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    Zabar's takes on Pinkberry with their "Zaberry". See the side-by-side nutrition comparison

    6 Dessert Courses with David Burke Townhouse Executive Pastry Chef Gustavo Tzoc (part II)

    Posted by nikonice on July 1st, 2009

    melon martini detail

    Dessertbuzz recently attended a 6-course dessert tasting at David Burke Townhouse with their hard-working executive pastry chef Gustavo Tzoc (pronounced “sock”).  Read Part I of the interview here.

    Prior to the interview, we were treated to nearly 2 hours of some of the finest, most inventive desserts New York City has to offer. Think part Wd-50, part Union Square Cafe.  Tzoc followed the servers out and gave us detailed descriptions of the dishes and answered our questions. We also got a visit from David Burke who explained why creative desserts are an important part of his restaurants.

    The photos and descriptions are presented in the order they were delivered to the table

    Spicy melon martini by Gustavo Tzoc

    Gustavo Tzoc: This is a spicy melon martini melon salad, melon and Szechuan peppercorn sorbet and Oregon Riesling consommé.

    DessertBuzz: You can really taste the pepper with the melon.

    GT: Yes, it’s a nice light start.  [The tasting is] going to be a little bit heavy on chocolate because right now I really like to work with chocolate and I’m really a chocoholic myself.

    Desserts 7 Days a week: An Interview with David Burke Townhouse Executive Pastry Chef Gustavo Tzoc (Part I)

    Posted by nikonice on June 29th, 2009

    David Burke Townhouse dessert: Opera in the park

    Dessertbuzz recently got the opportunity to attend a dessert tasting at David Burke Townhouse with their hard-working executive pastry chef Gustavo Tzoc (pronounced like “sock”).  Although extremely hopped up from all of the sugar, afterward I managed to conduct an interview where I learned his favorite NYC bread, what desserts he eats when he’s home, and what it’s like working for David Burke (who stopped by as well).

    Gustavo Tzoc dessert: OZ

    The interview took place after 6 full-on dessert courses (although on Tzoc’s recommendation we did have one savory dish, mostly for the benefit of Mrs. Dessertbuzz whose brain is not used to being subjected to 2 hours of desserts.

    DB: A lot of people think that being a pastry chef at a well-known NYC restaurant is pretty glamorous, are they right?

    Spicy melon martini by Gustavo Tzoc

    GT:If you really want to be out there with the high hitters you have to continuously work work work.  For example I admire Johnny Iuzzini or Richard Leech for different reasons. Richard Leech at Park Avenue because he’s so talented and he’s worked so hard and everybody could tell you that he used to work 6, 7 days a week for the first 5-7 years he was at the restaurant and Johnny because he’s just very out there.  He likes to hit a home run and for everybody to see it which is great.

    DB: Right, voted most sexy chef-

    GT:Which is great too!  I want people to see my desserts but I like to work as hard in the back to get it that way.  It’s not a glamorous life.  I mean it’s fun especially in this restaurant because I get to do whatever I want and that’s great, not too many places you can do that.  I can explore things, I can do different flavors and in other places [the owner] might be like “oh you shouldn’t try that”.  Here it’s like “go ahead” Read the rest of this entry »

    David Burke Townhouse, Interviews | 4 Comments »

    Leave no scone unturned: 11 great NYC Scones

    Posted by nikonice on June 16th, 2009
    Like muffins, New York City scones are a great excuse to eat cake for breakfast.  Or, depending on where you get them, to eat cookies in the morning.  Or, basically, to have dessert any damn time of day you want.  We have an especially wide array of different types here in the city as New York is truly the Madagascar of scones.  Anywho, here is my list of 12 recommended scones.

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    Payard bakery raisin scone
    I’ll start with my favorite scone, the raisin scone from Payard.  A very thin crisp shell with a sweet soft Challah-like inside.  The aroma of the center of this scone is one of the great food pleasures for $1.50.  Notes: Go early or they won’t have any left.  More on Payard.
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    Blue ribbon nyc bakery maple scones

    The Maple scones from Blue Ribbon Bakery are almost like shortbread cookies. They are very small, sweet and flavorful with a thin layer of frosting.  Perfect if you are not in the mood for a full-on bread bomb.  More desserts from Blue Ribbon.

    More Bouley: The perfect croissant?

    Posted by nikonice on June 8th, 2009

     

      

    Bouley Bakery Croissant

    Could these be the best croissants and pain au chocolats in New York?  Who the hell knows.  In my opinion, yes.

    The pictures really say more about how good they are than my clunky descriptions ever could.  I’ll just add that in comparison to Zabars they more than hold their own.  Zabar’s has two different croissant offerings: One that’s flown in from France every day which has just as good flavor but not the texture of the Bouley Bakery product.  The other, which is house made, is also very good but is too soggy with butter for my liking.  Only City Bakery comes close with a great texture in a less buttery croissant.

    Bouley Bakery is here.  Tomorrow, we talk scones.  Blue Ribbon and Bouley scones.

    Bouley Pain Au Chocolat

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Bouley, Bouley Bakery | No Comments »

    Bouley: New location, same 4 star desserts

    Posted by nikonice on June 7th, 2009

    Bouley chocolate souffle

    When Frank Bruni says “No restaurant outdoes Bouley when it comes to dessert” he means it.  And while I don’t have the portfolio of restaurant visits that Bruni does, I wholeheartedly agree.  Bouley is in a class by itself.  Too bad I can only go here about once every year.

    Bouley anjou pear dessert

    Saturday night was my first visit to the new space and it was every bit as sumptuous as the old space across the street.   After checking to make sure they would allow an alternate dessert selection we hit the 6 course tasting menu.  Course five marked the transition from savory to sweet when the  “coconut soup” was brought out.  The coconut soup had a scoop of yogurt sorbet with a very strong flavored pineapple granite.  The passion fruit seeds reminded me a little of the tapioca balls in bubble tea but with superior flavor flavor.  In most restaurants this would be their “A dessert”. Read the rest of this entry »

    Bouley, Bouley Bakery, DessertBuzz 5 stars | No Comments »

    DessertBuzz gets hitched today: Wish I knew about Cake Alchemy before today.

    Posted by nikonice on June 5th, 2009

    Lauri Ditunno from NYC's Cake Alchemy

     

     

     

     

    Lauri Ditunno from NYC’s Cake Alchemy will featured in a post shortly….

     

    Thursday Night Buzz | 2 Comments »

    Holy Sh_t! It’s Vegan: Le Pain Quotidien vegan green tean muffin

    Posted by nikonice on June 4th, 2009

    Le pain quotidien vegan green tean muffin

     

     

    As you know when someone says “Vegan” followed by anything some people just turn off and stop listening.  Or they gag.  Or worse.  It’s like saying “The movie stars Pauly Shore but it has really good acting and a really good plot.” most likely you would have lost everyone on “shore”.

    In this case that would be a mistake.  Besides making your friends at PETA happy this muffin tastes really good.   It has a nice subtle green tea flavor and  color which makes it perfect for consuming on St. Patrick’s Day.  It also doesn’t leave that heavy butter taste in your mouth like so many other gourmet muffins.

    More vegan desserts from DessertBuzz:

    Blossom Vegan Chocolate Avocado Terrain: sounds nasty tastes fantastic!

    Le Pain Quotidien | 3 Comments »

    Street Sweets Truck: DessertBuzz First look (updated 6/4/09)

    Posted by nikonice on June 3rd, 2009

    Street Sweets Truck Menu

    Check the comments for reviews of some of the menu items:  DessertBuzz poster “D”  chimed in with a review of the Marshmallow croissant “First thing to hit my taste buds was the buttery, light, flakiness of the croissant. Then, a subtle BAM of sweet marshmallow bliss! Why isn’t this combo more popular!?”

    Later she stops by to try the red velvet cupcakes.  See the comments for more.
    I stopped by the Street Sweets truck this morning after reading about it in Midtown Lunch.   They said they had over 300 visitors from yesterday’s free sample give away.  They weren’t quite open yet at 8:00 a.m. but Grant Di Mille (one half of the husband and wife team) let me try the oat currant scone.  Their eventual plan is to be there at 7:30 a.m. and stay until the afternoon.  The menu definitely looks worthy. Read the rest of this entry »

    Thursday Night Buzz | 6 Comments »

    French Toast for Dessert: Dovetail’s Pain Perdu

    Posted by nikonice on June 1st, 2009

    Dovetail's Pain perdu dessert
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    After success in a certain bike race, the DessertBuzz editorial team decided to head to one of their absolute favorite restaurants for dessert: Dovetail, on the upper west side.  One of the best things about Dovetail is that they constantly change their dessert menu.  Dovetail’s pastry chef, Vera Tong, seems to like to mix classic options with a few experimental desserts.  I still regret not trying the grape soup that I saw last winter, but I did eat the peanut butter pretzel with sea salt and beer ice cream.  Edgy, but not as hectic as Wd-50.
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    Dovetail tea cakes
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    On Sunday’s Mother’s Day menu there were a couple intriguing choices but I had it narrowed down to either the pain perdu or the chocolate hazelnut fondant.  Normally, I always go with the chocolate option - that’s DessertBuzz Law #1: when in doubt, go with the dessert that contains dark chocolate. However, in this case,  I knew I still had 5 artisanal dark chocolate bars waiting at home that were going to be eaten this week so I went with the pain perdu.  Read the rest of this entry »

    Dovetail | 5 Comments »

    No coffee dunking needed: Auntie Ellyn’s (giant) Biscotti

    Posted by nikonice on May 26th, 2009

    auntie ellyn's jewish biscotti

    What exactly is Mandel Bread? That’s a question I asked myself when I received some of Auntie Ellyn’s Mandel Bread. The German words actually mean “Almond Bread”. Though it can be prepared a million different ways, when Matzo meal is used instead of regular wheat flour it is often referred to as “Jewish Biscotti” and may be certified as Kosher.  Read the rest of this entry »

    Quady Winery | No Comments »

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