Hey guys!
Although it has been quite a few months since I last posted, I have a few extra posts coming up soon to make up for the past few months! Over spring break, I went to New York and tried out all sorts of restaurants and bistros, clothing stores, places to visit, and jewelry stores, and I wanted to share my experience with y’all!
So first, I left a few hours after my SAT the week before spring break started (that was a stressful day for me and that test was the only thing on my mind the whole day unfortunately), and we landed in New Jersey the first night because I skipped two days of school to tour some of my dream colleges (emphasis on dream). We drove to New York the next day since NJ and NYC are only half an hour or so away from each other! The first day in NYC we visited Columbia University, which had an absolutely beautiful campus with so many resources and opportunities, being that itâs centered in New York City. I can make another post about the colleges I visited later and what I liked/disliked about them đFor lunch, we went to Tomâs Restaurant, which seems to be a famed location by several Barnard and Columbia students! They have delicious American cuisine including gluten free and keto options! After, we went to Anitaâs Gelato, which I think has been the most divine gelato I have had so far!! They have a million options (more like 20 something), but they have some amazing flavor combos that complement each other really well!
We also went to Times Square at night, of course, which was a unique experience with all the colorful ads and large tv screens displayed across the buildings. We took pictures on the MET stairs, and tried deep friend Oreos (which, to be honest, were delicious but super unhealthy). Aside from that, for the duration of the trip, we tried several popular desserts, drinks, and shops! For desserts we went to Mango Mango where we had a vanilla ice cream strawberry crepe and a mango Mille crepe cake, which wasnât all that filling and was just perfect! We tried the Spot Dessert Bar, where we had The Harvest, which is a chocolate brownie in a ceramic plant pot, raspberry ice cream on the side, and a little water can that was filled with Thai tea. This probably seems like such a random combination, but trust me when I tell you how AMAZING it was! We had to âwater the plantâ, which is the ceramic pot with cheesecake, with the Thai tea, and take a spoonful of raspberry ice cream to top it all off. Literally a masterpiece. Anyways, we next went to Bibble and Sip, which is an Asian dessert shop that have desserts shaped into animals and fruits and objects! We tried a hazelnut bunny, which is a hazelnut white chocolate mousse with hazelnut praline and chocolate cake shaped in a bunny! They also have kawaii-like coconut pudding desserts shaped into a cloud, panda bears made up of dark chocolate tart with crunchy feuilletine, and dumplings, sheep, caterpillars, and so many other options.
We went to a similar dessert shop called Salswee, which had real cut fruit inside desserts shaped like the fruit. That probably didnât make sense. For example, we got an Apple, and it had a glazed red covering and a little lead at the top, exactly like an apple. Inside, there was apple cream mousse and chopped pieces of real apple. They also had an ombrĂŠ mango (yellow fading into green), with mango pudding and mango pieces inside. There were several fruit options, including bananas, pears, oranges, blueberries, as well as mushrooms (this was delicious but too small đ and coconuts, and a yuzu. In addition, we went to Cafe2By2, where we got a tiramisu and a latte. They didnât have as many options as the other stores, but if youâre ever looking for a great tiramisu restaurant, definitely consider going to Cafe2By2! That wraps up the desserts! In fact, we went to 7 dessert shops in one day so.. but everything was so light and didnât have a âheavyâ feeling!
Moving on to restaurants, we went to Chelsea Market, which isnât like your usual flea market but is rather in a rustic-underground, closed area with several small restraints consisting of various cuisine options as well as clothing stores, jewelry, perfume, bookstores, trinkets, and souvenir stores. We went to the Thai restaurant (I forgot the name but itâs a super small and crowded restaurant but had the best Thai food I have ever tasted), and the bookstore! On our last day in NYC, we went to Liberty Bagels for breakfast, and oh my goodness, I am still talking about those bagels and itâs June. They have SO MANY bagel options, including gluten free, grain free, egg free, everything bagels, plain, jalapeĂąo bagels, the famed rainbow bagels, strawberry, blueberry, the list goes on. These are just the bagel options. The cream cheeses were another level. They had dairy free, sugar free, egg free, and of several options, including brown sugar, cinnamon, birthday cake (I got this hehe), and festive flavors! If you ever visit NYC, Liberty Bagels is a must! They have it in several locations, and I would recommend getting there a bit early in the morning since the lines are usually outside the store.
Oh! We also went to Levain Bakery, which is known for their cookies! But.. their coffee cake.. itâs one of a kind. Its quite flavorful yet not too sweet and isnât as filling as you may think. We got a brownie toffee cookie, which doesnât look appetizing but was exquisite, and a salted caramel cookie with pieces of caramel and I think almonds. Lastly, we went to Paris Baguette, which actually has a Austin, Texas, location now! This place offers gluten-free and egg-free dessert options, with a variety of croissants, tarts, cakes, and donuts, including mochi donuts!
In all, these were the restaurants and dessert stores we went to when we visited New York City. The range of flavors, choices, and products was astonishing, especially since all of these were located not too far from each other! These are just my recommendations and what I truly enjoyed when visiting, so I hope yâall found this helpful! Let me know in the comments if yâall have any questions!