What’s your food obsession ice cream, yoghurt, or what about cereal? It is no surprise to anyone that New York is a mecca of culinary delights with more than 51,000 restaurants to choose from.
But the food craze has been taken to another level from pop-up stores to the introduction of food boutiques.
Kellogg’s NYC a cereal café
Opened this month is the newest branded food boutique, Kellogg’s NYC a cereal café right in Times Square.
This café offers an interesting range of gourmet style cereal bowls like ‘Life in Colour’ which is froot loops, lime zest, marshmallows and passion fruit jam or ‘You’re Cracklin Me Up’ – which is Cracklin Oat Bran, dried cranberries, white chocolate with toasted coconut.
These recipes were designed with the help of Chef Christina Tosi, founder, and owner of the famous Momofuku Milk Bar in NYC.
Cereal can be enjoyed anytime of the day from breakfast to dinner to that late night snack and if the gourmet cereal bowls are too decadent for your taste buds you can design your own cereal bowl by choosing your Kellogg’s cereal of choice and then toppings, from fruit, to nuts and seeds, to the grand finale ‘boosts’ which can be anything from chai tea powder to lemon zest to coffee grinds. The bowls of cereal range in price up to US$7.50.
Part of the experience is ordering your cereal, you are given a buzzer, and when your buzzer lights up you head to the pantry door and open the pantry door with your number on it to collect your order.
They tell me that sometimes you may have a little something extra on your tray from an additional snack to a gift that is rumored can sometimes be Hamilton Broadway show tickets.
The Kellogg’s NYC café is open 7 days from 7 am to 11 pm and is located at 1600 Broadway between 48th and 49th street.
(A little tip if you feel that you have been too healthy from your cereal café experience sneak in next door to the M&M store 3 levels of everything you can possibly imagine branded M&M.)
Chobani, Soho
If cereal is not your thing head down to Chobani – Soho – where Greek yoghurt is center stage in this ‘food boutique’, with a one-of-a-kind Mediterranean yoghurt bar.
The menu offers a selection of crafted sweet and savory yoghurt creations including sandwiches, soups, and desserts all made with the signature Chobani Greek yoghurt and hand-selected artisanal ingredients.
The menu is varied from ‘Sweet Yoghurt Creations’ like the Pistachio + Chocolate pistachios, dark chocolate flakes, sliced orange, fresh mint, clover honey or a ‘Savory Creation’ like Mango + Avocado which is mango, avocado, jalapeños, extra virgin olive oil, sea salt, fresh cilantro, lime juice, served with blue corn tortilla chips or if something that fuses American and Greek flavors is more to your liking you may want to try Peanut Butter and Jelly and Chobani yoghurt or Chobani Bagel and Cream Cheese.
Chobani – Soho is located at 152 Prince Street and is open 7 days a week from 8 am to 7 pm.
Magnum ice-cream boutique
But I have to say my personal favorite just down the road is the Magnum ice-cream boutique.
Ice-cream issometimes seen as a decadent treat, so it is no surprise that the aesthetic look and feel of the Magnum store in Soho mirrors that theme.
You feel like you are walking into a hip and cool club, the music is pumping, relaxed lounge style seating, even a velvet roped off area where you line up to tell the artisans how you want to craft your US$7 Magnum ice-cream.
You choose your naked Magnum flavor ice-cream, then select your Magnum chocolate coating then the fun part choosing your decorations. The choices are extreme from rose petals, chopped hazelnuts, a dusting of Himalayan salt, espresso sugar to gold flakes to name a few.
Once you masterpiece is completed it is presented to you and before you devour it you are given the opportunity to photograph it in one of the four backdrop art installations that have been created to depict the art of Magnum.
Calories never tasted so artsy!