Strawberry scone from Karen Demasco at Locanda Verde

This past weekend I was asked to consult on a dessert gift for someone and the requirements were that it had to be a “comfort” dessert like a pie and not something too refined or fancy-pants, like a opera cake or Napoleon.  Another desired attribute was that the dessert come from a “known” bakery or pastry chef.  I immediately thought of [everyone's favorite pasty chef] Karen DeMasco at Locanda Verde.  The best part about that recommendation is that you can easily swing by and pick a few items, such as mini-pies, from the bakery counter. Read the rest of this entry »

Locanda Verde | 1 Comment »

Christina Tosi's cake balls from Momofuku Milk Bar

Dessert Professional Magazine has just announced the 19th annual Top 10 Pasty Chefs in America honorees.  And as you would expect there is excellent representation from New York City with five honorees including long-time DessertBuzz favorite Christina Tosi from Momofuku Milk Bar (and 2012 James Beard Award for Rising Star Chef).  The other four New York area honorees include, Angela Pinkerton, from 11 Madison Park (2011 James Beard Award for Best Pastry Chef), Marc Aumont from The Modern, Damien Herrgott from Boise Tea Parlour and Sandro Micheli from Daniel.

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The sculpture like mint chocolate rocks on a bed of pistachio

No matter how many dessert tastings I attend I’m always amazed at how creative great pasty chefs can be.  Despite the hundreds of  restaurants in New York and the thousands of made-to-order plated desserts they offer, top chefs always seem to be able to bring something new to the table–something I’ve never seen before. And remember, I eat a lot of desserts.

Last week I visited SHO Shaun Hergatt where Executive Pastry Chef Jennifer Yee showed her creativity not just in the repertoire of techniques she employed but also in her artful, designed presentations.

Jennifer Yee’s pastry and chocolate resume is impressive.  She has worked for many big name restaurants including Gordon Ramsay at The Connaught, Gilt and Aureole.  And in addition to her Patisserie diploma from London’s Le Cordon Bleu she has a Fine Arts degree in Interior Architecture  (a link to her full bio is below).

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Best fancy pants restaurant desserts, Best of New York City, SHO Shaun Hergatt | No Comments »

Taste of the Upper West Side will feature many DessertBuzz Favorites

Dovetail's pain perdu dessert

Don’t miss the fifth annual Whole Foods Market new Taste of the Upper West Side featuring many DessertBuzz Favorites such as Dovetail, Sarabeth’s, Momofuku Milk Bark and A Voce. Read the rest of this entry »

Dovetail, Momofuku Milk Bar, Sarabeth's | 3 Comments »

"Wancko" cookie - peanut butter chocolate chip and pretzel chunks

Madison Square Eats returns to Flatiron today and many of the same sweet vendors are back.  Here’s what we wrote last fall.  Info, location and more links down  the page.

Of all the gatherings of “gourmet” food carts and street food vendors in Manhattan I think Madison Square Eats has the highest percentage of great vendors.  On the savory side,  there are too many to mention them all.  Here’s a select few: Calexico Cart, Asia Dog, and Roberta’s (real wood oven) pizzas.  On the sweet side there’s plenty of standouts as well.  Some of my favorite picks are featured below. Read the rest of this entry »

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Old fashion pretzel rod with toasted walnuts

When I visit the Hester Street Fair I always try to stop by Roni-Sue’s Chocolates in the Essex Street Market.  This past Saturday I picked up two kinds of delicious chocolate covered pretzels rods and a few truffles. Read the rest of this entry »

Roni-Sue's | 1 Comment »

S'amore made-to-order almond salted dark chocolate s'more

The Hester Street Market opened their season to huge crowds on Saturday and the food stalls seemed to be the biggest draw. There were plenty of all-new savory and sweet vendors in attendance so I brought a civilian accomplice in order try as much as possible.  Here are a few of the vendors I visited.

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FattyCakes, Hester Street Fair, Macaron Parlour, Melt Bakery, Prohibition Bakery, S'amore NYC | 1 Comment »