The End of an Era

Nearly 4 years ago, on June 22, 2010, I started this blog.  I love chocolate, to a pretty unhealthy degree.  I prided myself on being able to keep up to date with every bakery, frozen yogurt joint and dessert spot throughout the 5 boroughs and beyond.  The moment a new place opened, I was there ready to give it a whirl.  I was literally at 16 Handles the day it opened, before self-serve froyo was a thing that even existed.  People used to come to me, and want to know what their dessert options were in the West Village. What  about the Upper West Side.  Was there anything worth trying in Times Square. And I always knew. Enough people joked around that I should blog about it, and so I did just that.  I started this blog as a way to extend the research I was doing, the places I was finding, and giving others the chance to have that experience.

A lot has changed in these past 4 years.  I've developed many health issues, and currently try as hard as I can to follow a paleo diet.  For those of you who don't know, in a nutshell it means clean eating. No packaged foods. No soy. No gluten. No lots of other things.  Fresh, natural, from the earth is the core foundation. What the cavemen used to eat.  I started this diet primarily because over the years I've developed a ton of allergies.  I did Weight Watchers back in 2005.  And while I lost 33 pounds and was the skinniest I'd ever been (and probably ever will be), I started eating a ton of packaged foods.  Anything that was low calorie, fat free, low fat, low carb.  The lessened version of a normal food, and I was in.  I stopped eating meat. I switched to soy.  Ate a lot of processed whole grains.  A couple years into this, I developed a soy and gluten sensitivity.  What did that mean?  If I touch soy, I feel like I'm going to die. If I eat barley, malt, rye, and most forms of wheat, I don't die, but my body hates me and I typically have to go home, sit on the couch and cry.  For years I've dealt with this, until a few months ago it was getting worse and worse and someone mentioned paleo.  I decided to give it a go, and have never felt better in my life.  I've always paid attention to food labels, but now I was reading them in a whole new light.  The fewer ingredients, the better.  If you don't know what the word on the label means, it's probably something you shouldn't be eating.  I subscribe to pretty much every health and wellness newsletter and blog that exists, and every day Caryn and I send each other at least 5 new articles about ingredients we didn't know were bad for us, vitamins we should be taking, and trends we should be following.  This combined with my last job at SHAPE and current job at MapMyFitness make me feel like I've become much more knowledgeable about health and nutrition than about the latest bakery on Bleecker Street.

Tonight Caryn and I went to see the documentary "Fed Up", about the dangers of sugar and childhood obesity, and it was mind-blowing.  I walked out of the Angelika theater feeling like I've spent the last 31 years in a cloud.  Even with all of the information I've been reading, I still didn't know how bad for you half the foods I still eat are.  We grew up in a generation of packaged foods.  We were at the cusp of it.  I spent my Saturday mornings as a child sitting in front of the television watching the Care Bears and the Snorks, sprinkled between commercials for Fruity Pebbles and Double Stuff Oreos.  Sugar is pretty much the devil, and watching this film tonight (thank you Katie Couric and Laurie David) was terrifying but also educational to a new level.  I've been thinking about becoming a source for my friends in the nutrition space, and have officially decided tonight to put my Chocolate's Why I'm Fat blog to bed, and switch to a new, healthier topic.  I want to share with people the things I've been learning every day, instead of sending an article to Caryn or explaining to a friend why I no longer put any sweetener in my coffee.

So this will be my last entry in this blog.  Thanks to everyone who's been a reader over the years, and to those of you who've accompanied me on my journeys and served as a 'guest blogger of the day'. Now instead you can learn how to eat right, and be healthy, and screw sugar.

To be continued elsewhere shortly....

Highland Bakery - Atlanta Edition

Every time I travel out of NY, I try to hit up a local bakery that the locals love.  Atlanta is most famous for being the birthplace of Coca Cola and the Braves.  Now I have to preface this by saying that having never been to Atlanta before, and not renting a car while I was there, my options for a blog review were limited to spots within walking distance of my meetings and hotel.

I came across Highland Bakery, known for their all-day southern brunch (complete with jalapeño cheddar grits!), freshly baked biscuits, and baked goods.  I stopped in to pick up treats for my meeting, and of course a cake pop for myself!

The website highlights the fact that they use chemical-free grains.  Having just completed a 30-day Paleo challenge, I definitely was happy to know that this dessert would be on the safer side.

There were an assortment of muffins, cupcakes, tarts and pies to choose from, but I opted for the cake pops. They had red velvet, rocky road and vanilla.  I got the rocky road and gave the others to my clients, who confirmed that Highland was a good choice and enjoyed their pops!

My cake pop was dense and about double the size of the cake pops I'm used to (i.e. the ones sold at Starbucks).  It was coated in a thick chocolate with a marshmallow on top.  At $2.50 per pop, this was a nice affordable mid-day treat.

There are 5 locations of Highland Bakery throughout Atlanta, in Midtown, the Old Fourth Ward, Buckhead, GA Tech Campus and Emory University.  They all closer at different times but most around 5pm so get there earlier in the day.  I went to the Midtown location at 1180 Peachtree Street, which seemed to be smack in the middle of the city (or at least the places I was going!)

http://highlandbakery.com

Zipadee Do Mah-Ze-Dar - My oh My What a Brownie!

Mah-Ze-Dar can typically be found selling coffee and pastries outside of the High Line Hotel at  Intelligentsia on 10th Avenue and W20th street.  On the day that I ventured over pre-Chelsea Market and West Village brunch, the outdoor area was closed due to rain and cold weather, so inside the hotel I ventured to the coffee bar.  Mah-Ze-Dar makes all sorts of wonderful looking desserts, including coconut bread, chocolate chip cookies, magic dessert bars, croissants, and, what brought me all the way over to 10th Avenue on a rainy day, brownies.

Now when I first walked in and saw the brownie I realized it looked familiar; the 'wichcraft in the office building on 26th & 11th definitely sells the Mah-Ze-Dahr brownies.  I thought I had remembered seeing the name when I was in there, but when I saw these brownies up close they were definitely one and the same, despite the girl behind the counter swearing this was the only place they were sold. Lies!

And here's your dose of chocolate knowledge.  In Urdu, the word mazedar describes the taste essence of food, its flavor and magic that make it delicious.  This one word captures the life of a taste experience, unique to each person but cohesive in its stories. It represents something that one cannot describe but wants to experience over & over again.  Conceived, built and run by lovers and purveyors of food, Mah-Ze-Dahr Bakery transports the curious on a delectable journey of mystery and desire that will elevate the baked good to a piece of comforting decadence that can be experienced every day.  Like the meaning of Mah-Ze-Dahr, the bakery is a culmination of years of traveling the world and experiencing people through their food, decades of culinary and restaurant experience, and the staunch belief that what you eat changes who you are.

Now I will say, this was one of my top brownies.  It was cakey and had giant dark chocolate chunks throughout.  There was a sprinkling of powdered sugar on top, and the edge on the pan side was crisp and delicious.  At $3.50 a piece, between the fantastic taste and large size, this was simply perfect.  Guest blogger of the day Adam and I split it, and we were beyond satisfied.  I would love to go back to try some of their other treats.  I also loved their mission statement relating brownies to travel and experiences, because food is definitely a big part of the travel experience, and to be able to capture a smell, a taste; something that can bring you back to a place....such a great concept.  So if this brownie is what the Middle East is like, count me on the next flight to Agrabah.

Intelligentsia is located outside (or inside in bad weather!) at the High Line Hotel, 180 10th Ave at W 20th street.  Next time you're taking a walk on the High Line, or to Chelsea Market (or at the Wichcraft on 26th & 11th!, fellow Under Armour employees!), or to Artichoke - stop in. Trust me, it's worth it.  Look at Adam's face, he was beyond himself with excitement.  Guest blogger of the day Adam says: "It tasted like a cake! And was sweet but not overpoweringly so."
If you can't make it, you can order them here:
http://mahzedahrbakery.com/shop/

Macaron Parlour - my new East Village dessert go-to

First let me apologize to my readers; I've taken an unnecessary hiatus.  I am going to aim to get back to my once a month review, and I'll probably do two in February to make up for lost time!

Macaron Parlour was written up recently for taking the traditional macaron and incorporating unique flavors into our beloved treats.  There are of course the standard macaron flavors, as well as assorted other baked goods, but after a 3-month long hiatus this was my first stop.

Immediately upon entering the shop we were greeted by brightly multi-colored macarons in every flavor you can imagine.  Some of the more interesting ones include carrot cake, red velvet, earl grey, candied bacon with maple cream cheese, honey and cognac and Cheetos.  Cheetos?! Sold!  Other traditional flavors included dark chocolate, dulce de leche, strawberry and hazelnut.  The women working behind the counter was extremely helpful, and helped us select the best choices to try a little of each of their best items.

A sampling of everything we tried

Let's start with the Goodbit, a bar that was recently featured on Serious Eats (Serious Eats article that got me here).  The Goodbit has a base layer of a moist brownie, a layer of caramel, and a thick solid

piece of peanut butter mixed with white chocolate.  Now I'm not a huge peanut butter fan so I kind of cheated on this one and ate mostly the brownie and caramel part, so luckily my guest blogger of the day Todd was there, who is obsessed with peanut butter and was able to provide a subjective opinion. Todd said, "My range of interest in peanut butter is somewhere between unlimited and....wait. Can't finish comment.  Too good."  So there you have it folks.  Todd Cohen, peanut butter connoisseur gives approval of the Goodbit bar.

I was able to weigh in on the Cheetos macaron.  Now when it comes to traditional macarons, I'm a Lauderee girl through and through.  But I thoroughly enjoyed Macaron Parlour's macarons for being able to create unique and tasty spins on traditional treats.  The Cheetos macaron had Cheetos infused into white chocolate ganache, with a sprinkling of Cheetos powder on top.  It even had that neon orange flavor down pat.  It was a perfect blend of salt from the Frito-Lay snack we all grew up on, with the sweet from the ganache, and we were major fans.  We also tried the Elvis cupcake, which consisted of peanut butter and caramelized bananas.  Again due to my lack of love for peanut butter I was more impartial, but Todd ate it with no complaints so we're going to go with it was enjoyable as well.

We also tried the S'more doughnut, which is apparently what put them on the map, selling this amongst other items down at the Hester Street weekend market.  There was an abundance of soft, mushy marshmallow that oozed out immediately upon cutting into it.  Somewhere in the middle was dark chocolate ganache, surrounded by a yeast doughnut and sprinkled with graham cracker crumbs on top.  I learned this is only available on weekends, so I sure am glad we stumbled in there after Sunday brunch.  We also tried the hazelnut cookie, which I evidently forgot to photograph,  Compared to everything else it wasn't as exciting, but it was a solid cookie.

Sadly I forgot to jot down prices, but upon research I learned the doughnut was $3.  So knowing my total was around $13, I'm going to assume the macarons were $2 each, the Goodbit was $3 and the cookie was $2.  Mas o menos.

Posing next to the macaron display

Macaron Parlour is open Sunday & Monday 11AM-8PM, Tuesday & Wednesday 11AM-10PM, Thursday 11AM-11PM, and Friday & Saturday 11AM-Midnight.

They are located at 111 St. Mark's Place between 1st Avenue and Avenue A.

(212) 387-9169

Macaron Parlour

A second location just opened up on the Upper West side, at 560 Columbus Avenue & W87th street.

Upon reviewing their website I discovered they also have macaron-making classes!  What a fun idea!