City Bakery Revisited

A passion fruit tart to dream about

Dear Postcards from New York Reader,

Of course, soon after I posted With Marshmallows or Without, a cold front came in and we quickly had to pull on extra sweaters, bulky coats and boots. As I write, snow is falling and it is sticking; it's really quite beautiful--just the perfect weather to savor a steaming cup of hot chocolate or bowl of thick chucky soup.

If you recently read Marshmallows, you know the place to enjoy it best this month is "City Bakery" during their 16th Annual Hot Chocolate Festival. Chili Pepper, Lemon Licorice, Tropical, Ginger, Caramel, Banana Peel, and Mango Tea Hot Chocolate are just a few of the inventive flavors to excite your taste buds.

Guess what I recently did to finally satisfy my desire for the luscious desserts that have tempted me for years? I settled for a demitasse cup of Darkest Dark Hot Chocolate so I could enjoy a passion fruit tart and a couple peanut butter cookies without too much guilt (this is Lent after all).

What can I say? To die for! The tart was delectable--the slightest hint of citrus and the lightest crust ever, while the cookies stuck to the roof of my month, like eating peanut butter from the jar with a spoon. Mmm!

Run don't walk, just be careful not to slip on the snow covered streets, to "City Bakery" before the Festival ends February 29. Check here before you go, for the flavor of the day.

Still don't have dinner plans with the Chocolate lover in your life for Valentine's Day? Consider the Hot Chocolate Festival Party--All you can drink hot chocolate featuring five special flavors, hors d'oeuvres, a special menu and live music. As of today tickets are still available at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/

Happy Valentine's Day!

Jacqueline Cable
For Postcards from New York

Address to remember: The City Bakery, 3 West 18th Street, New York, NY 10011, http://www.thecitybakery.com/ , 212-386-1414.

Directions: MTA from 42nd Street Times Square, N, R or W to 23rd Street. Bus M2, M3, M5.

Photo by Joseph Knight

©Copyright 2008 The Cable Group

With Marshmallows or Without

Piping Hot Chocolate sprinkled with dark chocolate powder

----A Postcard from New York Encore published last winter----

I know it has been much too warm to think about hot Chocolate. Regardless, do not let the weather stand in the way of sampling a bonaza of hot chocolate flavors during the City Bakery month long Annual Hot Chocolate Festival. I'm heading over there right now, for details click here.

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Dear Postcards from New York Reader,

Asks the beaming attendant behind the counter? The choice is a lip biting difficult one.

On bone chilling days like we have had since being teased with 70 degree temperatures a couple of weeks ago, the only possible way to survive until Spring final does arrive is to indulge in a decadent cup or mini mug of City Bakery's delectable hot chocolate. Not too sweet, you will feel its thrilling warmth down to your toes.

Every time I come here I drawl over the mouth watering desserts, but never order one because a little voice warns it would just be too much. This hot chocolate is so filling that after a few sips, you feel as if you've eaten an entire meal.

So rich, so thick, it is prepared in vats like a hearty winter soup. Don't sit at a table and wait to be served. It's a treat for the eyes to stand at the counter where you can watch the velvety textured hot creamy chocolate as it swirls around in the vat. Notice the glass bowl filled with hefty chunks of just made marshmallows; so meaty, you can eat them with a fork.

The rich liquid is first poured into a small pitcher then whipped with an electric whisk before it is poured into...

A mini bowl or demitasse cup, with marshmallows or without, what will it be?

However you take it, don't allow yourself to miss out on this lick your upper lip good experience.

You'll find The City Bakery just off Fifth Avenue at 18th Street.

Jacqueline Cable
For Postcards from New York

Address to remember: The City Bakery, 3 West 18th Street, New York, NY 10011, www.thecitybakery.com/, 212-386-1414.

Directions: MTA from 42nd Street Times Square, N, R or W to 23rd Street. Bus M2, M3, M5.


Photo by Joseph Knight

©Copyright 2007 The Cable Group

A Light Red Lighthouse Part II

View from "under" the George Washington Bridge

----New York for Kids Part 3 continued----

Dear Postcards from New York Reader,

On West 181st Street we found a pedestrian foot bridge over the Henry Hudson Parkway, and we knew we were finally headed in the "right general direction." The experience of being on foot over the highway was a new one for the kids (ages 7 and 5), so we spent some time enjoying the excitement of the fast moving cars below us.

Then moving onward across to Fort Washington Park and the winding path downhill, it was at this point that I knew the children would sleep well that night, a side benefit of physical activity. As we moved south, we looked up to discover interesting views of the bridge through the trees. I found the contrast between the graceful natural lines of the trees and the steel latticework of beams and structural elements of "the big grey bridge" to be a visual treat in and of itself.

The downward path turned again and we were walking under the Parkway, and then, over another small bridge. By now, the children were getting tired, and I had to remind them what an exciting adventure we were on. We were now directly under the George Washington Bridge; we could see all the way across to New Jersey, and the Palisades. They, however, only wanted to know where the Little Red Lighthouse was.

Finally after one last sweeping right turn, there it was; bright red in the sunlight, and smaller than I thought, but just the right size to amaze and delight the children. As I posed them with the lighthouse and the bridge behind them as a souvenir photo of the day, I was approached by a policeman who advised me that due to security concerns it was no longer permissible to photograph the underside of the George Washington Bridge. I felt like Clark Griswold in the movie "Vacation," at the threshold of a great achievement but unable to enter Wally World.

Instead of kidnapping the policeman a la Chevy Chase, we settled for a southwestern view that included the police vehicle, and started the trek back up the hill. The kids were exhausted when we reached the 181st Street side of the foot bridge, so I piled them into the car for the return trip home; saving my other idea - an exciting walk across the George Washington Bridge and back - for another time.

Henry Waxman
For Postcards from New York

Address to Remember: The Little Red Lighthouse, Fort Washington Park, 178th Street and the Henry Hudson Parkway, New York, NY 10033, dial 311 and ask for the Urban Park Ranger. All seven of the Lighthouses along the Hudson River are great fun to explore, click here to learn more about them.

Directions: From Times Square MTA A to 175th Street. Follow directions above to the Lighthouse.

Photo by Henry Waxman

©Copyright 2008 The Cable Group