Category: Restaurants

Entertainment, Featured, NY News, Restaurants, Tourism, Tribeca

Economy Candy: Manhattan’s Very Own Sugar Rush Shop

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Located in Manhattan’s Lower East Side, Economy Candy, is THE haven for sweet-toothed candy lovers. And it isn’t your typical candy shop.

The store is stocked with floor-to-ceiling displays of over 2,000 different types of candies from all over the world, even candy that isn’t made anymore.

illustrative photo of candy likely offered at Economy Candy

The store first “opened” in 1937 as a candy cart in front of Morris “Moishe” Cohen’s hat and shoe repair shop. During the Great Depression, Moishe’s cart offered gratifying sweet treats to recently laid-off workers.

Economy Candy has remained in the Cohen family for over eight decades. Moishe’s son Jerry and his wife Ilene took over the candy shop in the 80’s and ran it together for over 30 years. Now their son Mitchell operates the place with his wife. Mitchell began working at the shop on weekends as a reprieve from his demanding Wall Street job. Eventually, he realized he wanted to be in the family business full-time. “Nothing is dull in here. There is so much variety. So much color,” said Mitchell.

He is committed to making every customer happy. “If you don’t see it, it’s probably not made anymore – but I will find it for you,” he says.

So whether you are looking for German Haribo gummy candies, or you want to try one of the nine varieties of Japanese KitKats, or if you have a hankering for some other sweet confection from your youth, make sure to visit Economy Candy on your next trip to downtown Manhattan.

Fashion, Restaurants, Tourism

Hell’s Kitchen: New York City’s Trending Travel Destination

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Not too long ago, Hell’s Kitchen was a New York City neighborhood to be avoided. Named for the squalid living conditions experienced by 19th and 20th century immigrant residents and the trendy Meatpacking District once home to 250 slaughterhouses, was ruled by gangs and seedy businesses. Today, Hell’s Kitchen is a fun, safe, and fascinating place to visit on any trip to New York.

Towering skyscrapers, glossy office buildings, and lavish condominium projects have taken over the neighborhood.  Hudson Yards, the largest private development in U.S. history, has made Hell’s Kitchen one of New York’s most coveted addresses. Alongside the new corporate, retail, and living spaces in Hudson Yards, the site is also emerging as a cultural landmark with the Shed Concert Hall, a half-billion-dollar dynamic venue that can be opened or closed depending on the weather and type of performance. The Edge, a sightseeing observatory on the 100th floor of the tallest Hudson Yards tower, is set to extend 65 feet over the edge of the building and feature a partial glass floor. While that skyscraper is still under construction, high-end shops, including luxury department store Neiman Marcus, are already open for business. Several chic new restaurants such as the pricy and lauded Queensyard and Wild Ink, serve delicious meals with international flair.  

The parks are packed with New Yorkers and tourists, all taking selfies with and in the city’s newest icons and backdrops. Art museums, fashion designers, and chic galleries host millions of visitors each year. The High Line, a popular green trail on the now-defunct railway platforms, sweeps across 15 blocks as a beautiful swath of native plants and wild grasses, colorful flowers, and blossoming orchards.

Stretching between 34th to 59th streets, from Eighth Avenue to the Hudson River, Hell’s Kitchen offers endless tourist opportunities from sunrise to sunset. It is packed with must-see attractions and must-try eateries. Enjoy!

Restaurants

BarBacon

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BarBacon is going to open a second branch in Manhattan.  The eatery – a brainchild of Hell’s Kitchen – already has a presence at 836 9th Avenue in Manhattan.  This one will be between East 12th and 13th Streets and is on a 15 year lease for a 5,837 square foot space.

It is more than an eater as well.  It has a mission, which is to raise the public’s standards and expectations of quality bacon through its “chef-driven bacon dishes,” promoting the consumption of “bacon is an indulgence, the perfect combination of today’s two food taboos, salt and fat.  However, rest assure your indulgence is not in vain, for bacon has a long rich history and by eating it you are supporting much of what makes America great.  Bacon “made in America” has always carried a label of quality, but not all bacon is made equal.  Bacon’s flavor, as with that of any charcuterie, directly reflects the meat is being cured, so great bacon always starts with great pork belly most often from small farms.  There are all kinds of high quality American bacons on the market, smoked with hickory of corncobs, flavored with red pepper on molasses, some sweet, some salty.”

Those concerned about smells wafting around the area need not worry since much attention was paid to the engineering with this in mind.

NY News, Restaurants

Cookies and Good Deeds Collide in New NYC Bakery

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A tiny new bakery has opened on Wall Street, in a space barely larger than a closet. What’s even more interesting, though, is that this space is actually a significant step up for the Feed Your Soul Café, a boutique cookie shop which grew from infancy in a small studio apartment.

Fast forward 10 years and it’s now a popular online retailer for baked goods and cookie dough with a philanthropic twist: for each order that is placed, a freshly baked cookie is donated to The Coalition of the Homeless. These cookies play a significant role in their everyday milestones and special events like birthday parties.

Owner Mya Zoracki has said that while the brand has big dreams for the future, it will never lose sight of its primary goal: “to inspire and help everyone it can along the way.” The new Manhattan location is the first Feed Your Soul Cafe, and serves babkas, brownies, sticky buns and cookies.

 

Restaurants

We’ll Take The Lamb Please

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What do people eat these days on Easter in New York? Historically, the tradition was ham but it seems times they are a-changing. aside from the numerous vegan options when it comes to meat eats, the ham may get a shove to make room for the lamb…

According to a recent New York Post article by Kim Severson:

“Today, the American taste for lamb is changing, in part because both new immigrants and more adventurous younger eaters are changing the American palate. Good-tasting, well-raised lamb is becoming more available. Since 2009, lamb sales have jumped by about 28 percent, rising to 59 million pounds in 2016 from 46 million pounds, according to a study of store scanner data. (The numbers do not include stores like Costco or lamb sold to restaurants.)”

So where can one go to enjoy a nice side of lamb, lamb shoulder, lamb chops or a leg of lamb? Given this spring seasonal delight it does seem to fulfill the Easter requirement of getting in a “taste of spring.” If one were to follow the advice of the investigation undertaken earlier this month by Foursquare Lists, they might have made their Easter booking yesterday at: The Breslin (16 West 29th Street), Xi’an Famous Foods (81 Saint Marks Place), The Halal Guys (West 53rd Street) or one of the other 12 places on their list of ‘15 Best Places for Lamb in New York City.’

But if one still finds lamb just too meaty, the vegan Easter options seem to be getting increasingly creative too. Sam Sifton recommended taking it simple with mushrooms on toast (having sampled David Tanis’ latest recipe) and then there was the latest Pop-Up to greet the region, the Vegan Shop Up, the first Vegan pop-up market in New York, which made its debut yesterday with an Easter Bunny Bash.

So whatever your tastebuds are telling you, New York probably had it somewhere for Easter yesterday! Hope you enjoyed!

 

Restaurants

Euro Cuisine Arrives in Yonkers

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Le Moulin is its name, fresh is its game.  Yonkers restaurant owner Josyane Colwell does not believe in using food item from the freezer to prep for her catering company; she prefers aromas and fresh ingredients, something she learned while being raised by her grandparents in Cote d’Azur, near Cannes.

It seems very much like a back-to-basics kind of place as Colwell recalls her youth spent picking up olives and putting them in baskets.  It was a far cry from the iPads of today! The eatery – located at 1 Pier Pointe Street – opened in the summer for weekend business, just opening after 5pm on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.  With a chalkboard menu (which changes weekly), small menus are created by Colwell who “needs to make [herself] happy,” which means appealing to her sense of sight and smell, ensuring the dining experience she provides is “stimulating and not mindless.”

For other classic old school restaurants in New York, you can try: McSorleys Old Ale House at 15 East 7th Street, Patsy’s Italian Restaurant at 236 West 56th Street and Fraunces Tavern at 54 Pearl Street, the latter of which has been in business since 1762.

Restaurants

Flaky Pastry Comes to East Village

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Actually it is Patisserie Florentine that is making its way to New York for the first time. Originating from New Jersey, this bakery is best-known for its flaky almond croissant and now New Yorkers will be able to purchase fresh-baked pastries locally.

The bakery – to be located at 280 E. 10th Street – is being run by Itay and Tomer Zilkha who are hoping that New Yorkers will love their sweets as much as New Jersey counterparts have done until now. In particular, their almond croissant is extremely popular, having been its strongest product, being a major draw.
What is interesting about the patisserie is that its kitchens have ovens from New Zealand which use steam and a bi-directional fan system. Through this particular concept, a very specific desired flakiness is created. This is what the video in this article, shows.

Restaurants

Fun Eats in East Village

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ribsAccording to The New York Eater, “the East Village has the most kinetic, rapidly evolving, and downright fun restaurant scene in the city.” Featuring originality with tastes from around the world, there is very little in the world of cuisine that one will be strapped to find in the area.

The east Village food scene really began gaining credence back in the 1980s.  And then by the year 2000, things really started moving up for the region.  But there are some timeless pieces too.

But if you want to experience a bit of history in an Italian way, check out John’s of 12th Street.  This traditional Italian eatery has been serving East Village customers for more than a century.  Having opened in 1908, it brags of being “rich in history, rich in food [but] easy on the wallet.”

And for traditional ribs (that are at the same time unique) Mighty Quinn’s goes back to basics by getting the best quality ingredients and leaving them to do their own thing…not complicating the matter just barbecuing old school with plenty of wood and time with “just the right amount of salt and spice to let that lovely marriage of process ad product evolve into something transcendent.”

Take in breakfast at the Black Seed Bagel, a Chinese dry hot pot from the Mala Project, a French bistro at Lucien, and one of the best schnitzels New York has to offer at Edi & The Wolf.

We know one thing for sure; if you leave the East Village hungry, you sure missed some boat or another.

Restaurants

What’s New to Eat in East Village

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wrapsKati Roll Company is new. With the opening of its outpost in East Village’s Second Avenue five days ago, this popular street from Kolkata is offering traditional skewer-roasted kebab rolls, as well as more modern protein-filled ones with beef, chicken, shrimp and more. Customers can choose to have them wrapped in roti also.

Three days ago they were offering free stuff too, in the form of chicken and aloo rolls. And there are some added menu items including the Kosha Mangsho Roll (a slow-cooked pulled goat meat, with red onions, chilies and lime juice). For those who want to make their own, that is also an option. Located on Macdougal Street, the new eatery is larger than the previous location and can seat up to 18 people with further expansion planned in a third location some time in the not-too-distant future.

And then there is n’eat. Combining ‘neat’ with ‘eatery,’ Swedish chef Gabriel Hedlund together with Danish Mathias Kaer, the restaurant is serving up affordable Nordic food ($8 for snacks and $16 for other plates) such as their deep-fried sourdough bread with mushroom powder, chicken confit with carrots and burned garlic sauce, and rehydrated beets with goat-cheese ice cream.