Only recently have I started getting into these NYC Food Crawls, participating in the last one back in December, where we were on the hunt for macarons. Well I had so much fun, making new foodie friends and tasting amazing things, that I decided to do it again this month. The theme of hot chocolate sounded delicious and impossible to turn down, so friends or no friends with me, I decided to just go for it.
Just like last time, all the crawlers met at an agreed spot, set by our organizer, Amanda. There we broke up into groups and received our location map, listing 5 intriguing hot chocolate haunts, located in the Soho area. Luckily, I'm pretty familiar with this neighborhood, so I was able to advise my group about the best order of our hot chocolate route. They seemed grateful and in the end, we found our strategy worked, as we got ahead of every larger group on the crawl and enjoyed these places without having to wait too long.
Here's where the hot chocolate route took us...
Ground Support - Realizing I must've passed by this place on many occasions, but for whatever reason failed to go in, I was excited to explore a new niche coffee house in the area. Although we came for the hot chocolate of course, it has to be noted that they also sell Intelligentsia Coffee, which is devine and originates from Chicago (my friends Kimberly and Jonathan turned me on to it). But back to hot chocolate...
Ground Support's hot chocolate looked anything but standard, elegant with a beautiful heart shaped foam on top. Its taste was nice and smooth, and not too sweet, which I liked. Some of my crawl companions noted that it was a little watered down, but I liked that it wasn't overly rich and would go back for another. 399 West Broadway, New York NY 10012. 212.219.8722
Vosges Chocolat - Oh yes...this place again. Some of you may have read my post a few weeks ago about the spicy hot chocolate I had there, together with my cousin Vicky, but in this visit, I tried the white Bianca Couture Cocoa. Its taste was unlike anything I've had before, and for something totally unique and un hot chocolate-like, I'd highly suggest it. Containing a citrus essence from the lemon myrtle (sort of like lemongrass) and a hint of lavender too, it was a sophisticated anti hot chocolate if you will. 132 Spring Street, New York NY 10012. 212.625.2929
Marie Belle - Almost on the same level of sophistication as Vosges, but maybe a little bit more even, Marie Belle's charming chocolate room provided us with a perfect little tasting of their signature Aztec hot chocolate. We all swooned over the first sip and the next few that followed, as we drained our cups and licked our lips with satisfaction. This was the real thing, with a deep, dark rich chocolate flavor that tasted almost more like a sauce. There was nearly no dilution of milk and a small portion went a long way. 484 Broome Street, New York NY 10013. 212.925.6999
Jacques Torres - After Marie Belle, we were off to Mr. Chocolate's place AKA Jacques Torres. Known for incredibly rich, and excellent quality chocolate, we had high hopes, but at the same time, I knew it wouldn't be as unique as a Marie Belle's, as it's quite commercial.
Upon entering the store, which also has a chocolate factory attached to it, we were astounded by how crowded it was. No matter, we were already here and we wanted what we came for. Impressed by all the flavors of hot chocolate they had, we ordered a caramel and a peanut butter hot chocolate. I'm disappointed to report that both looked an tasted exactly the same, and I simply couldn't detect the peanut butter flavoring at all. Its taste was very delicious and creamy, however I saw it was made with a lot of butter, as a layer of grease was visible at the top. My crawl companions loved it though and said some even tasted the peanut putter. Maybe a placebo effect? I don't know...350 Hudson Street, New York NY 10014. 212.414.2462
Little Cupcake Bakeshop - I liked that this location was off the beaten path, and like its name suggests, it was a charming cupcake shop with many creative flavors of cupcakes (none of which were small). There's only one hot chocolate flavor here, and it comes with marshmallows. It reminded me of Ground Support's a bit, in that it was lighter and not as thick as Marie Belle's or Jacques Torres'. The marshmallows were lovely and I was glad they finally made an appearance on our tour. As I took my last few gulps of chocolatey goodness, I concurred it was a good way to end our chocolate journey, with something a little lighter and more nostalgic. 30 Prince Street, New York NY 10012. 212.941.9100
So which one takes the crown, you ask? Marie Belle hands down!
If you'd like to join a future NYC Crawl, sign up for their Facebook alerts, and I hope to run into you there. A big shout-out to my new hot chocolate friends Sarah, Ben and Marina!
As many dutiful foodies in this city, I like to involve myself in all sorts of food activities and social media groups. One of those is the NYC Food Crawl group on Facebook, and I joined with the intention of attending these meetups, but unfortunately have never got around to it.
My determination to go to these events is of course influenced by the subject we're exploring, and this month's theme got my curiosity in a bunch. Macarons! Those wonderful little meringue cookies that come in all colors of the rainbow and are stuffed with the most inventive fillings - ranging from chocolate, passion fruit, espresso, green tea, caramel, bacon and much more.
Food Crawl Format
The rules are simple and clear - learn about the crawl on Facebook, RSVP, show up, form a group and then go! Really, it wasn't very complicated and that's why I think it worked so well.
We showed up at the given meeting point, the Southwest Corner in Washington Square Park, to meet our organizer Amanda. I loved that she was friendly and welcoming and did a good job of introducing us around. While some people showed up with friends, others (including me) came solo. I thought Amanda did a great job of fostering conversation and camaraderie and she asked everyone their names and paired people off into small groups of about 5 people. I met two nice guys, and they expected two other friends to join, so there went our group of five.
It was recommended to appoint one group leader to collect money and order for everyone, but we opted for handling that individually, which made things easier and didn't weigh heavily on one person's shoulders. We each received a map of the crawl locations and set off for a sweet adventure.
My Fellow Crawlers
As I already mentioned, my fellow crawlers were a nice group. We had two guys and three girls, including me. Everyone was really open-minded and into sweets, which was nice. I especially bonded with a new friend, Hayon who seemed to love chocolate and gourmet treats as much as me. Coincidence had it that she's an LICer, so I of course told her all about my food favorites there and in Astoria.
Overall, I think this crawl presented a great platform to meet new people with similar interests. Everyone was open minded and intelligent and easy to get along with. I would happily mix and mingle with this group again.
Macarons
The best part of this evening though were of course the macarons. Macarons galore! We hit four different locations in the Soho/West Village/Greenwich Village areas including:
Francois Payard - Boasting a beautiful macaron pyramid that you see above, we ooh'd and ahh'd as soon as we saw it. They had many classic as well as unusual flavors, and I ended up choosing the oreo macaron. The filling was delectable and rich, tasting like the famous nostalgic cookie, but the actual meringe was hard and dry, and not my favorite. I also ended up getting a ham and brie baguette to tide me over, which was also just OK. Not fantastic. 116 West Houston Street, New York NY 10012. 212.995.0888
Kee's Chocolates - Our second location looked promising. While it was a small storefront, the goods found inside were beautifully crafted. The macarons looked gorgeously substantial and colorful, and I immediately went for the lavender cookie with a chocolate filling. I adore lavender and have previously incorporated it into desserts. Taking a bite, I had high hopes, but similarly to the Payard macaron, this one also didn't measure up. The filling was too chilled and the meringue was too dry and caused a gap between the outer and inner layer. 80 Thompson Street, New York NY 10012. 212.332.3284
Mille Feuille - A relatively new cafe in Greenwich Village, I didn't know what to expect. The employees of this place stayed open an hour later just for us, so that right away showed they were in it for the right reasons - the people! There were a few varieties of macarons (about a dozen) and I chose the chocolate praline that I ate on the spot and also a salted caramel macaron for Dan. As soon as I took a bite, I smiled. This was the real deal - not unlike the deliciousness I tasted in Paris just two months ago. The meringue was soft and chewy and blended beautifully with the rich, room temperature filling. It was simply awesome and a clear winner of the night. Dan affirmed this when he took a bite out of the salted caramel macaron later that night. 552 Laguardia Place, New York NY 10012. 212.533.4698
Bosie Tea Parlor - The last place we hit that night, I think it was the most unique. It was a cute sit down place that seemed like a nice place to come to with a date or a small group of girlfriends. Specialty teas decked the walls and it smelled divine. We found the macarons at the front counter and my eye right away zeroed in on the maple bacon. The latter ingredient sets my heart aflutter pretty much on command and I of course got this macaron for myself and for Dan too. Its texture was also very good and the filling was smoky and sweet, just like maple glazed bacon. Although I liked it a lot, it still wasn't better than the purely perfect one at Mille Feuille. 10 Morton Street, New York NY 10014. 212.352.9900
I had such a great time at the NYC Macaron Crawl that I'll definitely consider doing something like this again. Can't wait to find out what December will bring.
