Midtown East Archives

In Bakery

Ess-A-Bagel: It’s a Bagel in New York

July 16, 2012

Ess-A-Bagel is located in Midtown East in New York. They are best known for their bagels and it was conveniently located less than a black away from my hotel! CanuckGirl went twice and told me it was very awesome and delicious!

You can order bagels at the back of the store, but if you want it prepared, you need to go to the counter on the left.

They have a lot of cream cheese! Imagine a gelato shop but instead of gelato, it’s cream cheese.

Sesame Bagel ($1) was not as fresh as the one I had devoured in montreal. I had the sesame bagel toasted on each side and didn’t add any cream cheese inside. I wanted to taste the bagel itself, which I guess was a mistake. It’s not very great on its own, you really need something to go with this.

I took the bagel back with me as I waited for my flight to Vancouver. As I sat there eating my plain cream cheese-less bagel, I really wish I ordered it with cream cheese or some other type of filling. Departing New York with regret because I wish I could have eaten more.

Address:
831 3rd Ave Ste 1
New York, NY

Website:
http://www.ess-a-bagel.com/

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In Food for Thought

FAO Schwarz: Legendary Toy Company in New York

July 14, 2012

F.A.O Schwarz has been around for 150 years and is the oldest toy store/retailer in the US. At the time, it was the worlds largest toy dealer. Now, it has been acquired by Toys R Us and still making kids smile.

CanuckGirl brought me here and I was so amazed by the size and the amount of toys in this shop. It’s also conveniently located near the Apple store too.

Half of the lower level and the entire 2nd floor contains toys of all sorts! Theres also a big lego area upstairs!!

The other half of the first floor is filled with candy!! FAO Schweetz! They have bulk candy, packaged candy, and basically all candy you can think of. There are a lot of tourists and kids here.

The lollipops are elegantly displayed! Very colorful!

They even have the world’s largest jawbreaker. It’s the size of a baseball and I have no idea how anyone would be able to eat it.

There is a section for big candy. Huge gummy bears, gummy worms, nerds, etc.

One thing that blew my mind was this HUGE Rice Krispies marshmallow square. Thats my hand..and thats the size of it! HUGE! It’s also quite expensive! You could probably buy a few boxes of cereal for that price.

Their selection is quite large and they do have candy from around the world. Since it is very popular and in New York, the prices are very expensive. I bought a few Angry Bird gummies for $3.99 and when I came back home to Vancouver, I found them at London Drugs for half the price. Clearly I felt cheated! Nonetheless, it was still fun running around the store looking at all the stuff they have.

Address:
767 5th Avenue
New York, NY

Website:
http://www.fao.com/

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In Midtown East

The Original Soup Man: No Soup For You in New York

June 24, 2012

If you watched Seinfeld many years ago, you will know about the Soup Nazi. This is the place where the character Soup Nazi is based from. They are known to have some really good soup. They have locations all around North America and are looking into selling their soups at grocery stores off the shelf. This place has definitely expanded.

There are a few rules that Al has in order to be served.

Al’s Rules:

Pick the soup you want
Have your money ready
Move to the extreme left after ordering

Al wasn’t there and the line up was not long, so if you didn’t follow the rules, you would still get soup.

The place has a takeout counter, so there is no place to sit and eat. People usual take it back to their house, office, or eat near the park. They do have a few varieties of soup.

I grabbed my soup to a nearby benched area to enjoy the soup. It’s put into a paper bag.

Small Clam Chowder ($7) was very thick and hearty. There is a good amount of clams and it tasted good. It wasn’t mind-blowing, but it was decent.

You also get some crackers, Lindt chocolate, spoon and napkin with your meal. They are definitely prepared so their customers get everything they need for their meal.

You also get an orange too. It was a bit random, but it was a nice thought. I didn’t eat it since I wanted to save it for later. I left it in my suitcase and well…when I got home it looked super bruised. haha.

Overall, it was a good experience and make for a nice snack. If you aren’t a fan of Seinfeld, you won’t find this place super cool.

Words of Wisdom: