I am writing tonight from New York City to let you know that I have crossed two very important Food Must-Try-Before-I-Dies off my list! Although I have spent much of my time here inside working, I managed to sneak out in the evenings to a few special places.

Last night, I waited around the corner at the famed Magnolia Bakery for cupcakes. The snaking line was slow-moving and ripe with anticipation as we patiently plodded forward a foot per minute engulfed in a perfume of fresh baked cake and raw New York. Through the window, you can see greedy hands grabbing self-serve cupcakes and filling their boxes before waiting in another line to settle up.

By the time I got my turn inside, my hoarding mentality fueled by the grabby-paws around me, pushed me to fill my box with four cupcakes. At the counter, I battled a sassy New Yorker for the last piece of Red Velvet cake and finally topped off my purchase with a t-shirt that reads “Cupcakes make people happy.” We headed across the street to park benches and dove in to our bakery boxes.

Those cupcakes were pretty, fluffy, sugary and famous. And, I can’t wait to wear my new t-shirt. As for the cakes being the most delicious ever, well… some things are just worth the experience.

Tonight, I made my pilgrimage to Rice to Riches, a place that sells only rice pudding in a variety flavors with toppings. For years, I have been dying to try this place. I adore rice pudding and I am tickled that one can make enough money to afford NYC rent only selling rice pudding.

I ordered a double flavor dish with Banana Coconut Rice Pudding topped with Pound Cake Croutons and Traditional Rice Pudding topped with Sour Cherries. The flavors were unexpected, the experience was fun and the taste was satisfying. I couldn’t eat it all so I was given a cute snap-on lid and as I write, the remainder is next to me in my hotel ice bucket keeping cool and waiting for breakfast.

Sweet dreams.

This entry was posted on Monday, May 21st, 2007 at 11:08 pm and is filed under Food Experiences. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.