Tis the season for tons of tourists to descend upon the city to find their fill of holiday cheer, and though we only reside a stone’s throw away, I recommend joining them at least once. Now you may be thinking to yourself that this introduction does not sound like the other cuisine corners, and you would be correct. For my final review of the semester I decided to stir up a bit of holiday excitement.
Of course I couldn’t not involve food, so I decided to eat my way through the Union Square holiday shops. For those of my lovely readers who have no knowledge of Union Square’s holiday bazaar, think Bryant Park minus the ice skating and with (slightly) smaller crowds. For those of you who have no knowledge of Union Square in general, just hop on the PATH towards 33rd, get off at 14th St., and walk three or so blocks to your right when exiting the PATH station.
There’s nothing more beautiful than the city in the morning, so I set out to the shops in hopes of finding a tasty brunch, in addition to some Christmas presents at the cute little shops.
My first stop–the Doughnuttery. Based in Chelsea Market (a haven for foodie tourists), the Doughnuttery focuses on boldly unique flavor delivered in a tiny package. After searching through the list of seasonal flavors such as mistletoe, mulled apple cider, and house of cardamom, we decided to go with the bam berry flavoring. Our mini doughnuts came hot out of the fryer and were sprinkled with a powdered mix of blueberry, acai, and maqui made from seasonal local produce and flowers. The doughnuts (6 for $6) tasted like tiny puffs of berry-flavored air. Not the best I’ve ever had as I prefer a doughy doughnut but certainly the most uniquely flavored. A cup of hot apple cider ($3) hit the spot and warmed the hands.
Next up–Waffles and Dinges. Primarily operating out of food trucks, this New York staple features traditional Belgian waffles with nontraditional toppings–many of which include Spekuloos cookie butter spread. We opted for the Elvis waffle ($11) complete with peanut butter, sliced bananas, honey, and bacon. The waffle was crisply caramelized on the outside while still being light and cakey on the inside. Disappointingly, the bacon was not warm and more like bacon bits, but with the flavor combination of this waffle, it’s no wonder Elvis gained so much weight in his later years.
Nearly stuffed, and realizing this food was less brunch and more dessert, we decided to top it off with a slice of Milk Bar’s crack pie ($5.50). Another New York staple, Milk Bar puts a fun and exciting spin on dessert with choices like cereal milk ice cream, compost cookies, and of course their famous crack pie. This one slice of pie must be more than a day’s caloric intake, but no one could think about that as the densely creamy butter cake crossed with a chess pie hits the taste buds. Aptly named, this pie is quite addictive.
After indulging my tourist-side, I enjoyed walking to the other side of Union Square through the more spacious weekly farmers market where I subsequently realized that the baked goods and cider looked much fresher and less expensive. Turns out sometimes you just have to explore a little bit harder to find the true holiday magic.
