Restaurant experiment: Oro Bakery and Bar

Oro Bakery and Bar

375 Broome Street between Mott Street and Mulberry Street

New York, NY 10013

212-941-6368

http://orobakerybar.com/index.php

Post-L’asso, Shing suggested we give Oro a go because it would satisfy our needs for sweets and alcohol.  Yes.  And it didn’t hurt that Oro was close by, considering how Arctic-like the weather was that night.

When we showed up, Oro was pretty quiet: there was a dude at the bar and a table of three by the door.  There is some seating in the front next to the entryway of chilling winds, and there is also seating in the back near the bathroom.  The bar dominates though.

There was just one lady working the bar.  There were menus on the bar which we grabbed before seating ourselves in the front nook.  Lucky for us, the heater was going full blast and there weren’t too many patrons coming and going.

I wanted to keep warm, so I picked out the hot mulled wine and for my sweet tooth, the peanut butter and chocolate mousse.  Pretty presentation for the latter!  Notice the gold too.  I remarked that it was like Goldschlager.  I sampled Amy’s pumpkin cheesecake and Shing’s chocolate souffle which were both worth of being devoured.  Usually I’m wary of souffles but his was light and sweet, not too non-sweet.  Great.

The mulled wine, which Frank was very curious about, was a bit of a quandary.  Yes, it was warm and wine-y.  I guess the spices had steeped too long, as the first sips were sharply bitter.  It did not help that I accidentally bit into a clove, yuck.  But as the liquid levels lowered, either I got used to it or the bitterness relaxed.

The bartender was incredibly friendly, and she was keen on telling us background info, like how all the desserts are made on premises in a big secret bakery downstairs.  Apparently they open at 7am as a regular bakery and then morph into a cafe later on, followed by wine bar (not a full bar).

I don’t know if it was undercrowded due to the weather, but if that’s the normal crowd, Oro would be a swell place to relax and catch up with your friends without shouting or getting jostled.  Worked well for us!

Restaurant experiment: Dessert Truck

Dessert Truck

Daytime: East 55th at Lexington Avenue

Nighttime: St. Marks Place at Third Avenue 

http://www.desserttruck.com/

Obviously a truck is not a restaurant, but I just had to review this renowned vehicle.

Last year, around this time, I was told of the magical sweets on wheels known as Dessert Truck from one of those mother’s uncle’s neighbor’s sister’s relationships (cousin’s cousin).  With a recommendation that convoluted, it’s gotta be good, right?

Flash forward a year, and I finally try this.  I was told by Laura that Dessert Truck kicked Bobby Flay’s butt.  Hmm.  Promising.

It was cold and no one was in line but me.  There are only a few menu items, and I nearly went with the donuts with cinnamon sugar and cream centers, but at the last minute, I voiced my desire for a vanilla creme brulee.  The friendly fellow torched that stuff and handed me my treat.  $5 was well spent.

Yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmy!

Perfecto amounts of sweet and smooth and vanilla.  Loves it!

Restaurant experiment: Omonia Cafe

Omonia Cafe

32-20 Broadway between 32nd and 33rd Streets

Astoria, NY 11106

718-274-6650

omoniacafe.com

Continuing our whirlwind tour of Astoria, the team of Max, Lily, and myself migrated to Omonia Cafe which I hadn’t tried but Lily and Max had. As they were discussing the place, I thought it was Ammonia Cafe, like the cleaner. They warned me that it had a clubby atmosphere. The bakery which looks like a bakery is attached to the restaurant which during the day is normal, but at night, it transforms into a colorful glowing establishment with techno music pumping in the background. Stare at the bar; it’ll change through all colors of the rainbow.

The menu, handbook sized, has a lot of food options. Since we were here for dessert only, there were options aplenty for us, including a section of Greek desserts, most of them being variations on honey, phyllo, custard, and nuts. I went with the politiko, again because I liked the name, very political. It was generously sized, with lots of custard and the leaves of phyllo swimming in honey. Maybe a bit too sweet, but it was fine. I guess I like more crunch than drench. Lily let me try some of her coffee. Can we say potent?

I must give props to Omonia for having the niftiest bathroom sinks I’ve seen in NYC. The sinks are practically flat pieces of stone, with only a subtle concave just under the faucet. Almost an optical illusion. If you come here, be sure to wash your hands.

Restaurant experiment: Kyotofu

Kyotofu

705 Ninth Avenue between 48th and 49th Streets

New York, NY 10019

212-974-6012

kyotofu-nyc.com

I acted like Ramona and got pest-y, telling my companions that we should go get dessert after that Korean BBQ dinner to cool my tastebuds which were a bit spiced out. Lucky for me, my friends complied with my request, and Amy suggested Kyotofu in Hell’s Kitchen. I’ll fess up that the idea of tofu as dessert seemed beyond bizarre and I was a skeptic until I tried sweet tofu and then became a believer. Hallelujah!

The dining area looks very 60s spaceship; we leaned against white mattress-like cushions. Amy, Frank, and Sherwin sipped on sake (I’m not a sake soul), while I stuck with a pot of lavender tea ($4) and shared with fellow not sake gal Shirley. If you are a sake enthusiast, Kyotofu is your home, as they have selections galore of sake and even sake’s rural cousin, shochu. The tea consisted of lavender buds only which was odd. Smelled better than it tasted. Like sipping a sachet.  I suggested we get the dessert tasting at $17, and I expected three tiny desserts but was pleasantly surprised when the desserts kept coming out, five in total I believe on three plates, and portions were sharable, not one tiny crumb per person. If you want regular food, Kyotofu serves it up as well. Frank ordered wee hamburgers, okay, “chicken and tofu sliders.” Cute and very Japanese.

The signature sweet tofu looks like flan but tastes 1000x better. Sorry flan lovers. It’s also submerged in black sugar syrup, a wonderful touch. The tofu cheesecake is your basic cheesecake. The warm miso chocolate cake sounds scary but doesn’t taste scary; there’s some sort of kick to it. A stumble would have to be the yuzu and blackberry anmitsu (agar jelly)…no one at our table could give it a thumbs up. Yuzu, yuzu, yuzu. I’ve given you two chances and I can definitely conclude that I don’t like you. Be gone. Finally there was a swirl parfait of white sesame and chocolate soft ice cream. Can’t go wrong with ice cream.

We also ordered a full-sized black sesame sweet tofu. Delightful! Just like black sesame ice cream at Chinatown Ice Cream Factory.

Downsides: you might have to wait (our party was about to plop down at the bar but a table magically opened up in the back), and the place was freezing (shut that AC off, yo!).

I’ll never be skeptical about sweet tofu again!

Battle ice cream: Australian Homemade vs. Chinatown Ice Cream Factory

Australian Homemade

115 St. Marks Place between 1st Ave & Ave A

New York, NY 10009

212-228-5549

australianhomemade.com

Chinatown Ice Cream Factory

65 Bayard Street between Mott & Elizabeth

New York, NY 10013

212-608-4170

chinatownicecreamfactory.com 

I had the distinct pleasure of trying out two different ice cream joints this past week.  First up was Australian Homemade, which according to Wikipedia is based in The Netherlands, not Australia.  Guess Dutch Homemade wasn’t as enticing.  But the homemade part is not misleading, as the creams are made on the premises and are completely natural.  I sampled the apple sorbet (just like biting into a granny smith!) but went with a scoop in a cup of mocha.  If you have weak chompers, you might consider coming to Australian Homemade as the ice cream is soft, whipped into submission.  It was a little too mushy for my tastes and the mocha was heavy-handed with the chocolate, too little coffee.  Darn, should have gone with the apple sorbet.  If you’re not into ice cream, never fear, as Australian Homemade also serves fudge and waffles, among other things.  There are a couple of tables in the store if you’re lucky enough to snag one. 

Chinatown Ice Cream Factory’s line sorta ebbs and flows: it’s never blocks long and if there is a line, no worries because the line moves with non-American governmental precision.  There is no seating inside, so most folks chill on the sidewalk amongst the trashbags, noshing on their treats.  Since it was busy, I didn’t sample anything which was sad because I wanted to try pandan; you’re allowed two samples.  If you like Asian flavors, you are in luck.  I ordered a single scoop in a cup of black sesame ice cream which looks like black pepper.  The flavor was not wimpy, and the black sesame seeds added a crunchy texture to the ice cream which wasn’t too soft.  Zen butter and taro will be for next time.   

Winner: Chinatown Ice Cream Factory

Restaurant experiment: Cake Man Raven

Cake Man Raven

708A Fulton Street

Brooklyn, NY 11217

718-694-CAKE

cakemanraven.com

When a girl at a meeting raved about Cake Man Raven and how his red velvet cake is hands down the best in Brooklyn, my taste buds started getting curious.  The girl’s boyfriend has dreams about the cake.  That speaks volumes.   

I was afraid Cake Man Raven would be all line down the block, but maybe since it’s in Brooklyn’s Fort Greene neighborhood, it wouldn’t be overrun with tourists and such.  Yelp reviews have described long waits, but I lucked out on a Sunday afternoon with just one lady in front of me.  There’s a red velvet rope inside to queue the unruly masses, how appropriate.  There were a whopping two choices: red velvet with nuts in the frosting, and red velvet with no nuts in the frosting.  It didn’t look like there were any other varieties that day.  I went with no nuts, parted ways with my hard-earned $6 (it’s a generous slice thank god), and toted my precious confection home like Gollum. 

Eagerly, I poked the fork in to the ruby red cake and popped it into my mouth.  Wonderful!  This is a rare time that I wasn’t let down by a hyped up place.  The cake reminded me of a damp sponge: moist and airy like a happy cloud.  The cream cheese frosting is spot on since it isn’t too sweet nor too dry.  It made me crave some carrot cake though. 

According to the Cake Man’s website, his clients include:
Dan Rather
Sean Combs
Cast of Sex in the City
Bill Cosby
Stevie Wonder
Robert De Niro
Oprah Winfrey
Morgan Freeman
Katie Couric
Jay-Z
Janet Jackson and a zillion others

Good enough for Jay-Z, good enough for me!