Spending a weekend in the Big Apple with a 10-year-old can be a lot of fun but I quickly realized it wasn't going to be a true foodie experience since her attention spanned ranged from "let's share a pretty cupcake and eat it while we keep power-shopping" to "those hot dogs on the corner look great, Mom, and we can eat them on our way to the show." Sigh. Visions of enjoying leisurely meals together flew out the window, although there was one evening when I managed to convince her that a fancy dinner was in order and I knew I was in the right place when Maddie first commented on how large my glass of red wine was (everything is bigger in NY, thank goodness) and then noted how she couldn't find anything on the menu that appealed to her. We must finally be in an adult-friendly place! Other than that meal, as you'll see from the colourful photos below, our travels revolved around discovering a variety of brightly fluorescent child-appealing tones of different candies, cupcakes and baked goods... all of which begged to be photographed (and then eaten).
Dinner at the American Girl cafe.... Maddie had high-brow Tic-Tac-Toe pizza and I had tilapia (and, of course, the pink cookie, pink cake and chocolate mousse flower pot). The highlight of the experience was having her doll sit right at the table alongside us. Yes, it's a pink cult of femininity and commercialism and we are now official card-carrying members.
Breakfast at Amy's Bread in Hell's Kitchen... such delicious baked goods....
... all washed down with a bowl 'o' molten chocolate topped with a homemade marshmallow to shore up the energy need for the little one to face a totally exhausting and taxing boat ride down the Hudson River that morning for a better look at the skyline of Manhattan.
Luckily for us, a Dean and Deluca was located in the lobby of our hotel. These lovely works of art called to us one afternoon and we
Needed to sample some famous NY street food... Sharing a pretzel on Sunday morning in Central Park on our way to the zoo.
The famous "Sex and the City" cupcakes from Magnolia Bakery. We didn't eat these but just acted like tourists and were obnoxious and took pictures.
Crumbs Bakery had the best selection of different varieties of cupcakes that we found during our visit... from Caramel Apple to S'Mores to Tiramisu to Oreo to Irish Cream to Red Velvet... Fortunately (or unfortunately), the calorie content is listed right next to the price for all to see (and then to cringe). Irony: the healthy-sounding carrot and oatmeal cupcakes each had the highest number of calories. So we wisely chose to share the more virtuous Cookie Dough version.
For our last meal on the way to the airport, we stopped for a fancy-pants tea-for-two service. Exquisite tiny bite-sized sandwiches with scones, Devon cream, lemon curd and jam, followed by tiny petit-fours. They also offered a kid-friendly Eloise tea service, which included more recognizable favourites like tiny grilled-cheese fingers and PB&J soldiers, followed with mini cupcakes and a dipped strawberry with sprinkles.
Enjoying a Rice Krispie square dipped into a chocolate fountain at Dylan's Candy Bar on 63rd Street. I won't even mention that this act of nutrition happened before lunchtime.
Breakfast at Amy's Bread in Hell's Kitchen... such delicious baked goods....
... all washed down with a bowl 'o' molten chocolate topped with a homemade marshmallow to shore up the energy need for the little one to face a totally exhausting and taxing boat ride down the Hudson River that morning for a better look at the skyline of Manhattan.
Luckily for us, a Dean and Deluca was located in the lobby of our hotel. These lovely works of art called to us one afternoon and we
shared the green beauty in the middle of this pic.
Needed to sample some famous NY street food... Sharing a pretzel on Sunday morning in Central Park on our way to the zoo.
The famous "Sex and the City" cupcakes from Magnolia Bakery. We didn't eat these but just acted like tourists and were obnoxious and took pictures.
Crumbs Bakery had the best selection of different varieties of cupcakes that we found during our visit... from Caramel Apple to S'Mores to Tiramisu to Oreo to Irish Cream to Red Velvet... Fortunately (or unfortunately), the calorie content is listed right next to the price for all to see (and then to cringe). Irony: the healthy-sounding carrot and oatmeal cupcakes each had the highest number of calories. So we wisely chose to share the more virtuous Cookie Dough version.
For our last meal on the way to the airport, we stopped for a fancy-pants tea-for-two service. Exquisite tiny bite-sized sandwiches with scones, Devon cream, lemon curd and jam, followed by tiny petit-fours. They also offered a kid-friendly Eloise tea service, which included more recognizable favourites like tiny grilled-cheese fingers and PB&J soldiers, followed with mini cupcakes and a dipped strawberry with sprinkles.
Looks like an amazing (and delicious) time, Dianne!
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