From Harlem to Soho – A Delicious Experience

Have you ever walked 7 miles in New York City – nonstop? Well I did, along with a girlfriend who was visiting me in DC from Chicago. She had never been to the Big Apple, so I thought what a great time to hop the train for an all day tour. If you live in the DC area and want to do a day trip to NYC, I highly suggest and warn at the same time, to take the 6:20 a.m. train and come back on the 9 p.m. or 10 p.m. train. Why do I warn you, you may ask? Well the fatigue you will feel around 3 or 4 p.m. may cause you to act crazy and disheveled. But be strong and keep pushing on, there’s still Tribeca, the Financial District and Bloomies to see!

We started our day at this cute little French cafe on West 21st, but of course I can’t remember the name. Oh, but it had great open windows and yummy waffles accompanied by a mimosa.  This was a great way to begin Saturday morning in the city.

If you are looking for good Jamaican food, the Golden Krust in Harlem is THE PLACE! My girlfriend saw it featured on the Food Network and we had to do the taste test. I have to say I really felt like I was walking into a restaurant in Negril or Mo’Bay. From the decorum to the reggae rhythms in the background, it felt like Jamaica. Oh and the patties? YUM! I can only imagine how the jerk chicken tastes. 

Hopping on the 1 train, we headed downtown to Soho for the trendy stores like H&M and Chanel, and some of the boutique stores like Wink. However, it was all about the food on this trip. We did more eating, than shopping. We happened upon some great places, like the Van Leeuwen Ice Cream truck owned by brothers Ben and Pete. This ice cream puts Coldstone Creamery and Maggie Moos to shame. Coming from me, that’s huge! Flavors like Pistachio and Hazelnut, make it hard to walk pass this creamy yellow truck with paintings of herbs depicting the flavors. It is really inviting. Then Pete tempts you with samples and its all over! I kept it simple and had a scoop of chocolate on a cone. I have NEVER had chocolate ice cream this good. Is it possible to actually taste the cocoa beans? At that point, I tried to convince Pete to drive his truck and park it in DC. I think he’s considering it.

As if that wasn’t enough, we found the famous Vosges Haut Chocolat, which is known for their extremely unique truffles made with spices like curry. With stores only in Chicago and NYC, Vosges is cute and bright with rows and rows of delicate truffles. We settled on Wink of the Rabbit (caramel), Ambrosia, and Viola. Delicious! I failed to mention that my girlfriend is a pastry chef, so it was no surprise that our trip ended up being all about the sweets!

The last stop on this delicious trip was a walk into Candyland, Dylan’s Candy Bar that is, on 3rd Ave in Manhattan. This fantasy world/candy shop is for every child, both young and old, who ever dreamed of lollipops and gum drops dancing over their heads. Owned by Dylan Lauren, daughter of Ralph Lauren, the store captures the essence of childhood with candy ranging from sweet tarts to PEZ. I think I even saw giant pixie sticks in every striped color!!! I truly felt like a game piece from the board of Candyland as I moved from one corner of the store to the next.

There is sooooo much to do in New York, that you can’t do it all in one day, let alone describe it in one post. My apologies if this post got too long for you, but when you are traveling I figure you want to know as much as you can about a specific restaurant or hot spot in that place to help you make your own informed decision about going there. Til next time, happy and safe travels.