Ben & Jerry's NYC Summer 2010 Truck Tour

I serendipitously found the summer 2010 Ben & Jerry's truck after brunch when I went shopping. I was pleasantly surprised to find a full-sized tractor trailer truck as opposed to a dinkier traditional-sized ice cream truck. Despite being full from brunch, I still managed to swallow a single serving cup of their new Berry Voluntary ice cream. Berry Voluntary is Raspberry Cheesecake Ice Cream with White Chocolate Chunks & Raspberry Swirls. It was summery and fresh, but far from light. The cheesecake ice cream was very rich and the white chocolate just made it richer. Still, it was an imaginative flavor that I was happy to try.

Last Sunday, I found the truck on 58th Street and 5th Avenue.

Locanda Verde's (Perfect?) Brunch

I've done it before, but I can't imagine ever getting enough of Locanda Verde's brunch menu so long as they keep Andrew Carmellini and Karen DeMasco. Especially since there are so many stellar options for sweet tooths like myself!

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes with blueberries and meyer lemon curd. The pancakes were fluffy and light. The lemon curd, made from the sweeter meyer lemons, was such a remarkable topping that I almost forsook the syrup.

Toothsome Blueberry Doughnut - the cake doughnut kissed with just the right amount of fruity blueberry glaze and a slight crunch to the outer layer was as close to a perfect doughnut as I have ever tasted. It was somehow light but still a bit chewy. The glaze added depth and the doughnut was not too sweet. Seasonal and inspired, I'm already craving another one.

 The Cinnamon-Sugar Doughnut was good. There was an excess of sugar; it seemed the doughnut was too heavily rolled in the stuff. But the texture was right; it was still a little crunchy on the outside and moist and soft on the inside. Unfortunately, the mounds of sugar (and probably cinnamon, though I mostly just tasted granulated sugar) overpowered how good the dough seemed to be.

Was I ashamed to have brunched my way through a Sheep's Milk Ricotta and burnt orange toast, an entire order of Lemon Ricotta Pancakes with blueberries only to follow it up with multiple doughnuts? Not really.

377 Greenwich St., NY (212) 925-3797

Fraise Sauvage at Employees Only

The Fraise Sauvage was Plymouth Gin shaken with wild strawberries and Tahitian Vanilla topped with Zardetto Prosecco di Congeliano Brut. The perfect kind of sweet that goes down just right.

Employees Only

510 Hudson St. (212) 242-3021

little cupcake lover

A random cupcake cart on Broadway in Soho. Predictably, the cupcakes were nothing special. I got a strawberry mini. The cake was a little dry, almost stale. The frosting was extremely strawberry-eqsue. The only endorsement I can give these cupcakes is that they were of a ridiculously adorable size.

Jacques Torres 2

Today I received a box of Jacques Torres chocolates in the mail from my wonderful boyfriend. I have Golden Espresso, Fresh Coconut, Caramel Nut Noir, Earl Grey, Ménage a Trois and more of the Love Potion #9 that I loved so much last weekend. The Caramel Nut Noir had not-too-chewy caramel with a crisp hazelnut crunch inside dark chocolate. Stay tuned as I eat the Love Potion #9s and try to guess at the secret ingredients!

66 Water Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201. (212)414-2462

Jacques Torres

From left to right: Chai Tea, LoveBug, Love Potion #9

The Chai Tea had milk chocolate ganache with Indian spiced tea. It had a strange sweetness to it and I was hoping for more cinnamon or allspice or cloves flavor. I didn't care for this one. LoveBug had key lime ganache with white chocolate. I'm not sure that key lime would have worked with dark or milk chocolate. The white chocolate made a lot of sense, even to a girl who is a white-chocolate-non-believer. Love Potion #9 was Jacques Torres' secret recipe of pure dark chocolate ganache. Intriguing...

I want to mention the Hot Chocolate, too. Real hot chocolate has chocolate melted into it, not cocoa powder. Nothing else should be allowed to carry the title. To me, this Hot Chocolate was perfect; rich and creamy and exceptionally thick. Next time, I plan to try the Wicked Hot Chocolate with spices and hot peppers.

285 Amsterdam Avenue, New York, NY. (212) 787-3256‎

Brunch at Locanda Verde

The Sheep's Milk Ricotta with Truffled Honey and Burnt Orange Toast was a revelation. Creamy and rich, the ricotta flavor was offset perfectly by the honey. The citrus notes on the toast added another layer of deliciousness, but I would have dipped my fingers into the cheese if I thought that I could get away with it unnoticed.

Hazelnut-Crusted French Toast with Sicilian Citrus Salad was just as remarkable as the ricotta. If you think you've had french toast, you are wrong. You don't know how delightful french toast can be until you try it at Locanda Verde. There wasn't actually a crust, but a little bit of a crispiness on the outside. French toast can sometimes be dense and soggy, but not so at Locanda Verde. It was moist and delicate, and the citrus salad only made the dish feel lighter. Still, it was unbelievably satisfying and I would call this a perfect breakfast.

377 Greenwich Street, NYC 10013. (212)925-3797.