Mille-Feuille NYC: Its a fun word to say

Om Nomz Hero Note to Self: The French are Master Engineers of packaging...pastry packaging

Mille-feuille bakery is located on Laguardia Place by NYU and Washington Square and can easily be overlooked; the first time in search of this place, I actually walked by it, but the Subway nearby though was very noticeable. However to skip this place when you are having a sweet craving is a mistake. Mille-feuille bakery is a French pastry shop opened by Olivier Dessyn whose past experience has been at Pierre Hermé, pastry legend that would make the Pilsbury Dough Boy white with fear (well…whiter I guess). Pierre Hermé was making macarons before it was cool, giving him ultimate hipster street credibility. Dessyn’s former employment is reason enough for anyone in search of buttery French pastries. Sweets after the jump!

Waffels and Dinges

Om Nomz Hero Note to Self: Speculoos spread is the new peanut butter

After dining at Buvette, right by Christopher Square was one of my favorite food trucks, Wafels and Dinges. No secret that I love waffles, crisp and airy and cooing sweetness that lends itself to being topped with an array of toppings. Waffles and Dinges does not just serve any old waffles, they are serving straight up legit Belgium waffles that bear no resemblance to Eggos or the flip and turn waffles in your College dining hall, which by the way, to get waffle perfection I always did an extra minute or two on the griddle because the timer was kind of off and the waffle always came out mushy. 

Waffels and Dinges have 2 kinds of waffles, the well known Brussels waffles that many of us know and served in any diner everywhere and my personal favorite kind of waffle, the Liege waffle which is a yeasted and before they are thrown onto the waffle iron, gets a coating of Pearl Sugar, which caramelizes the waffles giving it that extra crunch, sweetness and a denser waffle. The liege waffle is the perfect dessert vessel which is why the Spekulator is one of my favorite desserts. This sorceress creation is a liege waffle, which is topped with speculoos spread and speculoos ice cream. This is a magical special that they have that is not always on their menu but when it is, this is a must have regardless. Waffels and Dinges not only offer sweet treats they also dabble on the savory side with their pulled pork which I have yet to brave and try. Waffels and Dinges have multiple mobile carts and even an outpost at Seaside Heights where you can easily get a waffle fix but I would say to try and seek out the original mobile truck for one of the original street trucks to pop up in New York.

By the Beard of Zeus this is good

Wafels & Dinges
Various Locations

http://www.wafelsanddinges.com/

Amorino Gelato: wait...they are French?

Om Nomz Hero Note to Self: Puttis freak me out

I have a feeling this is going to be a hot summer, given the rate that new ice cream and gelato places have been opening up in New York. One of the newest places to open up is Amorino gelato on University. Amorino is an French (yes this threw me off) gelato chain making their first United States debut in New York. I guess if the United States can export Mickey Ds and the Colonel’s chicken, Italy has to fight back and export gelato chains. Gelato places are sprouting up like Baskin Robbins and actually…there are probably more gelato places in the city than Baskin Robbins, someone should research that, not me of course, because I am too busy eating frozen confections. Amorino sets itself apart in which they allow you to have as many flavors as you want. No matter what size cone, cup you get you can get as many flavors as you please so for those indecisive people and abuse the ice cream sampling, this is going to be your downfall. 

Amorino spacious with a good amount of seats and has a coffee house vibe going on. For those “writers” out there that work on their “novels” in coffee shops, this could be a summer “office” space change for you. The only downside I personally see to Amorino is the décor which has the Romanticized Tuscany/Roma décor to it and a step above the Olive Garden. It has the aged looking marble and puttis everywhere. Puttis are those naked little baby cupid looking “things” prominent in Renaissance/Baroque art. Every time I see them, I cringle and shudder, I know they are suppose to be like little angel dudes, but they creep me out. However, I ignored my weird fear of puttis and forged through. 

After paying, you give your receipt to one of the…wait is there a name for the gelato people scoopers? I feel there is a cool name for them, if anyone knows let me know. Anyways, I opted for a medium cup and I decided to only go for 4 flavors. Sure by theory I could have gone with a scoop of each but I was not in a mean mood and there is a point of diminishing returns if you load up on too many flavors. I think the 4 range was a good balance for the medium and if you go larger, 6 flavors should be where you limit yourself.  Amorino has a vast array of flavors and had the most selections of chocolate gelatos. I went for the salted caramel, the pistachios, amoretto and speculoos which are one of the most awesome flavors/treats that people need to be made aware of. Speculoos is a gingerbread-like spiced shortbread cookie originating from the Netherlands and are a delectable treat. Amorino is also known for; according to their website is making petals with your ice cream so that your cone or cup looks like a budding rose. As you can see from the picture, although the gelato is a bit neater in presentation, it does not look like a budding flower of any sort maybe I needed to get it in a cone or I got a gelato scooper person that was still learning? However, I was more interested in how the gelato tasted rather than if it looked like a flower. 

Does not look like a flower...but it is tasty

Overall, the gelato at Amorino was the creamiest gelato I have ate by far. Although it was creamy, the flavors were still distinct and clean. The salted caramel had right sugary depth, but I did not really have the saltiness I was looking for. The pistachio flavors were subtle and I would have liked a bit more of the nuttiness to come through. The Amoretto was packed with almond goodness but I personally thought it was a bit too sweet. The Speculoos though lived up to the expectations and tasted like speculoos spread (love peanut butter but speculoos spread is in another league). Sprinkled with bits of speculoos cookie, the gelato had a hint of ginger to it and the warm speculoos spices and tasted exactly like speculoos. Despite the décor and the lack of flowering gelato, Amorino is a solid competitor with its multiple gelato flavors. I heard that their ice cream sandwich with brioche is quiet good and served warm, bread and gelato, two of my favorite things together? Of course I will be back!

Amorino
 60 University Pl.
New York, NY 10003
http://www.amorino.com/en/