2020 NYC Foodie Gift Guide

This is not a sponsored post 

I know so many of you are total foodies, and I just love the idea of sending friends and family food gifts especially from NYC! I really love giving gifts, I like to really surprise people with unique items. I really feel with the internet, there is no reason for a boring gift. It shouldn't exist! Here are some items for the foodie friend or family member that will make them very happy Christmas morning. All of these places SHIP their items, so in this year of COVID, it is very easy to send someone a fabulous gift right to their front door! 

Our friends at L.A. Burdick have the most amazing chocolates, including these mice! For the chocolate lover, they will be thrilled to receive any gift from this shop. They ship from their website, along with some chocolate penguins and snowmen! A very unique gift! 

Eataly is the Italian dream for the foodie lover. Even if you cannot get there in person, they offer gift baskets online. Another fun idea is to purchase one of the cooking classes for someone as a surprise. The big thing lately is not purchasing "things" but "memories" and that would be something very memorable. Eataly does have an online shop which I have purchased from and is very easy to enjoy authentic Italian foods! 

Veniero's is a fantastic Italian bakery which is in business since 1894. I was lucky enough to visit a few times and their cannoli is some of the BEST I ever enjoyed. They sell quite a few items online and in 2011 I ordered one of my Mom's favorite, Struffoli, which is fried dough covered in honey. My Grandmother used to make it, but my Mom never attempted but loved it. I also got a box of their rainbow cookies which were just so darn good! Wonderful way to support a small business and have tasty items delivered to your door or friends/family! 

My favorite, New York Gourmet Coffee, which has every flavor of coffee available in Decaf. It is so hard to find lots of flavored coffee in Decaf, and these folks do it right! They do have non-flavored coffee and flavored regular coffee available. Josh, the owner, is the nicest guy and I am always happy to recommend his coffee to everyone! This is the only coffee I drink! 

Our friends at Fat Witch Bakery ship most of their items from their website. Their brownies are like fudge, what a great gift for your friends and family! Gift boxes and gift tins (which are great keepsakes) are available,  logo mugs are fun and you can even send a Fat Witch cookbook! The brownies also freeze very well if you purchase in advance of Christmas to serve on the holiday. 

Fishs Eddy is a most excellent and fun shop! Whimsical designs, vintage pattern kitchenware at very affordable prices. Very unique gift ideas, great for the hard to buy person, and will give them a good laugh as well! I prefer purchasing online so I don't have to carry the items all through the city. This is one of the small businesses that has been really hurting with no tourists in the city. A wonderful way to support them and give totally fantastic gifts to your loved ones! 

Jacques Torres is known as Mr. Chocolate for a reason! His chocolates make a fantastic holiday gift. The hot chocolate and wicked hot chocolate are most memorable drinking by the fireplace on a winter night. The chocolate chip cookies are to die for as well as the mudslide for the chocolate lovers. My favorites are the chocolate covered cornflakes and cheerios. They make such a unique gift for folks young and old! There is a wonderful selection online for shopping safely. 

Baked by Melissa is just a really fun, fun gift for anyone! They make fantastic mini cupcakes, muffins and french macarons! They offer shipping on their website, and whomever receives these will be very happy, and will probably not want to share! My faves are the cupcakes and macarons, but the muffins are tasty too! 

Afternoon Tea is a wonderful experience especially in New York City. You can give your family or friend a gift card to take them to Afternoon Tea! This falls into the "experiences" part of a gift, which I feel are so much better than "things" because it is a memory they will have forever! I cherish the monthly teas my Mom and I attended as they bring back such happy memories. You can check out my top 10 Afternoon Teas in the city to make your choice. The Plaza and The Peninsula are my two absolute top favorites! In this year of COVID, you can provide a gift certificate for folks to use when it is safe to do Afternoon Tea in person. 

Momofuku Milk Bar birthday cake truffles are one heck of an experience. These make a fabulous gift, and you can have them shipped direct from their website. The assorted cookie tin is a good pick as well, and for the chocolate lover they have chocolate malt cake balls. Goldbelly has many items from New York City available for shipping to make a food lover so happy on Christmas Day! 

This is for sure not going to be like any other holiday season we have celebrated. But we need to enjoy as best we can and with a special food gift to family and friends, or yourself, it gives us something to smile about. I hope I have given you some ideas you may not have thought about for the upcoming holiday season. If you have any questions about shopping in the city for your favorite foodie or gourmet, feel free to send me an email. I will gladly help out any way I can. 

Please stay safe, wear a mask and social distance when you need to. We will get through this year stronger than we ever were before. 

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Sprinkles Cupcakes in NYC

If you did not know, cupcakes are still a pretty big deal in New York City. I personally love them. They are such a great little treat, you can have 2 different flavors to try with a friend and they make people happy! Sprinkles originally started in Beverly Hills, California by Candace Nelson. Candace is also a judge on the Food Network show, Cupcake Wars. I was very eager to check them out indeed.  

Since I am a HUGE fan of color, loved the decor of the place very much. There are small tables at this location, near Bloomingdales, to sit and enjoy your cuppies. Shopping and enjoying cupcakes are two of my favorite pastimes! 

Very clean design and makes you happy when you walk in.  

I love original flavors and the Chai Latte is one of them but I have yet to try that flavor.  

These looked pretty good, You can always tell Sprinkles from other cupcakes as they have the famous "dot" on the center of most of their cakes. I suggest not to eat the "dot" as not very tasty.  

New York Yankee cupcakes. Nothing more I need to say here.  

The Mets are also here with their own cupcake in chocolate flavor. Nice touch to add the New York Teams to the selection.  

Another New York City special, a black & white, for the famous cookie. They look pretty as well.  

Okay so I tried the Red Velvet. First I have to say, being for the environment, everything is presented to you environmentally safe. I just cannot eat with a wooden fork! It was quite terrible, I have to say, and therefore needed to eat this with my hands, somewhat messy of a time. It was pretty good. I didn't feel it was really too special, good moist cake, removed the "dot" and icing just right. 

Their flavor selection is based on each day. So you may not be able to get your favorite depending on the day you visit. I am not too thrilled with that idea, to be honest. The Chai Latte is only offered 1 day a week which makes it hard to finally try one.  

I brought a few home to get a second taste. Lemon, Banana Chocolate and Chocolate Marshmallow. The lemon could have tasted with more lemon, the banana chocolate was the best of these three, the chocolate marshmallow was not tasty at all.  

Loving that colorful window! I have to say, these are not my favorite with all the selections in New York City. I would never tell anyone not to try them however as you may feel different. They have a huge following in California and also sell mixes in Williams Sonoma. I do want to try the Chai Latte, just to see how it is, but if that wasn't available, I think I would just make my way to the door. 

Sprinkles Cupcakes New York - Upper East Side

Located in Midtown East, our iconic Manhattan bakery features its own Walk of Fame and a façade adorned with Sprinkles trademark modern dots. Conveniently situated a few blocks from Central Park and surrounded by department stores and skyscrapers, on-the-go New Yorkers can get their sugar fix in a hurry!

780 lexington avenue
new york, new york 10065

between 60th & 61st streets
near bloomingdale's
4, 5, 6, N, Q, R subway lines to 59th street

monday - thursday 9 - 10   friday - saturday 9 - 11   sunday 10 - 8
closed on thanksgiving and christmas
closed at 5pm on christmas eve


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Georgetown Cupcake in Soho, New York City

I finally got myself back to Soho after quite a long time. It has for sure become much more crowded, as well as commercialized which I didn't like. As I was walking around, I wanted to find Georgetown Cupcake. I watched their show for a little while, but the owners kind of got on my nerves so I stopped. I have wanted to try their cuppies however, so here we are on Mercer Street with those cobblestones! 

Very cool sign, very clean looking 

They looked really good, I like the doll-up of icing on top of each one 

Their cupcake menu varies each day, which most places seem to do these days. 

They look like the old fashioned cupcake your Mom would make for you 

Okay, this was M A J O R ! A rhinestone covered KitchenAid mixer. The girl told me they had one in every store. How cool is that? It was really gorgeous, everyone needs some sparkle in their kitchen!!  

The decor is very sweet, lots of pink, and very happy looking. 

My choices were the gluten free peanut butter fudge on the right, and the salted caramel to the left

The gluten free was something I just wanted to try to see what the taste would be, the cake was a bit dry but the icing was quite yummy. The salted caramel was really very good. The cake was moist and the icing was very flavorful. They should sell icing shots, I would buy one for sure! They were selling them on QVC, and the reviews were mixed, so I was curious to try them in person. I think fresh is the best way to go. I would stop in again for one if I was in the area. 

Fun cupcake design on the wall 

Have you had Georgetown Cupcakes? Did you like them? Please leave your comment below!!



Today's Words of Wisdom: I never met a cupcake I didn't like - anonymous

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Baked by Melissa Valentine's Day Assortment

Our friends at Baked by Melissa, the New York City-based bakery famous for its bite-size cupcakes, has created a Valentine’s Day Collection that will make February 14th a little sweeter. The Valentine’s Day Collection, which includes Peanut Butter Pretzel, Red Velvet Pretzel and White Chocolate Pretzel, is available for pre-order starting January 28th, 2015, and will be available in stores on February 3, 2015. A gift box with custom pink ribbon will also be available.

How adorable is this box? 

How fabulous do these little guys look? I think the chocolate peanut butter are my favorites. The crunch of the pretzel goes very well with the cake and filling of the cupcake. What a fabulous gift to give to anyone on Valentine's Day! 

WHITE CHOCOLATE PRETZEL White Vanilla Cake Bavarian Cream Stuffing Vanilla Icing White Chocolate Pretzel & Chocolate Drizzle Topping

RED VELVET PRETZEL Red Velvet Cake Cream Cheese Icing Milk Chocolate Covered Pretzel & Chocolate Drizzle Topping

PEANUT BUTTER PRETZEL Chocolate Cake Peanut Butter Stuffing Chocolate Icing Dark Chocolate Pretzel & Chocolate Drizzle Topping

SHIPPING AND DELIVERY: 
The Valentine’s Day Collection can be ordered online and via phone in increments of 25 or picked up a la carte in Baked by Melissa stores. Baked by Melissa ships nationwide and also delivers within the New York City area. Shipping orders must be placed by 3PM on Friday, February 13, 2015.

ABOUT BAKED BY MELISSA:

 In 2008, Melissa Ben-Ishay was fired from her job in advertising. Passionate about baking since childhood, Ben-Ishay decided to do what she loved and Baked by Melissa was born. Today, Baked by Melissa is famous for its signature, bite-size cupcakes. The bakery’s core product line, which is comprised of eight addictive cupcake flavors is available year round. In addition a Mini of the Month, Seasonal Collections and Holiday cupcakes are introduced as limited-edition offerings throughout the year. The brand’s website and a branded mobile application allow consumers to customize their cupcake experience with a Cupcake Creator, Cupcake Art and the ability to create their own assortments. Baked by Melissa operates 12 store locations, including a shop at JFK’s JetBlue Terminal 5, and ships nationwide. 

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend roducts or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

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