Sugar Rush in New York City

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These are my favorite desserts in the city and if you are visiting New York I highly recommend carving out some time to go try these out. I try to avoid eating sugar and usually skip dessert when eating out but there are a few, very select desserts I would have a hard time saying no to.

  • Té Company’s Pineapple Linzer Cookie (pictured below). Small but mighty, you will not be able to have only one and the good thing is if you like it you can buy a pack of 6 to bring home. It makes the perfect gift along some of their beautiful Taiwanese oolong teas, and Fred and Elena will always make you feel at home when at their cute shop in the West Village.

  • The vegan dark chocolate ice cream at Van Leeuwen. I usually go to the location at the Seaport as the design of the store is beautiful and on a sunny day there is nothing nicer than ordering an ice cream and sitting outside to look at the Brooklyn Bridge or stroll through the Seaport shops. The pistachio and peanut butter are also insane.

  • Grom’s almond granita. It is only available sometimes but it is worth checking if they have it if passing by a Grom. If they don’t have it, I would suggest going for their dark chocolate gelato, it’s incredible and dairy free as well.

  • Malted dark hot chocolate at Black Fox Coffee. Some of my favorite winter mornings are spent sitting by the window at Black Fox in FiDi with their creamy hot chocolate in hand as I warm up while staring at the beautiful snow gently fall on the streets.

  • The corn-husk meringue at Enrique Olvera’s Cosme. This dessert is so unique you just have to try it. Having dinner at Cosme is also a must but sitting at the bar for a drink and ordering their meringue would also make for a perfect date.

  • Hazelnut chocolate tart at Contra and Wildair. Go for their natural wines but stay for their hazelnut dessert.

  • Chocolate Babka at Bread’s Bakery. There is only one Babka you have to try and it is this one. You might need a group of people to finish it, just maybe.

 
 

Our Wedding Day

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November 30, 2019

Adam and I got married in San José del Cabo in México, where I am originally from. We spent a bit over a year in the planning and went through so many emotions, from intense happiness, to tears, to sleepless nights and stress, and everything in between.

The wedding venue was really special for me; it was held at what used to be the first market and Ford dealership in town owned by my grandfather. It took my aunt (with some of my help) over a year to restore the 150-year old warehouses to turn it into an event space whilst maintaining its original charm. The venue is now called Goncanseco. We refurbished some supermarket counters and used them as the bars, original metal sheets as decoration for the wood-fire comal station, old wood planks for doors, and dirt from the space to make hand-made bricks for the floor. It ended up being a magical place with so much history and meaning.

The religious ceremony took place on the atrium of the historic Parroquia de San José. Nobody has ever done a wedding outside in that space like that so it felt unique, nothing like that natural light and breeze during the ceremony. We had a Catholic wedding but were able to do the Jewish tradition of the breaking of the glass, and half of the readings were read in English which was the way we chose to integrate Adam’s family traditions. The ceremony was followed by a traditional Mexican wedding processional from the church to the venue as the mariachi and mojigangas (big tall puppets made out of papier mâché) guided us, and all of our guests, through the main plaza. 

We wanted a wedding that felt uniquely Mexican, and worked with artisans and creators to select items that complemented the venue. Some of the things we incorporated on our tablescape were hand-carved candles, amber hand-blown glasses, and custom Oaxacan clay plates. We decorated the venue with custom papel picado with bridal motifs and our names on them suspended above the cocktail area; we also created a floating papel picado installation above the dance floor to resemble a fluffy paper cloud. We built a comal station for midnight quesadillas, and a cantina with artisanal Mexican beer and cocktails. To frame the dance floor, we used a mix of rectangular tables with tablecloths along round equipal tables (traditional Mexican furniture); the different shapes and styles gave the space warmth and texture.

Our dear friend Enrique Olvera designed the menu and cooked at our wedding along Daniela Soto-Innes from Cosme, Luis Arellano from Criollo, mixologist Yana Volfson, and the rest of their team. The food was out of this world. As suggested by Enrique, we opted for family style so guests could try as many dishes as possible and to make it more interactive among them. The menu included guacamole, tlayudas, cauliflower al pastor, the most delicious fish, Cosme’s famous corn husk meringue, churros, and midnight quesadillas.

We decided to take dance lessons to learn basic steps for our first dance but our teacher ended up convincing us on learning a simple choreography. It was a struggle, and we were very nervous, but it ended up being so much fun dancing in front of our 300 guests. Definitely one of the highlights of the night. We asked for a special mix of a slow rumba English version of Sway that would then turn into the Spanish version Quien Será, in a faster-paced salsa style. You can listen to the mix below, we loved it!

It was really special for us to have friends from all over the world and different parts of our lives celebrating with us on such a memorable day. Definitely a night to remember!

Special thanks to my mom for making the wedding of my dreams possible.

 
 
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Sushi Yoshitake in New York

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Each time we go to Tokyo together we always make sure to dine at Yoshitake, an 8-seat Michelin 3-star sushi counter situated in an alley among shopping malls and high end fashion stores in Ginza, one of Tokyo’s most famous shopping districts.

On September, Adam surprised me with a “trip” to Tokyo while staying in New York. He didn’t want to tell me where we were having dinner he only gave me 1 hint, he told me it was a pop-up of one of his favorite restaurants, I got it on my second guess.

We arrived at 6 pm at Ippodo Tea on 39th Street, I was tempted to get a matcha but we opted for a beer in the seating area in the back. Above Ippodo tea is Kajitsu, a Japanese restaurant serving vegetarian meals, where Yoshitake was having the 2 night pop-up at their counter.

The food was excellent and the wine pairing was as surprising, this was maybe the second time we’ve gotten a wine pairing with sushi. Yoshitake-san’s daughter told us they had some very special bottles that we had to try, so we decided to do it. We got special pairings but the ones that stuck out the most where the sake, Absolut 0 Junmai Daiginjo, and the dessert wine, a Château d’Yquem.

Yoshitake is opening in New York City, I’m not sure when, but hopefully this 2020. We can’t wait.

Until next time,
D.


Sunday upstate at a 65-year old diner

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The West Taghkanic Diner is an institution. It’s been there for 65 years and was recently bought by Kristopher Schram, a local that moved to Copenhagen to work at several renown places, including Manfred’s and Bæst, until he decided to move back and operate this gem.

Adam and I visited the West Tagkhanic Diner on a Sunday morning in the early fall. Our leisurely 2-hour drive from the city was beautifully lined with colorful trees on each side. We made a reservation the day before to have brunch at 11:00 am (highly recommend making one, especially over the weekends); we left at about 9 am form FiDi and arrived just on time.

As soon as you walk in you are transported back in time. The space looks old except it’s new. The outside is silver with the original neon sign above its doors, it’s interior has red booths along the windows and a long counter with red stools where the dessert display case sits showcasing Kate Snider’s delicious creations. The menu has all (or most) of your diner classics but with a twist and 100 times better. You can even get good specialty coffee from Forty Weight, a roaster from Ithaca, and cool merch to take home with you.

It was our first time at this historic diner and it won’t be our last.

Until next time,
D.