Tag Archives: ice cream sandwich

Goldbely.com: Jeni’s Ice Cream Sandwiches (from Columbus, OH)

5 Nov

As soon as I read about Goldbely.com, I knew I had found a site that I would love.  They aggregate (and curate) some of the best local foods from around the country and allow you to order them to be shipped fresh, right to your door.  You can order a steak from Peter Luger Steakhouse in Brooklyn, a deep dish pizza from Lou Malnati’s in Chicago, or ice cream sandwiches from Jeni’s of Columbus, Ohio fame.  They have a really good showing from some of NYC’s best with Katz’s Deli, Zabar’s, Barney Greengrass, Sarah Beth’s, Seredipity 3 (and their famous Frrrozen hot chocolate), some black and white cookies, and even our favorite corner butcher, Esposito’s.  And that’s just a sampling.

I held an “ice cream party” for my team at work to celebrate their good, hard work over the summer and ordered up those Jeni’s Macaroon ice cream sandwiches.  I got two packs of 8, which had 4 flavors:

Salty Caramel with Smoked Almonds

Chocolate Hazelnut

Orchid Vanilla Bean

Oatmeal Cream

 

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We split each of them into quarters and dug in.

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Each one was better than the last.  Though I think the salty caramel won out by a smidge for me.  The chocolate hazelnut was a very close second, however.  And they were all really great and a really fun treat for everyone.

They kept me very updated on when it would be delivered and it came incredibly fast.  I also don’t feel like they are ridiculously upcharged, and it all seemed worth it for the experience (and much cheaper than a plane ticket and a hotel!)

I also recommended Cranberry Island Kitchen to Goldbely (they have a recommendation option at the bottom of the page).  Cranberry Island Kitchen made the whoopie pies we had at our wedding, which were stupendous. Luckily, Goldbely liked them as much as we did and they are already up on the site!

And hey, if you do decide sign up, if you use my link you will get $20 off an order of $50 or more and I’ll get some credit to buy more treats… so you know… do yourself AND NYCNomNom a favor and use my referral link: http://curebit.com/x/ZKby7A  (and no… I wasn’t paid for this review… I just really really dig Goldbely!)

 

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Smush: “The NY Deli of Desserts”

29 Oct DSCF2042

Just across the street from Bryant Park, there seems to be a collection of dessert shops opening up.  A chocolate store opened up a few months ago, and then a few signs popped up for various dessert places, including what looks like it will be a patisserie and, of course, Smush.  Smush bills itself as “The NY Deli of Desserts” and is decked out in neon signs and fun art.

They have signature sandwiches to choose from.

Or you can make your own by choosing a cookie, spread, toppings, and ice cream.

They have a display of their cookies to choose from.

We showed up right at closing time, and while they were all but closed, they offered to stay open to make our Smushes. They only had 2 flavors left: pumpkin and french toast.  I signed right up for the pumpkin while Mike went for the french toast.

They even make their own ice cream here, which was individually wrapped and ready to be smushed.

Our Smush man made our sandwiches.

I went with nutella, pretzels, and vanilla ice cream on my smush.

Mike went with bananas and vanilla ice cream on his french toast cookie.

And the verdict?

SOOOOO good!

The cookies were perfectly done, soft enough to be enjoyable yet hard enough to be a perfect conduit for everything in between.  The ice cream was equally perfect for immediate eating.  And the pretzels I added to mine were a great salty crunch.  I love being able to choose all the ingredients and flavors to suit my mood. And the fact that it tasted great and was the perfect texture all the way through left me recommending Smush to just about everyone in the area.

And when I picked up the paper underneath after finishing my Smush, I noticed a little smart touch. A wet nap at the very bottom.

Overall, Smush was much better than expectation and we really enjoyed it.  A perfect snack for after dinner, before or after a Broadway show, or basically anytime you have a hankering for something sweet in midtown.

I would really like one right now, actually!

Total Nom Points: 8 out of 10

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“Thank You”

10 Sep

I had heard good things about a newly opened an Asian flavored inspired sandwich shop in Hell’s Kitchen: Xie Xie (which means “thank you” in Mandarin… thank you website for the translation).  The inside was stylish and trendy. 

I ordered the Sweet Glazed Pork sandwich, which comes with sweet and sour condiment and was supposed to come on a Chinese bun, but they ran out, so I had it on a soft brioche.  The sandwich was quite tasty, though they had a LOT of cilantro on it which overpowered the pork flavor in my opinion.  I picked it off the second half and enjoyed it much much (though it’s no Momofuku). 


Mike got the Vietnamese BBQ Beef (which I found out is the most popular on the menu, though the man working there who seemed to have some authority said he recommended the chicken or the lobster… noted for next time).  It came with basil mayo and carrot kimchee.  He said that it had just enough flavor and was “oddly refreshing” (probably due to the carrot kimchee and mayo).  He commented quite a bit about the carrots being a great pairing with the beef.

An obvious regular struck up a conversation with us as we were waiting for our food and sang the praises of the sandwiches and ESPECIALLY the ice cream sandwich.  You don’t really have to sell me on getting dessert, but it was good to have a recommendation on which one to get!  And boy am I glad she spoke up.  WOW!

They call it the “1000 Year Old Ice Cream Sandwich” based on the Chinese legend where they were bury eggs for a long, long time and the centers would turn black.  These ice cream sandwiches had a crispy, light chocolate cookie with creamy ice cream in the middle (caramel flavored? dulce de leche?  I’m not sure but it was incredible) and in the very center was a liquid, black caramel center.  It was rich and perfectly salty and sweet.  I picture myself craving these in the middle of the night at some point.  It was so good and left a lingering flavor in my mouth that I wish had lasted all night.

The sandwiches were interesting and different from every day.  At over $8 a piece ($14 for the lobster), it’s definitely on the high point, however, Mike and I eating dinner plus dessert for less than $20 is always a treat, so I didn’t mind so much.  The ice cream sandwich made it totally worth it, and I WILL be back to try that at the least, if not to try more of the meal sandwiches.

Total Nom Points: 6.5 out of 10

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