We could not have asked for a prettier day this Easter Sunday.
The temperatures soared to a sunny 75! Instead of hitting the gym, I decided to walk my heart out and get a healthy dose of Vitamin D.
I strolled down 5th Avenue and caught some scenes from the annual Easter parade, a minimally organized parade where the streets are blocked off and random people wear fun Easter bonnets!
I really enjoyed the parade, as simple as it was, but after ten blocks, the sun really revved up my appetite, and I walked down to Times Square to take care of a little craving o' mine.
Sloppy Joes.
Schnipper's!
Step on it!
Schnippers is a monstrous restaurant across from the Port Authority. I never noticed it before until late last year, but now it is impossible to miss. It's SO large. And it's SO clean looking. AND it recently appeared on the Food Network for a Sloppy Joe Throwdown, so if Bobby Flay thinks they are a worthy competitor, so do I! As a child of public education cafeteria lunches, I love all things sloppy joe.
As you can see, the sloppy joe was too much of a mess to eat by hand, so I knife-and-forked it (fancy!) The sloppy joe tasted remarkably like school's. I have read a lot of reviews where people ding Schnipper's for tasting so similar to school sloppy joes, but you know what? I like that it tastes like school sloppy joes! I think it should taste like school sloppy joes! I'm always disappointed when it doesn't.
I read another review that described Schnipper's sloppy joe as an indistinguishable clump of beef, tomatoes and peppers. uhmm...That's what a sloppy joe is! Who are these people?
Anyway, my two cents: this is a very close rendition of the traditional ketchuppy sloppy joe. I did find it a bit too sweet which did not bother me while I was eating it, but after I finished the whole thing (and I totally did), I found the sweetness pretty cloying. If they could also add some spice to it, this might be something to be reckoned with!
After sloppy joes, I walked home, recharged (myself and my camera battery) and headed back out to the West Village.
It was time to cool off with some gelato. Il Laboratorio was closed for the Easter holiday (sadness), so I tried out another spot that many tout as the best gelato in NYC: L'Arte del Gelato.
The small shop was adorable and the staff so nice. The flavors were mainly in Italian, making it a bit harder for me to select, but I relied on my knowledge of desserts and colors to discern the flavors.
I sampled the Dolce di Latte (dulce de leche) and was sold. Ordered a small with marscapone (for comparison purposes) and the Dolce.
Apparently they always give you an extra flavor sample on top of your order for taste-sake. I was given a sample of their Yogurt which was a nice delight! Tasted like the tart yogurt of RedMango/Pinkberry/Orangecup fame.
The gelato was delicious, unbelievably smooth and silky. I could taste more of the marscapone here than in Il Lab. The dulce de leche tasted exactly like caramel whipped with light cream. Super yum. Despite savoring every bite in Christopher Park, I found myself still preferring Il Lab over L'Arte for its more inventive flavors. However, if you had to pick from either, it's a win/win situation. Price point is a bit steeper at L'Arte though: small from Il Lab = $3.25 whereas L'Arte's was $4.90. The latter's serving was definitely larger comparably though.
So while I was in the area, I decided to check out a new cupcake spot. It seems ages when I've last done so.
Introducing Sweet Revenge, a tiny bar/bakery specializing in cupcake pairings with alcoholic beverages.
I ordered the Sweet Revenge (was there even a question??) and the Pure to go.
Sloppy Joes.
Schnipper's!
Step on it!
Note: you can also get sloppy joe served on hotdogs or mac 'n cheese, which will definitely keep cardiologists in business everywhere.
I read another review that described Schnipper's sloppy joe as an indistinguishable clump of beef, tomatoes and peppers. uhmm...That's what a sloppy joe is! Who are these people?
Anyway, my two cents: this is a very close rendition of the traditional ketchuppy sloppy joe. I did find it a bit too sweet which did not bother me while I was eating it, but after I finished the whole thing (and I totally did), I found the sweetness pretty cloying. If they could also add some spice to it, this might be something to be reckoned with!
After sloppy joes, I walked home, recharged (myself and my camera battery) and headed back out to the West Village.
It was time to cool off with some gelato. Il Laboratorio was closed for the Easter holiday (sadness), so I tried out another spot that many tout as the best gelato in NYC: L'Arte del Gelato.
The small shop was adorable and the staff so nice. The flavors were mainly in Italian, making it a bit harder for me to select, but I relied on my knowledge of desserts and colors to discern the flavors.
The gelato was delicious, unbelievably smooth and silky. I could taste more of the marscapone here than in Il Lab. The dulce de leche tasted exactly like caramel whipped with light cream. Super yum. Despite savoring every bite in Christopher Park, I found myself still preferring Il Lab over L'Arte for its more inventive flavors. However, if you had to pick from either, it's a win/win situation. Price point is a bit steeper at L'Arte though: small from Il Lab = $3.25 whereas L'Arte's was $4.90. The latter's serving was definitely larger comparably though.
So while I was in the area, I decided to check out a new cupcake spot. It seems ages when I've last done so.
Introducing Sweet Revenge, a tiny bar/bakery specializing in cupcake pairings with alcoholic beverages.
They also have a $10 cupcake + sangria happy hour M-F!
What I like best about Sweet Revenge is the names of their cupcakes.
They have a few mainstay flavors including their namesake: Sweet Revenge, featuring peanut butter cake, ganache center, peanut butter fudge frosting. They also have a Pure (Mexican vanilla cake and Mexican vanilla buttercream) and the Dirty (Valrhona cake with dark chocolate truffle). Such cute names!
I ordered the Sweet Revenge (was there even a question??) and the Pure to go.
To go containers: plastic drinking cups. Unfortunately the cups are not tall enough for their icing, so the icing got squished when I took them home ;(
Despite being squished, look at that thick, glorious peanut butter icing with a fine dusting of crushed peanuts.
This shot feels dirty, exposing the cupcake for all to see!
The ganache creme center.
The Pure: Mexican vanilla cake and buttercream. The thick layer of icing is ridiculous!
Dense, moist cake.
The cupcakes were definitely moist and flavorful, but the cake and icing were heavy, meaning, you cannot eat 5 of them as you normally would any other cupcake. I ate half of each and felt stuffed but fairly pleased with myself. One cupcake is definitely enough to tide me over for a full week's worth of sugar though. And at the price of $3.50/per cupcake, it's a pricey but worthy occasional indulgence.
I'm going to make Greeshma come back for you next time.
Happy Easter everyone!
620 8th Avenue
New York, NY 10018-1618
(212) 921-2400
75 7th Avenue
New York, NY 10011
(212) 924-0803
62 Carmine Street
NYC, NY 10014
(212) 242-2240
sweet revenge was the place i was telling you about! i loooove their red velvet cupcakes but they're so rich that more than half a cupcake is sufficient-- until you make yourself eat the rest that is haha \
ReplyDeletethe gelato looked sooo good, perfect for this glorious weather we're having :)
omg omg omg THE NAMES of the cupakes ARE SO CLEVER!! lovelove.
ReplyDeleteand holy cow that last raspberry red velvet pic... *yearn*
and i agree.
sloppy joes should taste just like the school ones!!
also i want that dog!!
ReplyDelete