Simple Dining in New York - Hamburgers, Hotdogs, Cupcakes, Chocolates, and More

Littleviews has discontinued its New York Simple Dining column as of February, 2008.

Below is past information. Future articles on chocolate, gourmet stores, cupcakes, and bakeries will be listed elsewhere.

We're sorry for the inconvenience!


>>  While New York is home to famous (and expensive) gourmet restaurants, it's easy to find equally tastey and affordable munchies for under $20. Best, a well-spent $5 will have you talking for days about your fabulous New York eating experiences.

If you adore snacks, revel in burgers, smack your lips over quality chocolate, know a thing or two about French fries, are curious as to whether cupcake frosting is butter-cream or cream-cheese, AND have been exposed to French, Italian, and other ethnic bakeries, you'll enjoy checking out our suggestions.

For past food tips, check our Food Index.

Questions? Ask away . . .
Karen Little
May 9, 2008

Chocolate and Candy Shops in New York City - NYC DECEMBER 9, 2007: The following list highlights delicious, often fun, and most certainly unique chocolate shops in New York City. A few are followed by my comments. Throughout 2008, I'll have something to say about every one! + Chocolats Debauve & Gallais - Paris + Christopher Norman Chocolates + Dylan's Candy Bar: Founded by New Yorker, Dylan Lauren (daughter of Ralph). Excellent, high-quality chocolate, plus floors of "just plain fun to see and taste" candy. Near Bloomingdale's. + Evelyn's Hand Dipped Chocolates: + Fauchon - Paris: This famous French company is particularly known for candied fruit. + Godiva Chocolatier: Beautiful stores. Many locations throughout the USA and Canada. If you only have a short time in New York and you can find Godiva in your home town, you might want to first try other shops mentioned here. + Jacques Torres Chocolate: Jocques Torres is a very friendly French Chef who settled in NYC some 20 years ago. I particularly love his Hudson Street location which is a full "chocolate factory." All three locations, however, are great. + Kee's Chocolate: Delicious, unique truffles. Tiny, owner-operated shop. Excellent tastes! Reasonable prices. + La Maison du Chocolate + Leonidas - Fresh Belgian Chocolate + Li-Lac Chocolates (since 1923) + MarieBelle - New York: Beautiful painted chocolates and a fabulous cacao bar on Broome Street. Sophisticated-yet-fun. + Martine's Chocolates: Visit their chocolate kitchen at Bloomingdale's on the 6th floor. They also have a new location at 400 E 82nd Street. + Max Brenner - Chocolate by the Bald Man: This is an everything-chocolate kind of place, plus breakfasts, lunches, and dinners. So far, their flag-ship restaurant near Union Square is the place to visit. + Michel Cluizel Chocolat - Paris (at ABC Carpet & Home): ABC Carpet & Home is simply fabulous, and so is this chocolate company. Buy a few, then have them with coffee at an attached Le Pain Quotidien. + Papabubble - Artisan Hard Candy: (no website yet) at 389 Broom Street, near Mulberry. Phone: 212 966-2599. I just heard about this brand-new shop. According to the pictures I've seen, their hand-pulled hard candy looks fab! + Payard: Totally French, delicious everything, and beautiful. During summer, order bakery and candy carry-outs, then eat them in nearby Central Park. + Pierre Marcolini Chocolatier + Richart - Paris: This French shop looks like it is run by bankers! + Roni-Sue Chocolates + Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker + Teuscher Chocolates of Switzerland + Varsano's Chocolates + Voges Haut-Chocolat + Whole Foods Market: Gourmet food of all types and their own line of beautiful chocolates. USA - Contemporary Candy: + Hershey's Times Square: Fun! + M&Ms Times Square: (the website's link to M&M's World NY does not work). Located across the street from Hershey's Times Square at 48th and Broadway, this is a must-see store. Totally over-the-top! Fun! Gourmet Stores: + Chelsea Market Baskets: Chelsea Market itself is a great place to visit. There you'll find many gourmet treats, plus this interesting gift store. + Dean & Deluca: This is a very famous gourmet grocery store and deli. It has a beautiful candy department. Chocolate Eating Tips: Also see Littleviews Chocolate Tips

Sample Le Pain Quotidien's Noisella (Chocolate) in New York NOVEMBER 28, 2007: While visiting Paris in 2006, my travel companions immediately stopped in front of a quaint-looking, Le Pain Quotidien coffee shop and announced "Now THIS is Paris!" I responded, "And it's also New York!" I discovered this wonderful Belgian coffee shop years ago when there was only one in town. As of this writing, there are now 15! They are especially known for their huge loaves of breads, fresh bakery, jams, and long, communal tables. Even if you are on a budget, I highly recommend stopping in for their absolutely delicious Organic Baker's Basket ($7.25, served until 2PM), or baguette snack ($3.25), both of which include incredible jam and Noisella. (Note: If they don't include Noisella, ask for it.) Noisella is an irresistible chocolate and hazelnut spread. If you can't get enough of it while there, you can purchase a 14 ounce jar for only $8.50. Double your pleasure, and purchase their jam, too. Noisella and jam sandwiches absolutely rule over peanutbutter and jelly! Pinch-Penny Tip: Noisella tastes as good on dry bread as it does on fresh. If you love fresh bread, but can never finish a loaf, slice the remainder and let it air-dry over night. When crispy, break up the slices and store in an air-tight container. Now, whenever you have the urge for a stack, slather a piece of air-dried bread with Noisella for a quick, rich (and inexpensive) treat. For New York City locations, check www.PainQuotidien.com.

Delicious, Diverse Dining at Whole Foods Market on the Bowery OCTOBER 6, 2007: Add a grocery store to your list of wonderful places to eat in New York City - Whole Foods Market on the Bowery. All of New York's spectacular Whole Foods Markets, of course, are filled with a wide variety of fresh and prepared foods and all provide a place in which to dine, but their spacious Bowery location is an especially appealing destination because it is not overcrowded and, well, its food is excellent. For approximately $8 a pound, you can buy individual portions of fresh, gourmet foods, plus made-to-order cold or hot sandwiches, and gourmet pizzas, to name just a few things! Do you like beer? Whole Food Market on the Bowery's Beer Room pours New York State brands, which are among 200 beers from around the globe. Like a lot of fresh beer? Then fill up a reusable, half-gallon, glass container, called a growler, for quantity and outstanding flavor. Do you like cheese or want to find out more about it? The Bowery location features the only Whole Foods Market in the nation with a French-style Fromagerie. This is a climate-controlled room that allows cheese to sit out without wrappers. Because of careful environmental preparation, all of the fromagier's cheeses look, smell, and taste wonderful. Best, you can buy numerous small samples to taste before deciding on a larger purchase. No matter what food, beverage, or beer you buy, all can be consumed in its huge-but-friendly, window-wrapped cafeteria (the photo shows a street-view of its second-floor dining area). If you'd prefer to purchase whole meals, rather than portions, you can order directly from a number of small, inviting restaurants situated within the cafeteria. If you have a tight budget, but a lavish appetite, you can certainly stretch your change here. If you have a sense of wonder and love sampling foods (cheese, new dishes, and old standards) that cannot be satiated via limited restaurant menus, this is the place to dine. Note that while in the store, you can also shop for New York and East Coast food products, a wide-range of creams, soaps, and cosmetics (supported by generous testers), candles, children's products, natural-fiber clothing, cookbooks, meditation books, and exercise-related products. In all, it's a great place to browse for gifts. Whole Foods Market on the Bowery, corner of Houston and the Bowery, New York. To see an expanded Littleviews' article on this recommendation, go to Delicious, Diverse Dining at Whole Foods Market on the Bowery in New York City.

Cupcake Cafe on 9th Avenue and 39th Street in New York City AUGUST 12, 2007: The Cupcake Cafe closed its original bakery on 9th Avenue in New York a few years ago, only to reappear in two new locations, one being right back on Ninth Avenue. These new locations include a trendy spot in Books of Wonder on fashion-smart West 18th Street, between 5th and 6th Avenues, and a highly unusual cafe on 9th Avenue at 39th Street. The 9th Avenue location features one of the city's best cappuccino and espresso bars, a surprising addition to a cupcake emporium. Located across the street from the NY NJ Port Authority, the cafe is a "must stop" destination before a long trip. It's an even a better stop for a relaxing, pre-theater snack as it is not that far from Broadway. In addition to seriously brewed coffee, the cafe is artfully decorated as a depression-era (1930s) hideaway by combining beat-up, antique furniture with state-of-the-art cooking, brewing, and refrigeration equipment. Hidden inside of its antique refrigerators, for example, are new units, but you'd never know it. Old coffee grinders abound (one is stuffed with a basketball), but all coffee is prepared and brewed using premium, Italian systems. Delicious! The Cupcake Cafe has three dining areas, all shabby chic, with the center area overlooking a huge, 1930s bakery case that's now refrigerated. Jazz and other period music wafts through the atmosphere, making you feel like you've stepped into an old film as a down-on-your-heels detective, a cocky, cub newspaper reporter, or maybe a chorus-line hoofer spending her last dime. All that is missing are customers taking long, lazy drags, 1940s-movie-style, off non-filtered cigarettes. Everything about the cafe is entertaining and in good, old-fashioned taste. Did I mention their cupcakes? Their small and large cupcakes are served cold to preserve the frosting. All are topped with delicate, butter cream frosting, festooned with pretty flowers. The cake itself is well-paired with strong coffee as it is not sweet and it doesn't crumble. The Cupcake Cafe is a must-see-and-experience place, with fabulous cappuccino at around $3.50 and small cupcakes at $2.50. If you stop by on a sunny weekend, make a point of strolling one block over to The Hells Kitchen Flea Market. See the full article with pictures of the interior by clicking here.