Caffe Bene, New York, NY

I promise, I have been cooking.

If you read my other blog you know I have not fallen off the face of the earth.  I have just simply started a new job.  But I must say, I've had so many food related thoughts for posts come into my mind that I've been a little sad to not be able to share them with you.

And it just doesn't feel right cooking a meal without taking a million pictures.

Since I haven't been taking a million pictures of the things I have cooked over the last two months (Poor planning on my part!  Sorry, not perfect just yet....), I'll be starting simple by sharing with you my favorite coffee place in NYC.

Hubby and I were in NYC a few months ago.  He had a meeting to attend for work and I demanded to come along.  So while he sat in a meeting, I shopped in Times Square.

It was a little warm out, so naturally, my thirst grew.  The one piece of advice I'd like to give here is this: when your thirst grows in NYC, do not give in and run into a Starbucks!  You can do better!

Don't get me wrong, I love Starbucks, really I do!  But there is one located five minutes from my house.  So, why buy Starbucks, that I can get at home, when I'm in a city that offers a well rounded variety of possibilities in the coffee department alone?

This little place caught my eye:

and I decided I was going in.

*Confession time.  I did feel a slight pang of guilt that I would be enjoying a delicious coffee whilst hubby was sitting in his boring meeting.  However, I made up for it later.  Wait and see.

Since it was warm out, I went for a Mocha Frappe.  I felt even more guilty because this is hubby's drink of choice, not mine.  I'm typically an iced latte type of person.

But I was so glad I chose it.  It was smooth and creamy with the perfect amount of espresso throughout.  The best part?  I didn't crunch on a single speck of ice like I typically do when drinking a mocha frappe of other coffee establishments.

And, I'm not too proud to admit, it was halfway gone before I had even walked a block away.

I was in such a state of euphoria as I drank my frappe that the time flew by and before I knew it I was waiting for hubby to come out of the Nasdaq building.  Quickly, I confessed my sin of drinking without him and finished my statement by demanding that we go back after dinner.

Hubby got the Mocha Frappe and was, of course, quite impressed.  I ordered a cappuccino and was then talked into one of Caffe Bene's specialties by the girl who rang us up.

Are you ready for this?

Waffle.  Ricotta.  Fig jam (with bacon in it).  Almond slivers.  

Don't think, why?  Just think, wow.  Because it was wow.  So, so, wow!

Never would I have ordered such a thing on my own.  But I was so glad I did.

The one and only downside that I must tell you of Caffe Bene is that there is only one in NYC and only two in all of America.

That makes me a little sad inside.  

But, on the upside, it gives me reason to visit NYC more often.  And, I think I can handle that...

Candy from Canada

I brought home a bundle of delicious treats from our trip to Canada.

It's a good thing I have restraint and haven't eaten all of this yet.

(This picture was taken a few days ago, so you don't really know that I'm telling the truth).

Our stop in Buffalo introduced me to a candy specific to Buffalo.  I happen to be a sucker for anything new or unusual.  I'm the person that advertisers love.  All I need to see is the word "new" and I'm already hooked.

I have problems, I know.

1. Sponge Candy 


"Sponge Candy" is a treat that was born in Buffalo, NY.  According to my "Visit Buffalo Niagara" Magazine it is one of the four signature foods of Buffalo.  It is sold in Watson's Chocolates and Fowler's Chocolates.

The description of sponge candy on Watson's website says that it is, "Crispy, tender chunks of spun sugar, carefully caramelized, then drenched with......chocolate".  The picture in the magazine put me in mind of a Three Musketeers bar, however, that is definitely not what it tastes like.

Like they said, the center is crisp.  Yet as soon as you crunch down on the inside, it melts away in your mouth, almost like cotton candy does, then fills your mouth with a combination of sugary sweetness and chocolate.  

I got the milk chocolate, and it was divine.  Hubby bought the dark chocolate.  The amount of chocolate on the outside was thick, a perfect combination to the amount of crisp sugar on the inside.

The rest of my treats came from a shop called, "Chocolate World" in Niagara, Canada.  Who couldn't find something fantastic in a place called, "Chocolate World"?  What I especially loved about this place was that they had treats specific to Canada (like the one you're about to see), but they also had treats from all over the world (like the items you'll see later).

2. Maple Cookies 

Maple cookies are exactly as they sound.  They are cookies made with 100% pure maple.  They actually smell stronger of maple than they taste.  I got the regular cream filled cookies and the chocolate coated ones.

I really thought I was going to dislike the regular ones (which is why I only bought the pack that had three cookies).  I bought them because I thought, "These are cookies of Canada, so I must try them, no matter if they taste good or not,".  However, the cream was smooth and the cookie and cream meshed together beautifully.

The chocolate covered cookie tasted very much like a shortbread cookie dipped in a thick textured chocolate.  The maple taste was much stronger with this cookie.

Of the two, I surprised myself and actually liked the original maple cookie best.  And now I'm kicking myself for only having bought the tiny box of three.

I guess I'll just have to go back real soon.
                        

3. Chocola's

This was hubby's chocolate pick.  It was basically like a Pringle, but of chocolate, and imported from Belgium.  Each piece consisted of smooth, dark chocolate with a scattering of rice crisps.  It was like a very delicate Crunch bar, but dark chocolate, and of a way higher quality than Nestle.

What I particularly liked about these was that they were very light, yet, eating two or three at a time was enough.  I didn't feel the need to pound them down like I might with a bag of Hershey's Kisses.

(Disclaimer: I have never ever pounded down a whole bag of Hershey's Kisses....in one sitting).


4. Mountain Range Fine Swiss Milk Chocolate Bar

As a avid fan of Toblerone, I had to purchase a bar of Swiss milk chocolate.  It was pure goodness.  The only way it could have been better would have been if it was accompanied by almond nougat and honey.  But in the department of pure milk chocolates, it was that in it's simplest most delicious form: pure milk chocolate.

The Chocolate Martini Bar in Buffalo, NY

As fun as it is to blog about food I've made, I think I have just as much fun writing about food I've experienced while traveling.

This first installment of travel food comes from Buffalo, NY.

Being that we were in Buffalo, NY it seemed to make sense that we needed to have Buffalo wings.  But when I saw an ad for "The Chocolate Martini Bar" it was all over.

Buffalo wings would have to be saved for another trip, another time.

I was really at a loss for words as I looked through the menu.  We had already eaten lunch on the road, so even though the chocolate bar baguette, chocolate bar pasta, and mac-n-cheese bar all looked extremely tempting, I couldn't find it in me to order a whole meal.  Instead, since we were in Buffalo and all, hubby and I decided to order Nacho Mamma's Nachos, the Buffalo chicken version. 

You know how most places you order nachos you end up getting a bundle of nachos and a skimpy portion of cheese?

Not these babies.  They were loaded with melted cheddar cheese as well as crumbled blue cheese, which usually I avoid, but it really added a nice kick to the flavor of these nachos.  The chicken was perfection, and just in case there wasn't enough Buffalo sauce, there was a side of hot sauce as well as sour cream.  (Both of which I used liberally on each and every one of the nachos I ate).

Since we kind-of-sort-of got our Buffalo fix with the nachos, it was onto what I had really come into that restaurant for.

The chocolate.

Is it sad that I could eat dessert at any time of the day?

I think not.

Hubby  has such great taste and vision for ordering chocolate.  He ordered the Belgian Chocolate Mousse Cake.  All I can say is with Belgian Chocolate, mousse, and chocolate ganache... there is no way to go wrong!

I was extremely interested in their "Amazing Hot Chocolates".  The best hot chocolate I've ever had was at
Eleven Madison Park in NYC.  This was a close second.  The chocolate was thick, creamy, with the perfect whipped cream to mug ratio.  I went with the Famous Hot Chocolate, but they also had Aztec, Caramel and Sea Salt, and Alpine White to choose from.

I also got the Chocolate Fusion.  That dark bottom layer is fudge brownie, topped with Belgian chocolate cheesecake.  Yes, cheesecake.  That is then topped with dark and light chocolate mousse.  I was high on chocolaty goodness.  And yes, it was as thick and heavy as it looks.  Sadly, I couldn't eat the whole thing.  I was very ashamed of myself.  

Oh, and see that tiny little eclair.  That was an explosion of perfection.  The cream was so cool and sweet.  I definitely could have eaten a whole plateful of just eclairs.

And then, of course, have my cake after.  

The worst part of this restaurant was leaving.  Knowing that there were so many wonders that I was leaving behind without trying.  Like the Flight of 3 Cupcakes, the Mocha Crepes, the Chocolate Satin Truffle, the Chocolate Brownie Explosion, and, well, I'd better just stop now before I get in the car to drive seven hours back to Buffalo.