Cooling Down with Wooly's Ice !

Man alive, I've been horrifically lazy.  I went to Texas for a week and a half to visit the family, and I did not do anything but gorge on my mother's food, go on adventures and then work up an appetite to eat more food.

Texas was expectedly hot this time of year, reaching balmy temps of 97 or so.  While hiking with the nieces on a particularly muggy day, the only thing that kept me cool was fond memories of my new favorite summer treat: Wooly's!

Now, there are many an ice vendor in the city, from piraguas near Tompkins Square Park, to hand-shaved snow cones from People's Pops in East Village, to New Orleans style Imperial Woodpecker Sno-balls in Greenwich Village.  New Yorkers have got it all when it comes to cooling down.  And I've had my fair share of all of them.

So, I had my stereotypical expectations when I approached Wooly's for their Mango madness of sorts.  It was going to be some icy treat with Asiany toppings like fresh, ripe mango, mochi and condensed milk.  It would be sufficiently cool on a hot day but nothing extraordinary. 

But I was completely wrong.  

While the ice looks like jagged shards, it is nothing but pure, beautifully airy clouds of sweet, sweet love on your tongue.  It was softer than I could ever imagine ice to be, and I was instantly in love.

While my friend and I ate our bowlfuls of heaven silently, a number of people came up to us wondering what it was and where they could get it.  It was evident from our joyous faces that this was something of which they definitely wanted a piece.

You should too!

Wooly's Ice

South Seaport

Brunching and Horse Racing @ Lone Star Park

Over Memorial Day weekend, I returned to my beloved Dallas to spend time with family. My aunt was visiting from Taiwan, so my parents and I took her to touristy American things like baseball games and the Cheesecake Factory. (Don't hate, I love the Cheesecake Factory with all of my heart.) In addition, we took her to Sunday brunch at Lone Star Park. We ate, we swooned at the pretty horses, and we even did a little betting. It was a perfect afternoon. :)

A brunch ticket at the park buys you brunch and fantastic viewing seats... because hello, you don't have to sit outside in the Texas heat.

We sat right next to the window and therefore had an unencumbered view of the racing. *highfive*

Alright, let's talk food. It was a very standard Sunday brunch, with an pasta/omelet station, salad bar, hot dish options, and a variety of dessert. Here's a slathering of some of the stations:

The tex mex station was the cheesiest (both literally and figuratively), and the one from which I ate the most. I am so embarrassing.

Brunch also comes with a free mimosa or glass of champagne:

Here are some of our plates:

The food is good, but not great. You get the feeling that every item probably came from Costco - which, you know, I could totally get behind.

Especially when there's a vat of heated melted dark chocolate, and you can do things like this:

There's also an ice cream bar and multiple kinds of cobbler (there needs to be more cobbler in the northeast). The vat of chocolate was definitely our table's most popular item.

Brunch starts around 11:30a, and you can sit for as long as the races go. They don't take away the food until after 4:30pm-ish, so it means you can eat for a good five hours. Which we absolutely did, while betting on and cheering for the horses.

These are all the bets I lost. Thank god I'm a cheapo and stuck with the $2 bets. ;)

I super enjoyed our time at the park - eating, laughing, and screaming for my randomly-selected horses to win... I highly recommend a visit!!

Lone Star Park

Sunday Brunch at Silks Dining

1000 Lone Star Parkway

Grand Prairie, Tx 75050