Chinatown Ice Cream Factory – New York

Chinatown Ice Cream Factory StorefrontChinatown Ice Cream Factory
Neighborhood: Chinatown
65 Bayard St
(between Elizabeth St & Mott St)
New York, NY 10013

Rated: ♣♣♣♣♣

It was about 30 degrees out in New York City, but that didn’t stop me from trying the famous ice cream at Chinatown Ice Cream Factory.

The scene:

Chinatown Ice Cream Factory is a tiny storefront in the heart of Chinatown. They had the most unusual flavors on the menu. Ginger. Wasabi. Pumpkin Pie. Zen Butter (peanut butter with toasted sesame seeds).

The food:

We ordered the Almond Cookie ice cream and Black Sesame ice cream. They charge a whopping $3.75 per scoop.

Almond Cookie ice cream – MMmm. So good! Probably one of the better ice creams I’ve ever tried. It’s so different and it really did taste like an almond cookie.

Black Sesame ice cream – This is the best black sesame ice cream I’ve ever tried. It’s creamy, nutty, and not too sweet.

Can’t wait for my next trip to try the pumpkin pie flavor!

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Veniero's Pastry Shop – New York

Veniero'sVeniero’s Pastry Shop
Neighborhood: East Village
342 East 11th Street
(between 1st Ave & 2nd Ave)
New York, NY 10003

Rated: ♣♣♣♣♣

If you want the old school Italian mobster experience on your trip to New York, go to Veniero’s Pastry Shop. I have not tried many cannoli’s in NYC, but I’ve been told Veniero’s has the best. And, I definitely can’t argue.

The scene:

Veniero’s is a cute Italian pastry shop in East Village. A friend of mine from New York recommended this place to me and called it her “high school hangout.” Man, when I was in high school, I used to hang out at the mall – no where near as sophisticated as a cannoli shop. Anyway, we picked out which cannoli’s we wanted and they sat us towards the back of the restaurant.

Mid-cannoli, I marvelled at the painting next to me and realized it was a secret door! So cool! I wonder what kind of illegal shenanigans happened behind that door back in the 40s or 50s. On our side of the door, I witnessed some illegal DVD trading between customers at the table next to me.

The food:

We ordered 2 cannolis – one vanilla, one chocolate (each about $3) – with two big cups of hot coffee. Being my first real cannoli, it set the bar high for future cannolis to come. The shell was thick and crispy. The cream was smooth and rich. Chocolate was definately my favorite. The shell was dipped in a heavenly dark chocolate and filled with chocolate cream topped with mini chocolate chips.

I can’t wait for my next trip to NY later this month to get me more cannolis!

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[How To] Plan Events From A Different City – Part 2

Campbell Apartment

Campbell Apartment, Grand Central Station, NYC

This post is dedicated to “picking a venue.”

Research. Research. Research. Picking a venue can be the most difficult stage in event planning when you’re not from the area. You’re not there to check out the venue in person, you have no control of what goes on at the venue and you don’t get the opportunity for tastings before you select the space. I’m not from New York, so I have no idea what’s hot and what’s not. So, I relied on Yelp, ChowHound and NYMag.com to make my decision. My requirements are as follows:

  • A room capacity of 50 people (any bigger, the space would look too big for the party)
  • Availability to provide food and drinks for 2-3 hours
  • Semi-private area
  • A waived room rental fee
  • An easily-accessible location for attendees coming in from other cities in the Tri-state area

After several days of research, I narrowed my results to the Campbell Apartment, Métrazur, Gramercy Park Hotel, Hotel On Rivington, Bar48 and The Modern. The estimated proposals, which includes hors d’oeuvres, a premium bar, service, tax and gratuity, for the venues mentioned ranged anywhere from $4,500 to $15,000. Needless to say, I nixed the $15,000 venue.

Right now, I’m leaning towards the Campbell Apartment for its upscale New York vibe and for its brand name. It’s also in prime location. Located right in Grand Central Station, out-of-towners will have no excuse to miss this party! I am current with my pop culture, and I happened to have realized immediately this location was in a scene from Gossip Girl. For fans of GG, this is the bar where Serena and Nate hooked up in the pilot episode.

Related Posts:
[How To] Plan Events From A Different City – Part 1

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[How To] Plan Events From A Different City – Part 1

Cocktail

Photo courtesy of mediabistro.com.

For some time now, I’ve been planing cocktail events across the country for my company, and I thought it’d be neat if I shared my experiences on planning a successful party in another city. I’ve got 6 events lined up this year-4 in NYC, 1 in Chicago, 1 in San Francisco.

Learn more after the jump.

Read the rest of this entry »

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Look Ma, No Pants!

I love the creative minds and free spirits that are a part of the Improv Everywhere.  On January 10, 2010, Improv Everywhere will be sending tons of pants-less strangers into the Subways all over the world to cause chaos.  If you want to join up with the main Improv Anywhere group in New York, you can join here on the Improv Everywhere and here on Facebook.  Also, they are encouraging people in other cities to do the same here.

Here are the details for the next event:

When: Sunday, January 10 at 3:00 PM, Sharp! (Over by around 5:30)
Where: Six meeting points spread out all over New York City. Details below.
Bring: A backpack and a metro card.
Wear: Normal winter clothes (hat, gloves, etc)

Check out the videos after the jump!

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