fairly dense, and ate pretty heavy.  And, as I mentioned, a bit dry.

The beignet was quite sizable, and if you want one a an appetizer before a more substantial meal, I recommend sharing.  Beignets are mostly available only in sets of 3 (of a kind), or as a flight (of all kinds), but the crawfish beignet is also available on its own at diner time for a reasonable $4.50.

Crawfish Beignet: Inside.

The beignet was very, very generously stuffed with crawfish filling.

I wasn't quite sure what to expect besides bits of crawfish, and the answer seemed to be a creamy sauce, likely much like the roux used as the base of their étouffée.  It was really well seasoned, full of classic southern flavors.  The creamy filling helped balance out the more dry exterior.  It was rich and screamed southern comfort, but didn't over power the beignet.  The crawfish were perfectly cooked, with a slight chew.  The menu mentions cheddar, which I didn't actually detect, but perhaps it was in there adding to the creaminess.

The filling really was quite tasty, and it worked amazingly well with the beignet dough.  I did end up stuffing some cole slaw and pickles into mine to make what I considered pretty perfect bites (slightly less dry this way), but it was quite enjoyable on its own too.

This was a unique and tasty dish, and I recommend it if you are up for trying something different (and aren't crawfish nor carb averse).

***+.

Sides

Given the concept, it is no surprise that Brenda's Meat & Three offers a slew of sides (at least 20 of them!), mostly all your traditional southern sides: cole slaw, potato salad, grits, cheesy grits, mashed potatoes, collard greens, red beans & rice, mac & cheese, corn succotash, okra & tomato maque choux, fries, etc, etc.  Many vegan, most vegetarian, some gluten-free.  These are available a la carte as well. 

Cole Slaw. $3.50.

To go with my beignet I got the slaw.

Ok, this looks like just any old cole slaw.  Shredded cabbage, mostly green, a little carrot, dressed in mayo based dressing.  It didn't look particularly interesting, no extra special ingredients, no interesting size chunks, not even any noticeable seasoning.

But this was excellent cole slaw.  At least, totally the kind of slaw that I like.  It was fairly fresh and crisp, although certainly a bit soft, likely was made that morning.  It was well dressed, every piece covered in dressing, but not over dressed nor soggy.  The dressing I suspect is what made it for me, besides mayo, I'm not entirely sure what was in it, but, it was creamy and flavorful.

It is hard to really pinpoint what made this so good, as there isn't anything obvious, but I really enjoyed it.  The portion was quite large (that was a large container!), and for $3.50 it was a great value.  Definitely the best cole slaw I've had in recent years, and I'd get it again in a heartbeat.

****+.

Retail Items

Brenda's offers a line of retail packaged jams, pickles, and sauces, including pepper jelly and the jams they serve at breakfast (peach cobbler or spiced strawberry), along with several kinds of pickles, and even a tomato bacon relish.

I come from a family of canners, and grew up eating homemade pickled things of all kinds, and of course, always homemade jams, so I was thrilled to see this lineup.  Grocery store pickles, even fancier ones, just don't compare.

Pepper Jelly. $1.25.

Pepper jelly is normally served with the cornbread, or chicken meals, but you can also add it on to your order for $1.25 (or get a full size retail jar if you really want to stock up).

The pepper jelly was a different style than I've had other places, no chunks, just a smooth sauce.  It was slightly sweet, not particularly spicy, and nicely pepper flavored.  I found it went well with my crawfish beignet, it went well with the slaw, and I'm sure it would go great with the cornbread or biscuit too.  Very versatile and a nice add-on.  I'd get it again.

****. 

Bread & Butter Pickles. $10.50.

First up, I opted for the bread & butter pickles, always a classic in my house.  

The top few slices were slightly mushy, but they got a bit more firm as I dug deeper.  All were a touch softer than I prefer.  Moderately thinly sliced, so less bite to them than a thicker slice.  Good level of acid.  Considerably more tart than most bread and butter pickles, which can trend overly sweet.  I had hoped for slices of onions and/or peppers in the mix, as my family has always included those in bread and butter pickles, but these were cucumber only.

Overall, good pickles, better than your average store brand, but I wanted a bit more from them.  ***+.

The pickles went really well with the slaw and savory beignet, and are a great compliment to any southern meal.

Pickled Okra. $10.50.

I couldn't resist trying a jar of the pickled okra as well.  My family pickled many things other than just cucumbers, and in particular, the dilly beans and asparagus were always favorites of mine, but I can safely say we never had pickled okra.  However, just like green beans and asparagus, it seemed like a totally reasonable crunchy green vegetable to pickle to me, so I couldn't wait to try it.  I hoped it would be crisp and not slimy though ...

I really, really, really did not like this product.  The okra sliminess was not the issue (although that was kinda there).  The issue was the taste.  It was bitter.  It was sour.  It just tasted bad.  Like, potentially unsafe to eat, not properly sealed and pickled bad.  I wonder if I got a bad batch? Yikes.

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Cookie Pop Popcorn

"Combining cookies and popcorn for a delicious sweet and savory combo!"

Cookie Pop is a product line of cookie + popcorn mash-ups, featuring well known cookies like Oreos and Chips Ahoy!  I could care less about the cookie aspect of this, particularly those cookies, but I'm always up for trying munchy snacks, and in particular, a new popcorn.  They also make a "Candy Pop" line with mash-ups including Butterfinger, Snickers, Twix, M&Ms, and others.

I only tried one flavor, but I didn't find it all that compelling.

Chips Ahoy!

"Two of America’s favorite snacks are teaming up to take on your taste buds as we deliver the delicious taste of Chips Ahoy Cookies in a light, crunchy popcorn package! It’s an incredibly satisfying combo that’s big on flavor, low in calories, and guaranteed to surprise and delight snackers of all ages."

"Popcorn made with chips Ahoy! Cookie pieces and drizzled with chocolate."

I approached this bag with apprehension, as I truly do not like Chips Ahoy.  I see zero place in this world for Chips Ahoy.  Why on earth would I ever pick a Chips Ahoy cookie when there are so many better products on the market?  Even packaged, mass produced, snack/dessert items.  You can do so much better than highly processes, chemical tasting, hard cookies.  Anyway.  I hoped this would mostly be chocolate drizzle corn, and it was ... sorta.

Let's just say, if you went into this excited for the pieces of Chips Ahoy! lurking within, you'd be very disappointed.  I've had several bags of this, and they all just have a few tiny little pebbles at the bottom of the bag.  Yes, technically there are cookie bits, but they are so small, and so few, that it barely counts.  And yet ... it still has a fairly uncanny taste of Chips Ahoy.  In that chemical, not fresh, sense.

The popcorn itself is not particularly great either. Decently popped, average sized pieces (I like bigger and fluffier!), not particularly fresh tasting.  It is drizzled fairly well with the mild milk chocolate.  But ... that Chips Ahoy! flavor really does somehow permeate, and that kicks this down many notches.

Very low *** for novelty, but little other merit besides the chocolate drizzle.

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Manghis' Bread

During one of my recent visits to see my family in New Hampshire, I learned about a local-ish wholesale bakery, Manghis' Bread, in Montpelier Vermont.  They do not have a storefront of their own, but their products are sold in a few stores near my parent's house.  They've been making bread in the area for 35 years, but this was the first time I had seen them.  

Their distribution model is fascinating: nearly all their deliveries to retail stores are done by volunteers, who are paid in loaves of bread.  This is likely why they aren't found in more places where my parent's live, as it is an hour drive away.  

"Manghis’ Bread uses only high-quality ingredients in our breads. We source ingredients locally whenever possible."

For those local to the area, you'll recognize the names of their sources: King Arthur for flour, Cabot for butter, McLure's for honey, etc.  As a lover of baked goods, I obviously had to try the products I could get my hands on.

Savory Loaves

The majority of their products are savory loaves, classic sandwich style breads (basic white, wheat, honey bran, oatmeal, rye, cinnamon raisin, etc), along with assorted dinner rolls and a few rustic styles.  They also sell pizza dough.

Poppy Challah (Large). $9.99.

"A traditional Jewish braided bread, rich with egg and honey. Makes delicious French toast (assuming you have any left a few days later)."

I couldn't resist picking up this loaf of challah, even though I had never heard of the bakery.  I'm in love with Irving's challah in San Francisco (which I get from Oren's Hummus on Fridays when they have it), and I was really excited to see a locally made challah in New Hampshire/Vermont.   Manghis' Bread makes both a poppy or a sesame version of this, I went for the poppy seed.  Available in a medium or large loaf, this was the large.

I didn't really like this.  It looked great, nicely braided, good luster to the crust.  But it wasn't as enriched at challah really should be, it really just tasted like white bread.  It was fairly dry.  The sprinkle of seeds was nice for crunch.  No one in the family was really into this.  **.

(Sorry for the poor photo, I wasn't planning to review this bakery when I got the challah, but after I got another item a few days later from Manghis' Bread, I felt compelled to review, and this was the only photo I had of the challah!).

Sweet Treats

Manghis also makes several kinds of sweet breads, which of course is what I was more interested in: twists with lemon cream cheese (or raspberry jam AND the cream cheese), cinnamon rolls (with icing of course), or, very Vermont appropriate, maple buns.  I was very tempted by the cinnamon rolls, but opted for the less exciting looking maple buns, as they seemed far more unique.  They also make holiday breads such as Panettone at Easter and Christmas, German Stollen at Christmas, and Hot Cross Buns for Easter.

Maple Buns.  $11.39.

"Real Vermont maple sugar makes these crumbly, crispy, gooey buns extra delicious."

The buns weren't quite what I was expecting.  I thought they'd be considerably more decadent and dessert-like than they were.  I couldn't see a ton of maple icing or glaze, but thought perhaps it was on the bottom (like sticky buns when you bake, and then flip).  The sweetness of these was really pretty minimal, just a bit of maple and cream cheese filling between the swirls.  The maple flavor was nice, but, there just wasn't all that much of it.

The buns themselves were fairly standard lightly sweet yeasted buns.  Nicely puffy, although a bit dry.  They had a homemade appearance, which made them fairly charming.  There was also a tiny bit of a maple crumb topping on top, but it was even more minimal than the maple-cheese filling.

Warmed up and served with fresh fruit and ice cream I did enjoy my bun, but, I really would prefer more of a maple glaze or icing on top, and didn't really want a second bun.  ***.

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Sweetzer Gourmet Popcorn

Yes, I kinda have a snacking problem, and yes coated popcorns are my ultimate vice.  Which of course means I take every opportunity to try new brands that I can find.

"Inspired by the iconic cultural crossroads of Sweetzer Avenue, Hollywood, Sweetzer Gourmet Popcorn takes you on a cinematic flavor journey where every bite tells a story."

Sweetzer is a gourmet popcorn manufacturer based in the Los Angeles area.  They sorta leaned into that Hollywood branding, as great movie watching snacks (which, is how they started, the owner was into making great popcorn for movie night). 

"Each and every bag of Sweetzer Gourmet Popcorn is non-GMO and painstakingly hand-crafted and air-popped in small batches using real ingredients for authentic first-of-its-kind flavors you won't find anywhere else."

As a gourmet popcorn, they don't use HFCS, and do everything in small batches, yadda yadda.  The flavor lineup is full of great sounding options, on the cheesy side there is everything white cheddar, honey mustard cheddar, jalapeño cheddar, New York pizza, and more, and then on the sweet side, the cookie butter, Irish whiskey caramel (made with Jameson), vanilla butter, spiced rum caramel (Captain Morgan), and even the chocolate jalapeño sounded great.

"Joy - Our popcorn is intended to evoke a powerful, positive emotional response. We believe that eating popcorn can be an experience and that the reaction to our uniquely delicious flavors should always be “Wow!”"

I only tried one flavor, as they aren't distributed many places outside of LA, but I really did enjoy mine, and yes, kinda did say, "wow"!  I'd love to try more flavors. 

Churro Crunch.

"A cinnamon based caramel corn with cinnamon toast crunch cereal sprinkled throughout. Deee-licious!"

"Savor the sweet and cinnamon-rich taste of our churro-infused caramel popcorn, made with actual cinnamon toast cereal pieces."

The flavor I got my hands on was Churro Crunch, which I'll admit wasn't my top choice of flavor, but, I really did enjoy it.  

The popcorn pieces were large kernels, all perfectly popped.  They were very well coated in caramel, making them wonderfully crispy and sweet.  The caramel had a nice depth of flavor to it, and wasn't a cloying sweet style, even though the pieces were extremely coated.  There was a cinnamon taste to it, but it wasn't as strong as I expected (which was fine really).

And then, the Cinnamon Toast Crunch pieces.  They really did just use Cinnamon Toast Crunch, not a fancier off-brand, or even attempt to make their own.  The real deal, no apologies.  The mix was probably 25% or less Cinnamon Toast Crunch, which definitely enough, as I'm not a Cinnamon Toast Crunch lover.  I did like the variety the pieces added though.

So overall, it didn't scream out "churro" to me, but, it was great form factor popcorn, well coated, and a great flavor.  The bag said it was 3 servings but ... yeah.  It was gone in a single night.  ***+

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Buttercup Bake Shop

I didn't know anything about Buttercup Bake Shop, and in fact had never heard of it, before I went to write this review.  But I discovered the bakery when someone had extra cupcakes when I was visiting our New York office, and of course I sought out info afterwards.  I can't ever resist a chance to try new baked goods!

Buttercup Bake Shop was started in 1999, by one of the two founders of Magnolia Bakery.  Yes, *that* Magnolia Bakery (which I've reviweed before), and yes, she left Magnolia to start her own place just a year before Magnolia blew up on Sex in the City.  Anyway, same baker, new place.

The offerings from Buttercup Bake Shop are about what you'd expect from an American bakery: cakes & cupcakes, cookies & bars, cheesecake & pies.  Some are gluten-free.  I tried only the cupcakes, available for $4.25 each.  Cupcakes come in a slew of flavors, with all the expected basics, including some filled or elaborately topped, some honoring snack food favs like Twinkie or Deviled Dog inspired, and some less classic American flavors such as buko pandan or, as I went for, ube.

I found the cupcakes to be much like those from Magnolia: underwhelming.  I think they just aren't my style of cupcake.  When in NY, my heart belongs to Empire Cakes.

Ube.

"Imported purple yam paste from the Philippines gives our unique texture and taste to our delicious Ube cupcake and buttercream."

Ube!  I was so excited to see this flavor offered, as you'd expect given that there is a label dedicated to the ingredient on my blog.  

It was an attractive purple cupcake, with a purple base, purple buttercream, and even purple icing sugar on top.

This cupcake was a mixed success for me.  The cake itself let me down.  It wasn't particularly moist, and the ube flavor was fairly muted.  I would have easily believed it was just vanilla.  ** cake.

But the buttercream?  Now THAT I loved.  It was very sweet, but somehow not cloying.  It was fluffy.  It tasted like ube and vanilla and sugar and butter.  Uh, yes, ube buttercream indeed.  I really enjoyed that buttercream, and it ratio of cake to frosting was good.  **** frosting.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough.

"Vanilla cake with a chocolate chip cookie inside topped with cookie dough molasses buttercream + cookie dough topping."

Eh.  The description stated there would be a filling of sorts, but there was not.  There were mini chocolate chips studded throughout the cake, but I was expecting something a bit different given the description ... either a cookie baked inside as the description implied, or maybe a cookie dough style filling.  The cake was fairly plain, not particularly moist, average cake.  Distribution of the little chips was good.  

The frosting was ... well, exactly as described, molasses flavor.  Extremely strong molasses flavor.  For me, too strong.  I didn't care for the flavor all that much, and I don't really think of strong molasses in conjunction with chocolate chip cookie dough?  The description also said there would be "cookie dough topping" which seemed to just be a few mini chips.

So overall, well, no filling, no cookie dough topping, boring cake, and too strong molasses buttercream. Not a winner for me.  *+.

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Katz's Deli Private Event Catering

Yes, Katz's Deli.  The one famous for many things, e.g. "I'll have what she's having" and many other movie scenes, along with being around forever (founded in 1888), notorious for looong lines and crazy ticket system, etc, etc.  I'm fairly certain I went there my first ever visit to NY, because, well, I had to right?  I don't particularly recall a ton about that visit though, besides the line, as it was close to 20 years ago and I wasn't much of a foodie then.

Corporate Lunch Option.

But Katz's Deli also does catering and private events.  Their options include a food truck, drop off catering trays, etc, or, as we had at my office, a full carving station.

Carving Station.

The setup was impressive, they even had their own big light up Katz's sign, and a crew of staff members each working a carving station for each type of meat offered.  Everything was sliced to order, just as it is in the deli.

Popup Menu

"Featuring our world famous pastrami, which is so tender it'll make you forget your ex, our classic corned beef so juicy you'll be dripping more than a leaky faucet in your zeidi’s bathroom, the hot brisket is so tender, it'll melt in your mouth like a schmear on a hot bagel, and turkey so succulent it'll make you want to get down on your knees and thank the poultry gods for its existence."

Our lineup featured the main 4 meats Katz's is known for: pastrami (obviously), corned beef, brisket, and turkey.  Rye bread only.  The setup includes Katz's own full sour and half sour pickles, as well as condiments (mustard, Reuben dressing, mayo).  Our hosts also added on potato salad and slaw.

Sliced to order.

The staff pulled out big steaming slabs of meat, sharpened their knives in front of us, and got to carving!

Pastrami on Rye. $28.95.

I was pretty interested in the corned beef, but I felt like if I was getting only one thing, it had to be the pastrami right?  I think at the deli you have choice of bread, but our event had only rye.

The bread was remarkably soft.  Such perfectly fresh bread.  I saw them pull out the (giant, lengthy!) loaves, and, besides the length, it looked like generic bread in plastic wrap, nothing fancy about it, not from a local bakery, etc, but, wow it was soft and fresh.  Slight caraway flavor, just enough.  Great bread, really.  ****.

Pastrami!

Of course, the pastrami inside was the main attraction.  Great crust.  Perfectly rare/mid-rare.  It fell apart easily as you bit in.  There was a fair amount of fat on the far end of the pieces, but you can request lean meat only.

Yes, this is great pastrami (particularly with the bread and condiments).  ****.

A full sandwich sells at the restaurant for $28.95 (our event served half sandwiches).

Sides / Condiments.

To go with our sandwiches, we had two kinds of side salad (potato, slaw), and two kinds of pickles, along with standard condiments.  I was really hoping for the other side salad Katz offers (macaroni), but alas.  

Full Sour & Half Sour Pickles. $11.95/Quart.

"Our famous house-brined pickles are available by the quart! Full sours have a garlicy, tangy crunch."

"If you've ever dined with us before, you know all about our incredible housemade pickles. We offer full sour pickles as well as half sour pickles (also referred to as new pickles!), which are brined for less time and taste more like a snappy, fresh cucumber.  Either way, they're garlicky and crunchy; everything you'd expect a pickle to be. "

I tried both kinds of pickles, and brought some home to share with my family so they could at least experience some part of Katz.  My father, sister, and mother all said they tasted too much like cucumbers.  They are not used to actual deli pickles, clearly.  My 7 year old niece however LOVED them, and demanded all the rest.  I thought they were fine, a decent fresh pickle, nicely sour, but not something I'd rave about nor go out of my way for. ***.

Deli Mustard. $5.50.

"Our handmade mustard adds a bit of zest to any of our classic sandwiches. Add it to anything you'd like to for that matter...hot dogs, knishes, dip your pigs in a blanket in it, you get the point..."

The mustard was good.  Nice zing.  Went perfectly with the meat.  ****.

Reuben (Russian) Dressing. $4.50 / 8 ounce jar.

"Our housemade Reuben dressing is a key ingredient to a classic Reuben, but regulars often ask for it on almost any sandwich!"

The reuben dressing was extremely tangy.  Very sharp.  It did go well with the meat, but the flavor was intense, and I almost felt like it competed with the flavor in the meat itself, almost masking it as it dominated.  Low ***.

Potato Salad. $8.45/16 ounces.

The potato salad ... was ... ok.  Honestly, not great. Very simple.  Just potato in dressing.  It had a lot of bite to it, I think too much vinegar.  It just tasted quite harsh.  Very little seasoning.  I did like the style of big slices of potatoes rather than chunks, and they weren't too mushy, but I wouldn't get this again.  **+.

Coleslaw. $8.45/16 ounces.

The coleslaw was better.  Still very simple (one color of cabbage, a little carrot), but the dressing to this was more balanced with the addition of mustard, and it was more flavorful with the addition of onion and garlic powder.  I think it also had horseradish as it had quite a zing too it, although that was not listed in the ingredients.  I liked the big chunks of crisp cabbage.  ***.

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