Dominique Ansel Bakery

189 Spring St.  New York, NY
www.dominiqueansel.com

Price: $$--some of the pastries are a bit pricey in contrast to their size (but it's worth it…)
Favorite Pastry (so far): Cotton-soft Cheesecake (but soon to try more!)

Yesterday, I had a day off from my internship, so I decided to walk around and explore the city (because why not..) I ended up making my way to the Soho area, and stumbled upon Dominique Ansel Bakery, a cute little bakery on Spring Street, right outside the major crowded Soho areas.
Dominique Ansel Bakery is a neighborhood cafe, that has both indoor and outdoor seating. They have a "garden" in the back, with additional outdoor seating, which stays open year-round because of a glass enclosed greenhouse. How nice!
The chef, Dominique Ansel, was named one of the "Top 10 Pastry Chefs in the United States" by Dessert Professional Magazine in 2009, and was recently chosen by Time Out New York as one of New York City's "Top Ten Pastry Chefs You Need to Know." Ok, so like all of his pastries were mouthwatering…I see where these amazing reviews would come from.

Since I came by at lunch time, I decided to try out one of their menu options. Lunch is served from until 4 pm daily, so I made it just in time. I decided to try the Tuscan "Panzanella" Salad. This salad was made with toasted croutons, frisée, salami, roasted bell pepper, artichokes, white beans, and basil dressing. Right when I saw this on the menu, I decided this salad contains literally all of my favorite things to put in a salad, so I absolutely had to try it. It was perfection.

Panzanella salad… from now on, we'll call it the DANIELLE SALAD.

Being in a bakery with so many amazing looking pastries, how could I NOT try one of them? I decided to try what they call their mini cotton-soft cheesecake. There was only one left, so I had a feeling this would be a winner. And OMG, it was. The cheesecake literally did feel as soft as cotton, and it had a nice sweet brûlée topping. I could tell the cheesecake was made with Ricotta, which also didn't make it ridiculously sweet, and it was super light, and absolutely delish. 

Rows and rows of unique pastries. Some of my favorites, and ones I MUST try soon include the salted caramel eclair, and the Paris-New York, (a twist on the Paris-Brest), made with Pâte à Choux (cream puff) and filled with caramel, peanut, and chocolate. Heavenly!

More pastries to ponder...

Ok, so anyone who has been with me recently would know that my latest obsession is MACARONS. Yes…they are what I consider heaven on earth. I mean seriously…these look scrumptious Agree?

The bakery's interior is bright and welcoming, with a clean and tasteful look.  There is a "garden" area out in the back, filled with tables and an open roof--a perfect place to eat on a beautiful city day.
I am literally so excited to go back and try another delectable pastry from Dominique Ansel. (Anyone wanna come with)?  I couldn't have been happier with what I decided to try on my first visit!
BEYOND satisfied. Yummmmm….

XOXO,
Danielle

Taralluci E Vino

15 E. 18th St.  New York, NY
www.taralluccievino.net

Price: $$ --Everything was pretty reasonably priced. Each panini was only $10, and the salads ranged from $10 to $14.
Favorite sandwich: Grilled eggplant panini

For Memorial Day, some of my besties from school came into the city. After over a WHOLE month of being apart (yes, that is a long time), I finally was reunited with my Chi O sistas (shoutout Nicole, Jess, and Whitney) and it feels sooooo good. The weather in the city was absolutely beautiful, apart from the searing hot sun that made us sticky and disgusting. Nevertheless, I would say that we definitely still had a successful Memorial Day. After walking and searching for a cute "trendy" restaurant to have lunch, we stumbled upon Taralluci E Vino, which had a really cute and, for lack of a better word, trendy feel to it. It was the perfect way to officially start off my summer in the city.

Here's what we got:

Jess ordered the Carpaccio salad, accompanied by thinly sliced pieces of beef, shaved mushrooms, arugula, and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. Couldn't have been too bad, as Jess ate her plate clean. WAY TO GO JESS!

Whitney went with the mozzarella and tomato panini,  coated with olive spread and basil on crispy ciabatta bread. Mmmm.

Nicole and I both ordered the grilled eggplant panini (we're twins, duh), with ricotta cheese and tomato slices on multigrain bread. Super delicious.

It finallllly feels like summertime. Great food with great friends! 

XOXO,

Danielle

Amy's Bread

672 9th Avenue (between 46th & 47th)    New York, NY
www.amysbread.com

Price: $ --Inexpensive: easy to walk and in and walk out quickly with a quick bite to eat. Most of the pastries sell for no more than $3.75 each.
Favorite pastry: Cinnamon Challah Knots

     On our way to the theater last night, we decided to pick up something small and quick for dessert. Although we were originally looking for frozen yogurt, my dad spotted Amy's Bread across the street and immediately decided we were going there. After making our way past the crowd of people trying to exit and the people inside, there were so many different types of breads that my mouth was watering. I have a weakness for sweet pastries, and everything that was there seemed delicious.
     Jaynie decided she wanted to try the chocolate chip twists, which she claimed would be "better without the chocolate" (what is wrong with her)?  I tasted it and I thought it was so good, so I don't know what she was thinking.  My dad and I both got a cinnamon challah not, which was PERFECT. With the challah already being a tad sweet, the cinnamon sugar added a touch of sweetness and flavor that was just delectable. I could've kept eating more of these. Finally, my mom decided to go a different route and order a lemon bar, another one of my weaknesses. I tasted it and it was also so good. It was sweet and tangy and very lemony, It had a great crust on the bottom, and was gooey and absolutely scrumptious.


Here is a preview of what Amy's Bread has to offer:

I definitely need to head back over soon, since there are like 65 other things that I need to try. Amy's Bread also features house made muffins, with the selections changing regularly. There are also other breakfast pastries, scones, cakes, cupcakes, biscotti, bread, and even savories, such as pizza, sandwiches, and salads.

I'm looking forward to my next excuse to head back to Amy's Bread...
Keep checking in…much more to come!!!

XOXO,
Danielle