Lara also is founder and editor of Grits in the City
I’d been curious about this one for a while. A friend of mine who lives nearby to Holey Cream summarized it as ”gluttony at its finest”. What they do is to take something not entirely healthy – donuts (hello fried dough!) and allow you to take it even further in the unhealthy direction, slathering it first with your icing of choice and then allowing you to cake on as many toppings as you’d like (Reeses Cups! Oreos! M&Ms! Sprinkles!). Somehow I don’t think they will be adopting that as their slogan tomorrow, but it isn’t far from the truth.
Not enough? Well, have no fear. There’s another option. A sandwich. Oh yes. A DONUT sandwich. For this, they’ll slice that plain donut into two, like a bagel, and plop your ice cream of choice in that donuts mid-section. The whole icing and toppings concept carries through here as well. Options. So many options.
Holey Cream
In theory, this sounded kinda cool. They had a ton of toppings, a large selection of ice cream, and so the combinations were endless. I wasn’t up to tackle the sandwich but decided to customize myself a donut. I went chocolate crazy, going with chocolate icing, Reeses Cups, and chocolate sprinkles.
Taking a bite of my “end product” proved a bit involved, with the Reeses Cups toppling to the sides with each and every bite. Grrrrr. I took my fork and emphatically chiseled away at the donut monstrosity, until I realized, hey. This isn’t actually that good. Sure, I loved the idea of chocolate on top of chocolate on top of, well, chocolate – but the donut was really dry. Pretty gross actually. And proved a filling unnecessary addition to the mix. So I ended up scraping my toppings off and skipping the donut altogether. Now given we did come in at the end of the day, so perhaps the donuts are more fresh in the morning. But should they be that stale by closing time? If you’re going to give them a try, I’d recommend opting early evening at the latest. Sadly, don’t think I’ll be back to pay them another visit.
Holey Cream – 796 9th Ave (between 52/53rd St) – 212.247.8400
Tags:
Desserts,
Donuts,
Grits in the City,
Hell's Kitchen,
Holey Cream,
Ice Cream,
Inexpensive,
lara ruth
This article is from David Tacheny, founder of Performance Athletics, which is located on the Upper West Side.
I recently met a friend for lunch at The Pump, the new “healthy” would-be love child of Chipotle Mexican Grill and Chopped, the make-your-own salad place here in New York. I had heard of this place once or twice, but when I saw a coupon in the paper, I thought, “These guys must be getting popular.” So, I decided to check them out. I cut the coupon and off a friend and I went. We got there just as the lunch rush was starting, which was a good thing. The line was soon nearly out the door. My friend had a grilled turkey “low-carb whole wheat twist” with brown rice, sweet potato, Swiss cheese and romaine lettuce and I had a “Super-charged Plate” with brown rice, sautéed spinach, grilled zucchini, tomato and “spicy bison meat balls.” We also both tried a “healthy” soda, made with dark cane sugar juice, as opposed to high-fructose corn syrup. The total cost of this “reasonably” portioned feast, about $20. Read more »
Tags:
Fitness Buzz,
Fitness NYC,
Proformance Athletics,
Pump Energy Food
“We absolutely loved Cinderella and our three children, aged 7, 3 and 2, sat enraptured throughout. Even their jaded mothers found it funny!”– Vanessa J., Upper West Side
TINKERBELL THEATRE
Book by LYNNEA BENSON
Music & Lyrics by TED ZURKOWSKI
Based on Classic Fairy Tales by
THE BROTHERS GRIMM
HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSON
Enter the wacky world of TINKERBELL THEATRE and experience entertainment you can’t find anywhere else! Featuring sing-along songs by Ted Zurkowski and playful puppets by Spica Wobbe, TINKERBELL THEATRE will whisk you and your family off to a secret land of enchantment you’ll want to visit again and again. The West End Theatre (The Church of St. Paul & St. Andrew, 263 West 86th Street, 2nd Fl.)
CINDERELLA (program A)
The story of a young girl dispossessed by her murderous Stepmother and wicked Stepsisters. Will Cinderella’s friendship with two magical birds help her go to the Three Day Ball? Will she get to meet the charming Prince Dreamboat and compare notes with him on Ornithology? Will the King and Queen finally be able to retire to Boca? And what about that slipper?
THE TINDERBOX (program B)
A Pure-hearted Soldier, an enchanted forest, a Wicked Witch, a Beautiful (but lonesome) Princess, three unforgettable Dogs, and a magical Tinderbox bring you whatever your heart desires…with hilarious results!
TINKERBELL THEATRE plays the following schedule through Sunday, May 9:
Saturdays at 10:30 am and Sundays at 11:45 am – Program A
Sundays at 10:30 am and Saturdays at 11:45 am – Program B
All performances are followed by a puppet-making workshop.
Tickets are $10 in advance online and $12 at the door. Available online at www.smarttix.com or by calling (212) 868-4444. Tickets may also be purchased in-person at the theater ½ hour prior to the performance. The West End Theatre (The Church of St. Paul & St. Andrew, 263 West 86th Street, 2nd Fl.)
Running Time: 45 minutes.
Website: www.frogandpeachtheatre.org
Tags:
Children Events,
Children Theater,
Cinderella,
Frog and Peach Theater,
Hans Christian Anderson,
Lynnea Benson,
Smart Tix,
The Brothers Grimm,
The Tinderbox,
Upper West Side
When I woke up on Sunday, I thought it was mid-February: It was cold and rainy, and I burned my tongue trying to down as much tea as fast as possible, just so I could get that warm, fuzzy feeling. Brrr!
But tea just didn’t cut it. So, I hit the kitchen, digging around for something — anything! — that could be warmed in an oven, possibly sweet, and definitely a little fattening, all the fixins for a little nostalgia in my tummy. For me, a box a of cake mix, three sticks of butter, and a can of pie filling can go a long way. My comfort food for the day was a cherry dump cake, just like my mama used to make.
Any other time, I’m all for the mac n’ cheese, the chicken n’ dumplings, and the fried okra (read my bio: I’m a little country!), which is why the way to my heart is my stomach. For Housing Works Bookstore Cafe, the way to my wallet takes a similar route.
It seems for the past year I’ve done nothing but post about all the recession-friendly author events in NYC, but for the first time in a long time, folks, it looks like I’ll be fingering the plastic on PayPal this week. And it’s all Housing Works’ fault.
Feature Chefs
On May 13th, the bookstore will host A Taste of Home: Celebrity Chef Tasting and Benefit at its SoHo store. For $60 they promise two hours of free-flowing wine, beer, and espresso (De-lish combo!) and a full belly of comfort food prepared by the likes of Michael Anthony, Executive Chef of Gramercy Tavern, Elizabeth Karmel, Executive Chef of Hill Country Barbecue, and Alexandra Guarnaschelli, Executive Chef of Butter Restaurant. I can’t resist anything from a place with the word ‘butter’ in its name.
All proceeds go towards Housing Works’ mission to fight AIDS and homelessness. Now, gluttony has a cause.
A Taste of Home Culinary Benefit hosted by Gail Simmons at the Housing Works Bookstore Cafe ( 126 Crosby Street), Thursday, May 13th at 7 p.m. – General tickets are $60. VIP tickets are $100 and include a Q&A with the chefs before the event.
Tags:
AIDS,
comfort food,
dump cake,
homelessness,
Housing Works Bookstore Cafe
Hello Neighborbee! I just returned from a two week stint in Buenos Aires where they are approaching fall, so I am happy to be back here in New York where Spring is in full bloom! Let’s just hope it’s here to stay. The weather man is saying this weekend will be beautiful so here are some things to get you out of your cozy apartment and experiencing the city.
The Tribeca Film Festival is here again. Every year I tell myself I will go and even go through the trouble of securing tickets only to get lazy. This year, I will go especially since they are doing Drive-ins this year! The first drive-in feature is the movie “Big” featuring the younger more dapper, Tom Hanks.
Another event that I have been looking forward to is the Bam free café nights. To kick it off, this Friday, April 23, they are featuring the New Cookers, part of the 11th annual central Brooklyn jazz festival. The happy hour at the café starts at 5pm and the show will start at 9pm.
Last but not least, if you still find this spring weather to chilly, you can hole yourself at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Friday evenings after 5 p.m. Audio Guides are only $5 bucks (usually $7) and you can spend the day admiring the vast halls of this quintessential New York museum.
Tags:
BAM,
MET,
spring,
tribeca film festival
I board the #6 train to the Bronx and get off at the Whitlock Avenue stop. As I walk to my destination, I listen to the busy car traffic and the sounds of people working in garages and businesses in the area. Within minutes, I’m in another world. I’m inside a community treasure: El Maestro.
Some refer to this place as “Juan Laporte’s Boxing Gym,” named after Laporte who was a boxing champion in the early 1980’s. But the gym located at 1029 East 167th Street doesn’t serve only as a gym. It’s also a cultural and educational oasis for those with an interest in Puerto Rican and Latino themes. Read more »
Tags:
Bee Latin,
East Harlem,
El Maestro,
Latino
Hi I’m Ismael Nunez; I’m Latin-American born but raised here in New York City. I will be your Latin-American correspondent.
New York is a city of diversity and quickly becoming the Latino Capitol of the North.
There are Latin American neighborhoods that have talented dance groups, restaurants, poets, cultural institutions, and sporting events taking place. I intend to educate you about these happenings since they are rarely publicized.
Each week, I will cover a new Latin American that’s made an impact on a New York City neighborhood.
I would love to hear from you so feel free to send me an email at t...@neighborbee.com.
Lets work proudly together!
Tags:
Bee Latin,
Ismael Nunez,
Latino Manattan
This article is from David Tacheny, founder of Performance Athletics, which is located on the Upper West Side.
Simply stated, the rock climbing gym at Manhattan Plaza Health Club (482 W.43rd street in Manhattan) is a fun fitness activity gem! I went climbing at MPHC again recently, to see if it would live up to my memory of the standard manager Bill Baer and his team had set during my first visit a few weeks back.
Read more »
Tags:
David Tacheny,
Fitness NYC,
Manhattan Plaza Health Club,
Performance Athletics,
Rock Climbling
Twitter dates are really quite interesting. If this is solely your only means for communication, meaning you have no email address or phone number, you essentially have 140 characters to flirt back and forth and establish some sort of relationship. So when LA-Tweeter sent a tweet saying he would be in New York for work, I immediately thought, why not message him and see if he’d like to get a drink while he was in town! I wish I had more of a story to go along with LA-Tweeter except, I think, it’s fun he’s a reality show casting director for a really trashy program. He was nice, but clearly not my type at all. I am thankful to LA-Tweeter though because he brought my Latin Lover unintentionally back into my life. Read more »
Tags:
Grindr,
LA-Tweeter,
latin lover,
Peppermint,
The Paulinator,
Therapy Bar
Lara also is founder and editor of Grits in the City
Last Thursday, Meg and I tried to visit the Frying Pan over along the Hudson. It was gorgeous outside, and we wanted to eat outdoors as well. When we bumped into a sea of couldn’t-have-been-21-year-old frat boys in pale suit jackets, khakis, and loafers, we found ourselves scrambling to come up with a perfect Plan B. In the middle of desolate West Chelsea, a virtual sea of uninhabited warehouses and the occasional art gallery. We slowly made our way back east, resigning ourselves to having to hike at least to 9th Avenue and who knows where from there, when we literally found ourselves in the doorway to a dimly lit restaurant on West 24th Street. We peeked in and upon seeing this mystery spot was a tapas bar, decided to give it a shot.
Lomo Bocata – El Quinto Pino
I’ve been to other tapas bars throughout the city. While I’ve found many to be acceptable, I also usually find them to have the same quasi-pretentious air about them now with their recent surge in popularity. Having sudied one summer in Madrid, I know it’s possible to have good tapas without all the stuffiness – and El Quinto Pino nailed this on the head. I could almost see myself back in Spain 9 years ago, descending down the stairs to my first true tapas bar. Perfect.Note, there are no true tables here, period. There’s a long bar area and a long common ledge along the left-hand side of the restaurant. Maximum seating cannot be more than 16.
Once your eyes adjust, you’ll see the walls are big chalkboards and the menu is written out on it on each wall, with the drinks falling on the columns located along the bar area. There are no paper menus, so no need to ask, but there are usually specials (you’ll have to ask for those). We ordered a pitcher of sangria (a better deal than ordering individual glasses) and got to squinting through the menu. All dishes are between $3-$15. Read more »
Tags:
Chelsea,
El Quinto Pino,
Grits in the City,
lara ruth,
quaint,
sangria,
Spanish,
Tapas,
West Chelsea
