new york city Archives | Jessica's Dinner Party

Please welcome guest writer Michelle who is a fellow foodie, phenomenal writer, and my one and only sister. She is JDP’s special correspondent to the New York food scene!

New York is a gastronomical hub of deliciousness mixed with obnoxiously trendy restaurants serving mediocre food. A challenge of mine this year is not to pigeon-hole myself by visiting the same familiar eateries I know, and instead, to seek out hidden, or in this case, not-so-hidden gems.

Doughnut Plant is somewhat of a celebrity with glowing reviews by self-proclaimed doughnut fanatics on Yelp. Plus, it was not only “challenged” by Bobby Flay on Throwdown, but Doughnut Plant won. So, this past weekend, I trekked down to the Lower East Side to check out this local favorite.

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I walked out of the subway on the Upper West Side and knew instantly that I was in the right place. The smell of baked chocolate and browned butter greeted me as I stepped out into the sunlight. It may have been my imagination and the anticipation of eating Levain Bakery’s famous chocolate chip cookies, but I lie not when I say I followed my nose to the small, almost hidden gem of a bakery. Actually, it wasn’t quite a direct journey. My sense of smell may be good, but my eyes sometimes fail me. I walked deliriously up and down Amsterdam Avenue trying to locate the semi-sub level bakery. I finally caved, and asked the fruit cart man who told me it was around the corner below the waxing salon. Hey! It wasn’t just me though, even my friend confidently strode past it and continued almost half a block before I finally caught up with her as I hopelessly (and obnoxiously) yelled, “Angela! Angela!” to a girl who had her headphones on. Levain is a very humble place. It’s not fancy, cutesy, or filled with shades of pastel. Here, it’s all about the tastes and smells.

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new york city

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