by BCB Property Management | Nov 22, 2019 | Neighborhoods, New York City
Is it ever a proper holiday season if you don’t celebrate with a spread of festive treats? We don’t think so! Thankfully, a well-decorated sweet is never far away if you live in New York City. This season, residents have the opportunity to try the very best cakes, pies, cookies, and straight-out-the-oven treats the city has to offer.
Don’t know where to start? No problem — check out a few of our favorite holiday hotspots below. But make no mistake, the list below is just a starting place; this season, make exploring New York’s sweet shops a part of your holiday celebration.
Milk Bar
This top-notch shop has been an inarguable star of New York’s bakery scene since 2008. If you haven’t visited yet, you are certainly missing out. As the shop itself explains, “We’re not big on feeding the hype beast. But we’re super into feeding our flavorful treats to those who crave the unexpected.”
So, what’s “unexpected” at the Milk Bar this holiday season? Try their Peppermint Bark Cake. It features three layers of rich dark chocolate cake infused with peppermint, as well as creamy white chocolate and peppermint frosting, and fudge. The whole cake is topped liberally with crunchy cocoa crumbs and crushed peppermint pieces, offering the perfect meld of holiday crunch and smooth chocolate. Want to win your friends’ holiday party? Bring this cake.
The Peppermint Bark Cake comes in at $50 for a 6-inch round and can serve eight to twelve people.
Dominique Ansel Bakery
Dominique Ansel Bakery has specialized in providing delightful culinary surprises since November of 2011 — and this holiday season, its treats are as creative as they are delicious. When you drop by, order a blooming hot chocolate! Not only does this drink deliver a delicious dose of rich chocolate, but it also provides an Instagrammable experience. When you order it, your barista will give you a marshmallow bud along with your mug. Drop the bud into the hot chocolate, and you’ll instantly see it blossom into an expansive flower — and reveal a delicious chocolate truffle at its center.
Ovenly
Who doesn’t love Ovenly? This bakery is a women-led business that prides itself on its welcoming culture and diverse employee base. Its driving purpose isn’t just to create (really) incredible sweets but to also be a source of positive change for New York City. Honestly, how better to embrace the holiday spirit of kindness than to shop at a place that prioritizes creating positivity with every cake?
This season, cookies are the name of the game at Ovenly. Their Snowflake molasses cookies deliver the perfect dose of sweet and spicy charm and are beautifully decorated with icing lattices. These holiday treats will be available in all bakeshops starting December 1st, but don’t worry — if you want to share the joy with a friend beyond New York’s borders, Ovenly will ship orders nationwide! Who could complain about a gift like that?
Four & Twenty Blackbirds
Some days, there’s nothing quite as soothing as a good, old-fashioned pie shop. When sister pie-makers Melissa and Emily Elsen founded Four & Twenty Blackbirds in 2009, they did so because they wanted to create a place that embodied the welcoming spirit of a neighborhood shop. You should come for the pies and stay for the experience — sit back and enjoy a slice with a hot cup of coffee.
This season, Four & Twenty Blackbirds is offering a broad selection of pies. Our favorite, however, is the chocolate chess. It features a smooth, creamy chocolate filling and a perfectly-golden and buttery crust. Make a note — orders must be placed by noon for next day pickup. Orders placed after noon will be available in two days.
The Chocolate Chess pie can be purchased for $42.
Want more holiday tips? Check out our blog on the best hot chocolates in NYC!
by BCB Property Management | Jan 28, 2019 | New York City
It may be frigid on the streets of New York, but inside the many great cafes and restaurants across the city, a delectable chocolate indulgence awaits. For a satisfying mug of divine deliciousness that will thaw you out, the city has many choices. These are our top five favorite spots for a hot chocolate that’s unlike any other.
The City Bakery
The City Bakery is not just a bakery, but also a cafe, wholesaler, caterer, and chocolate shop. Founded in 1990, they’ve since expanded all the way to Japan, but there’s no place like their NYC home for their highly original treats. Dark hot chocolate is their claim to fame: rich, thick, and slightly (but delightfully) bitter, you may be inspired to order a second cup. Be sure to splurge for the large marshmallow.
Max Brenner
For chocolate lovers of all stripes, Max Brenner is a must-see. Willy Wonka might be jealous of their chocolate fountains and whimsical, family-friendly menu. That menu features more than 10 different types of hot chocolate, each is a completely mind-blowing affair in its own right. Notable is their famed “Suckao Experience,” a very concentrated shot of either white or milk hot chocolate. “Suckao” describes the act of literally sucking the drink down with a metal straw. Bring your sweet tooth and don’t be shy about sharing the experience with your friends (and followers)!
Alice’s Tea Cup
The name might imply that this cafe is for tea lovers only, but don’t be fooled. Their selections involve tea most of the time but in all the right ways. Their hot chocolate is infused with teas like Rooibos Bourbon and spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and cayenne, so those who face a wintertime drink dilemma will be right at home here. Each concoction is unique to Alice’s and wholly memorable in its own right. These boundary-pushing flavor combinations are well worth a try for anyone bored with the usual.
Maman
This French-inspired bakery with 7 locations across Manhattan and Brooklyn has become renowned for their inventive indulgences. Lavender-infused hot chocolate stands out on a menu filled with remarkable treats and favorites. Their nutty chocolate chip cookie, perfect for dipping, made Oprah’s “favorite things list” for 2017. If it’s good enough for Lady O, it’s definitely worth a try.
Sant Ambroeus
Named for a Milanese bishop born in 334 AD, this eatery focuses on “savoring each moment.” Their three Manhattan locations are the height of urban sophistication, with elegant mugs of incredible hot chocolate, or cioccolata calda, to match. Relaxation is the vibe in this Euro-infused experience. Dairy-free options mean there’s no restriction on enjoyment here, either, as all their elegant mugs of hot chocolate come with the milk of your choice – almond, soy, or whole.
It’s time to give up on the powdered stuff in a packet. Be kinder to yourself, it’ll be worth the trip. Take advantage of winter to enjoy the city’s best offerings for hot chocolate: warm your body as well as your soul. In these temperatures, it certainly couldn’t hurt.
Looking for more great NYC food and drink? Check out our guides to NYC’s most Instagrammable dessert spots, the Five Coolest Speakeasies in the City, and the best Food Halls in town.
by BCB Property Management | May 16, 2017 | Brooklyn, Neighborhoods, New York City
New York City… you come for the sights, but you stay for the desserts. With each borough teeming with a variety of cultures, cuisines, and surprises, New York-style cheesecake is just the beginning of what the Big Apple has to delight your palate.
Visitors and residents alike have long flocked to new “novelty” dessert spots, even and especially if it means waiting in a long line for a sugary fix. Remember the cronut, that legendary croissant-donut hybrid? You can now preorder them and skip the line. But cronuts are so 2013, and while the flaky goodness is still recommended, there are other fish in the sea.
Here are a few other delicious novelty desserts you can find in New York City. Given their nature, we advise that you practice moderation. Or not. It’s your mouth!
Boozy Ice Cream at Tipsy Scoop
Deciding between drinks and desserts can be difficult, while opting for both comes off as a bit excessive. The solution? Boozy ice cream. Tipsy Scoop, New York’s first ice cream “barlour” so to speak, has opened in Kips Bay. The best part? Their treats, spiked to just over 5% alcohol, can actually get you buzzed. Enjoy flavors like Mango Margarita and Strawberry White Sangria Sorbet, and don’t forget your ID.
Rainbow Crepe Cake at Dek Sen
Besides the Statue of Liberty, crepes may just be France’s best gift to New York. What you might not know is that crepes are also a staple dessert in Thailand, and that Dek Sen, a restaurant in Elmhurst, Queens, sells a 20-layer rainbow crepe cake with seams of whipped cream. For New Yorkers sick and tired of Starbucks’ basic Unicorn Frappuccinos, here’s a colorful alternative for your ROY-G-BIV-fix.
Decadent Rice Pudding at Rice to Riches
Ice cream is ubiquitous, but rice pudding? Now that’s a way to pack flavor without a brain freeze. There are several rice pudding parlours in New York City, one of which is Rice to Riches in Nolita. The parlour offers delightful flavors such as “Almond Shmalmond” and “Sex Drugs and Rocky Road,” which are not only vegan, but can be shipped overnight.
Cookie Dough Confections at DO
If you’ve ever binged on cookie dough, you’ve known true bliss and risk: after all, raw eggs aren’t usually your friend. The West Village’s DO, Cookie Dough Confections offers the bliss without the risk by subbing eggs with pasteurized egg product, eliminating any risk of bacteria. Enjoy straight-up, unbaked cookie dough, ice cream sandwiches, cookie dough milkshakes, or any number of baked and unbaked products.
Raindrop Cake by Darren Wong
Last year at Brooklyn’s Smorgasburg, Darren Wong’s incredible Raindrop Cake became a cult sensation, and we’re thrilled to say its back this year. Based on a Japanese dish called Mizu Shingen, the gelatinous creation is clear, vegan, refreshing, highly-photogenic, and with the help of some ube (purple yam), a whole new hue.
Ice Cream Rolls from 10 Below
Located in Chinatown, 10 Below is New York’s first establishment to serve Thai-inspired ice cream rolls. Watch as your ice cream is crafted with fresh ingredients right before your eyes as ingredients are poured, mixed, and rolled on a cold plate. Enjoy flavors ranging from fresh avocado to thai iced tea flavor, rolled up for your pleasure beneath unlimited toppings.
