Memorable Birthday Treats from The Chocolate Swirl

This past weekend, my family celebrated their trifecta of birthdays with a big shin-dig at my parents' house.  Aside from all of our favorite people coming out to celebrate, the food (and the dessert especially) is always a big highlight.  I'm usually the one that takes care of the latter, as I typically call on the experts to create something special and interesting.  This year, I engaged Lisa from The Chocolate Swirl in orchestrating these fabulous personalized cupcakes.

Chocolate Swirl's Birthday Cupcakes - Being able to customize virtually anything at the Chocolate Swirl, I wanted to create three unique cupcakes, tailored to the likings of my Mom (Mira), Dad (Paul), and Brother (Peter).  I thought it'd be cool to display everyone's ripe old age on fondant as well, which luckily no one objected to.

In terms of flavors, we went with three varieties including: Mira (banana cupcake with mocha frosting), Paul (chocolate cupcake with vanilla chocolate chip frosting), and Peter (Guinness/chocolate cupcake with peanut butter frosting).  All three looked beautiful and festive, but one stood out the most in terms of uniqueness and flavor, which was definitely the Peter.  I loved the deep chocolate flavor of the cupcake with slight hints of that smoky, coffee essence from the Guinness.  Devouring the peanut butter frosting, it was soft, creamy and really peanut buttery, which was awesome.

Service and Cost:
Since the Chocolate Swirl is available solely online, you can contact Lisa directly or you can message her on Facebook.  Responsive and very accommodating to all sorts of preferences, I have confidence that you'll get a great experience and that you'll love your order.

Cupcakes range between $3.50 - $4.50 a piece, which is a decent price for a truly customized treat.

The Chocolate Swirl 

LIC Market Celebrates 3 Years with their Pig Roast & Clambake

Image by LIC Market

It's about that time, to wish a very special Happy Birthday to the awesome folks at LIC Market.  There's nothing like enjoying delicious, local food right in the heart of LIC, and each year these guys put on quite the food spectacle with their Pig & Clambake event.

This year, it's taking place on Saturday, July 27th and Sunday, July 28th and will include the following tantalizing menu:

Pig roast to include:
suckling pig rice & beans
handmade tamales
pico de gallo
tortillas and more

Clambake to include:
littleneck clams
mussels
prawns
corn on the cob
steamed potatoes and more

Add-on options
whole lobsters
BBQ short ribs

Drink specials
beer buckets
half priced mimosas
pitchers of sangria

They'll also be extending their hours throughout that weekend:

Saturday, July 27th, 2013 10:00am to 11:00pm
Sunday, July 28th, 2013 10:00am to 6:00pm

If you want the pig roast/clam bake menus, come by after 2 p.m.

LIC Market - 21-52 44th Drive, LIC NY 11101
718.361.0013
7 Train to 45th Road/Courthouse Square
http://www.licmarket.com/

Special Cake for a Special Trio - Courtesy of Thea Sphere Sweets

This past weekend, my parents hosted our annual trifecta of family birthday celebrations.  It actually is a true trifecta, as my mom, dad and brother all have consecutive birthdays in the month of August.  "How bizarre," you may be thinking, but I've lived with this all my life and love to celebrate this fast and ferocious family holiday.

As we usually do, we had our cousins, aunts and uncles over for a big shin-dig.  Since I was in charge of the cake, I wanted to do something special and hit up my friend Thea who has a baking business called Thea Sphere Sweets, to do the job right.  First tasting Thea's delicious creations at this year's Ribfest, I was immensely impressed by her maple bacon cupcakes.  Since then, the two of us have been in touch, and I've been inspired by her sweet creations - and commissioning her to help out for my family's big birthday celebration felt natural.

Soccer and Heels Birthday Cake - Since I knew that Thea can make virtually anything, I designed a custom cake, including decor elements as well as flavor.  Wanting the cake to address both a masculine and feminine side, I thought that soccer balls (for dad aka Oci and brother, Peter) and high heels (for mom) would be appropriate.  From browsing her site, I saw that Thea had experience with fondant, so I was looking forward to this element shining through on the cake.
In terms of flavor, most of our party goers (including quite a few kids) were chocolate fans.  But wanting to keep the cake also sophisticated, I suggested that fresh raspberries be incorporated too.  Besides...who doesn't love that combination?!

When we received the cake (delivered to my parents' house on Long Island), we were pleased with its whimsical look and couldn't wait to dig in.  As we revealed it to guests, we got a nice reaction, as people automatically knew that it wasn't from a local bakery, but indeed something very different and special.

The taste was the best part, as it was rich and chocolatey, but not overly sweet.  The chocolate ganache and fresh raspberry filling was absolutely my favorite part, and I secretly wished to just pick the middle of the cake and eat it on its own.  I would've destroyed the whole thing if I followed my instincts, but still...I couldn't help to reach for another (and another) forkful of the chocolate/raspberry mousse.  

It was satisfying to see that the kids loved it too, my 5 year old cousin Emma exclaiming that "my friend is a good cook." Right on Emma!

To find out more about Thea's delicious creations, check out her Facebook page, and feel free to contact her directly.  And please tell her who sent ya ;-)

Bistro 33 is Turning 5 - Come Celebrate!

Here ye, here ye...a longtime neighborhood cafe, Bistro 33 is celebrating a milestone birthday, as they turn the big 5.  Although this place has been around longer than that, they're celebrating 5 lovely years in the Ditmars locale.  Here's what you can expect at the party next week, so gear up, come hungry, and bring your friends to enjoy it with you!

Bistro 33 5th Birthday Party
Wednesday, June 13th from 5 p.m. - whenever

$5 for...
Barbecue menu
Pitchers of beer
Margaritas and sangria

The birthday theme will be prominent throughout the event, channeling your inner child with party games, pinatas, ice cream and cake.  Sounds like an adult's dream...Yum!

Bistro 33 - 19-33 Ditmars Blvd, Astoria, NY 11105

718.721.1933

N/W Train to Ditmars Blvd (last stop)

www.bistro33nyc.com

Bistro 33 Celebrates Birthday!

Happy Birthday to Bistro 33! If you remember, they celebrated their birthday last year with burgers and beer. Sadly, the burgers ran out quickly so they changed things up a bit and are now charging a $20 cover, ensuring that you will get what you pay for. Below are the details - it was quite fun last year but I'd suggest getting there as early as possible.

Bistro 33 - Beer and Burger Birthday Bash

Thursday, June 11th from 6 p.m. - close
$20 per person

Bistro 33 - 19-33 Ditmars Blvd, Astoria NY 11105
718.721.1933
N/W Train to Ditmars Blvd (last stop)
www.lilbistro33.com