Can’t get enough of our Valentine’s Day mania here at Manhattan Digest? Good, because we are still going strong with what I think is the best part of the day (or any day, quite frankly)- the sweets! And what better place to find sweets than in the best city in the world. So for all you cheapos out there that are going to run to your local drug store and pick up chocolate that has likely been sitting there for quite sometime- think again! We have found some fun and innovative places and ideas for you to show your honey how much you love them in the calorie and sweet department. Check out what we think will melt your loved one’s heart.
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h bake shop
Manhattan Digest’s Best of Food For 2016
Boy, has 2015 been quite a year for Manhattan Digest! We passed our millionth view mark in November, got to interview some huge stars and of course we reviewed what is the best of the best in Manhattan! This is about digesting Manhattan, isn’t it? So after a stellar year, and some pretty stellar places that we have sampled and enjoyed, we here at Manhattan Digest are giving you the best of the best from what we ate in 2015. Devour, check in, and be amazed by where you should stop into for the 2016 calendar year and beyond.
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Manhattan Digest Fundraiser October 2nd at Gym Sportsbar
After having an absolutely amazing first fundraiser back in March, we at Manhattan Digest have decided to do a second one in hopes that this will be even more successful than the first. Manhattan Digest is throwing its 2nd annual fundraiser this coming Friday on October 2nd, taking place at my favorite gay bar in the world Gym Sportsbar from 7-9 PM. Similar to last time, it will be held in the basement area of the bar, where you can come and donate money to support breast cancer research in my late mother Lisa’s memory and bid on some incredible prizes that you yourself can actually win!
We are echoing the same format we did back in March, in the form of a silent auction (raffle style) where you can take your raffle tickets and put them in the containers of the prizes that you want to win. $5 gets you 2 tickets, $10 gets you 5 tickets and $20 gets you 10 tickets. You are more than willing to donate more if you would like. A very handsome gentleman from The Adonis Lounge will be at the door to give you your tickets so there is a bonus incentive there as well!
So what are the fabulous and amazing prizes that you are able to potentially win? Take a look at what we have in store!
One free night at The Hotel Belleclaire
$100 Amazon Gift Card
$250 Gift Card to Jacob’s Pickles
Dinner for two at BKB Restaurant ($100 Value)
Dinner for two at Cantina Rooftop ($100 Value)
Haircut and Shave from Best Barber in Hell’s Kitchen ($80 Value)
Gift card from Krave & Kulture
Custom Cake for up to 5 people from H Bake Shop ($150 Value)
$25 gift card from Otto’s Tacos
$50 gift card to The Jolly Monk
$50 gift card to Haru Sushi
$50 gift card to New York Beer Company
$50 gift card to Morton’s Grille
3 Month membership to Crunch Gym ($240 Value)
If you are unable to attend, there are other ways of donating where you can still win one of the amazing prizes. Simply send an email to [email protected] with how you want to donate. We accept Venmo, Paypal and other types of payments. Please also include how you want to allocate the tickets. Other than, that I look forward to seeing everyone at Gym Sportsbar this coming Friday night!
Manhattan Digest’s First Fundraiser A Big Success at Gymbar!
This past Saturday night, Manhattan Digest held its first fundraiser at the best gay bar in New York City- Gym Sportsbar in Chelsea. The event itself was held from 7-9 PM in the basement part of Gymbar, and included great giveaways like T-Shirts, Dog Tags and Trial Memberships from Scruff App. The room was packed throughout with not only friends of mine and fans of the website but a ton of great people who came down and got in on the bidding action & donating for a great cause. A month of hard work, promotion, donations and all of that paid off and the event was a huge success not only for the website but for raising money for cancer research and patient care.
A big thank you to the following people and organizations as they helped tremendously to make the night a big success. Rick Schmutzler, co-owner of Gym Sportsbar, for letting us have the event at your fabulous establishment and Serge Sturbois for being a fantastic and amicable bartender throughout the night and helping all of our participants out with a smile. Thank you to my best friend in the world Nixon Saget who stepped it up ten fold and worked the front desk, encouraged people to donate and helped collect the donations throughout the two hours. You are an amazing guy and friend and I really do appreciate what you did. Thirdly, my buddy (and amazing photographer) Steve Alb for his amazing photography he took throughout the night. Definitely give him a shout for your next event you are having, worth it!
I would also love to thank the following companies and organizations who generously donated an item(s) for people to bid on. We raised hundreds of dollars for this event with more coming in the next couple of days, and the general response from the people who showed up for the event was gleeful & excitement when they saw what they could bid on for a good cause-
Blue & Black Apothecary in Carroll Gardens
Ugg/Deckers Outdoor Corporation
Upstairs at The Kimberly Hotel
We will be doing another fundraiser hopefully in the next month or two, with more fab prizes you can bid on for another great cause… to be determined! Thanks again to everyone who came and participated!!
Why H Bake Shop Is The Best In New York City… Period
When it comes to bakeries in New York City, you may find that they come a dime a baker’s dozen. There are so many to choose from, including well known national brands and more localized ones that have grown in notoriety due to a variety of facets, and then there are ones you should go to simply because they are the best. I can firmly say that the best bake shop that I have been in New York City so far (and probably will) is H Bake Shop located in Hell’s Kitchen on 57th between 11th and 12th. Now some might say that as New Yorkers we may get lazy in going out of our normal route to experience something different, including geographically, however the taste and experience at this place is worth rowing, sailing, swimming or doing whatever physical activity you have to in order to experience the expert deliciousness that chef Huascar Aquino has to put out for his customers.
I hadn’t heard of H Bake Shop until last month, when a friend of mine recommended that I try this place after a recent review of another fab bakery which is close by. After seeing the variety of very positive reviews posted on Yelp, Seamless, Facebook and so much more, I knew this was something that I had to try. So I took my good friend Erick to experience H Bake Shop first hand and boy was I in for a treat. I sat down with the handsome Huascar and understand how he got to where he is today, which is quite impressive if I may say so myself.
Getting to know Huascar really makes you understand that if you have the passion for something it is worth taking every risk to get to where you need to be. Born in the Dominican Republic, he moved to the United States a number of years ago where he developed a love for pastries by learning at the Internationally renowned French Culinary Institute Of New York City. Just a heads up this is the same place that LEGENDS in the culinary industry such as Bobby Flay, David Chang & Dan Barber have gone to and where deans include just the run of the mill dynasties in their own rights like Jacques Pepin, Jose Andrews and Jacques Torres are deans there. You know, no big deal whatsoever. After his time at the FCI, he honed his abundance of talent at historic NYC locations like The Four Seasons and Landmarc which then led to him opening up his own location two years ago. Oh, and one more thing. Huascar won on the Food Network hit show “Cupcake Wars”, in which the theme was Jessica Alba’s “The Honest Company”. The win came with a sweet $10,000 dollars and national recognition, which is great for anyone regardless of what their field is. You can watch that episode here.
Now of course, as awesome as he is I have to describe just how amazing his treats are. To say heavenly is beyond at this point, they are just incredible. Take something as classic and simple as a chocolate chip cookie with a twist (Or as he calls it- Chocotella Cookie). I have had many of these in my life (which attest to my ever increasing waistline) and can say that these tasted better than any others that i have had in the past. And that goes for his variety of cookies as well, not just the chocolate chip. A good cookie essentially has a great bite on the outside, but is warm on the inside. You also want to be able to taste as many ingredients as possible outside of the norm. You get that in his cookies.
Same goes for his line of cupcakes. They are moist, flavorful and unique in taste, creativity and texture which is important when making your own creations like this. When going, I would highly recommend the PB&J, The Scarlet Velvet (his take on the classic Red Velvet), and the Vanilla Introvert Cupcake (Vanilla Bean Cake with dulce de leche filling, sprinkles and frosting.) They all are an incredible experience that you must try.
What is even better is the specialty services that H Bake Shop provides. They make wedding cakes as well as specialty themed cakes for birthdays, graduations or whatever event you are particularly throwing. They also have a great line of other products from cheesecakes, macaroons and brownies that are to die for. Something incredibly special that Huascar and his team did today was make this OUT OF THIS WORLD Monsters Inc. themed cake for my 3 year old nephew Eddie. The look on everyone’s faces when they saw it in person as well as the reaction on social media was insane as so many people have never seen anything made like this. We were even debating not cutting into it as it looked beyond incredible. Take a look at the above picture for jaw dropping status.
I beyond recommend going to H Bake Shop the next time you are in Hell’s Kitchen, or have an event, or want something sweet. Just go. You won’t regret it. For more information log on to their official site. Oh, and this is a photo of my nephew devouring the cake today. Totally worth it.
H Bake Shop
601 West 57th Street (Between 11th and 12th Avenue)
212-265-2399
Valentine’s Day- Best Places For The Best Treats
Ah Valentine’s Day. The day of love. The day to tell that special someone in your life that you love them in more than just words. We are talking cake, cupcakes, flowers and so much more! Even single people have an excuse to get in on it just to enjoy more and more delicious sweets! When it comes to all of these amazing treats, you can’t get better than the bakeries here in New York City. Lucky for all my readers, four of my favorite ones, H Bake Shop, Magnolia Bakery, Schmackary’s and Treat House have some great deals going on for you and your special one to enjoy and devour! Take a look.
H Bake Shop- 601 West 57th Street- (212) 265-2399
I recently discovered this amazing bake shop through a good friend of mine and was introduced the the founder of it, Huascar Aquino! Huascar won The Food Network’s Cupcake Wars so clearly he knows what he is doing when it comes to cupcakes and so much more! Check out what he has going on for Valentine’s Day and visit his amazing site!
The Golden Heart: A chocolate fudge cake, filled with home made wild blueberry jam and frosted with blueberry icing and decorated with 24K gold sugar heart.
The Pink Rose: Pink Champagne cake. filled with pistachio pastry cream, rose water buttercream decorate with a sugar dough pink rose.
Chocotella Cookies: Gianduja chocolate (hazelnut milk chocolate), toasted salted hazelnuts, dipped in bittersweet dark chocolate and sprinkle with more salted toasted hazelnuts & a little red heart.
Treat House- 452 Amsterdam Avenue- 212-799-7779
Inspired by a charitable school bake sale, Treat House, a gourmet crisped rice emporium, provides a wide range of classic and innovative flavors, includingBirthday Cake, Caramel Sea Salt, Chocolate Peanut Butter, Cookies & Creamand more. For Valentine’s Day, treat your loved one with a limited edition Treat Cake – a crisped rice heart shaped cake. Other sweet gift offerings include Valentine’s Day themed treats or heart marshmallows. Plus, treat yourself while treating others: ten cents of every treat purchased will be donated to the Food Bank for New York City. For Valentine’s Day, they have delicious Treat Cakes available for $20, and individual treats starting at $2. Don’t forget their amazing heart marshmallows for only $1.50 each! Check out their official site for more information.
Magnolia Bakery- Multiple Locations Throughout NYC
Magnolia Bakery has become quite the big thing over recent years, and I was lucky enough to profile them in late 2014 about their booming success. Naturally, they have some great things going on for Valentine’s Day! Here is just a couple of what they are offering for V Day-
Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cupcake – NEW – $3.50
A strawberry cupcake made with fresh strawberry puree and topped with a rich chocolate ganache.
Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cake – NEW – $6.00/slice
Strawberry cake made with fresh strawberry puree, layered with a light strawberry meringue buttercream and finished with a rich chocolate ganache.
Flourless Chocolate Cupcakes – $4.00
A dense, rich fudgy chocolate cupcake topped with light and fluffy pink vanilla bean meringue buttercream.
Red Velvet Whoopie Pies – $3.50
Vanilla buttercream sandwiched between two handmade mini red velvet cakes.
Valentine’s Day Cupcakes – $3.50
Vanilla, chocolate or red velvet cupcakes with chocolate or vanilla buttercream, beautifully decorated with red and white hearts, Valentine picks and sprinkles.
Lil’ Bits of Love – $20.00
One dozen of our classic chocolate and vanilla mini cupcakes with pink and white vanilla buttercream, decorated with red, pink and white hearts.
Schmackary’s- 362 West 45th Street- (646) 801-9866
Schmackary’s is another great place that I was able to profile for Manhattan Digest. For the big special day of Love they are offering what is being called a “Valentine’s Lovers Flight”. Pictured above, it contains their Red Velvet, Chocolate Covered Strawberry, Strawberries & Cream and Valentine’s Super C. All of their frosted cookies will be special colors for Valentine’s day as well. Be sure to check out their official site for more information!