The news writer has become the news herself
I feel like a princess
Back in June, I contributed to this best donuts in the US roundup for Tasting Table. I named my favorite Middletown doughnuttery, Neil’s Donuts, to the list, and didn’t expect the choice to be so much of a conversation starter. However, it seems to have struck a chord locally: My selection led to a flurry of articles in local papers like the New Haven Register, WFSB Connecticut, and NBC Connecticut about Neil’s being named one of the best donuts in the nation.
I thought the story had died down, but this past week, Fox61 ran an on-air story about Tasting Table’s praise of Neil’s! I highly recommend watching the video — for some reason, the announcer decides to interview a 17-year-old member of the staff and his older sister, and he asks the kid how many donuts he has ever eaten in one sitting. The kid kinda looks at him like “huh?” and says “In one sitting, I’d say like, three?” and then tells some incomprehensible story. I love this clip.
Here’s the blurb Fox61 wrote about the segment:
Tasting Table staffer Hannah Berman said the coffee roll kept her coming back to Neil's.
While some may debate whether a coffee roll is considered a donut, Berman said this coffee roll is made with the same dough as a standard donut, which makes it "light and airy, with a distinct fried crispness at the outer edges that gets softer as you work your way into the swirl."
Neil's coffee rolls are about as big as a person's face, but Berman did not report having any trouble finishing the whole thing.
Let me go on record: It is true that I have no trouble polishing the whole thing off, but I resent the tone.
Anyway, what other news-worthy delicacies have I been eating recently?
Cait’s Key Lime (Online only)
Cait is a single mom who works a full-time job and also makes 300-500 key lime pies per week. I got to interview her about how she does it (you can read my article about Cait for BK Reader), and I also got to try one of her mini pies; they’re just as tart as she says, and super satisfying. Her next window of pie-making availability drops 8/15, so mark your calendar if you want to serve some Cait’s Key Lime this fall.
Gelateria Gentile (Multiple locations)
My research for my article about the best gelato spots in NYC led me to Gelateria Gentile, a sweet minichain with four locations in NY and one in Bari. This gelato is kept in those silver buckets that Italians swear are the only sign of good quality. The gelato itself stretches as you pull it, so I’m inclined to agree with them in this case. (Get the cioccolato.)
Mary’s Fish Camp (64 Charles St)
It’s August, which means it’s birthday season in my family. For her birthday dinner, my sister Milly (the designer of my letterhead and everything else about me) wanted to go to Mary’s Fish Camp in the West Village. We got a bunch of great starters, but the highlight for me was definitely the special sea bass, which was served on a bed of panzanella. Why aren’t more things served on top of panzanella?
Alma (528 University Ave, Minneapolis MN)
My apologies to my New Yorkers, but this rec is Minnesotan. I was in Minnesota last weekend for my grandmother’s 85th birthday (happy birthday, Ama!), and stayed at this incredible boutique hotel/cafe/prix fixe tasting menu restaurant called, confusingly, Alma. (Only with Minnesota square footage can you accomplish all three of those things in one building.) At the hotel, they deliver you coffee and assorted baked goods from the downstairs cafe each morning. The raspberry danish blew me away — it’s a flaky, crusty pastry square covered with whole raspberries, which are then dappled with crumb topping and lemon zest. Still warm, too.
Here are some other stories I’ve written these past few weeks — I’m including some food stuff and some more general news stuff, since I’ve been branching out a tad!
Crispy, savory New Haven-style pizza arrives on a Williamsburg brewery rooftop – I was so excited to be sent to new East W-burg apizza joint Lala’s for a review because I love, love, love New Haven apizza — my family drives through New Haven at least once each year just to go to Frank Pepe’s. (This year, we hit Modern instead, which was quite good.) Not having to commute to literal Connecticut to have some decent apizza is very exciting.
Every My/Mochi ice cream flavor, ranked – I got to go to the My/Mochi pool party at Somewhere Nowhere in the city, which was fabulous, and they sweetly provided me with an overwhelming amount of mochi to try at home. On a very related note, please come over to my house and eat my My/Mochi. I have 24 packs — that’s 144 individual pieces of mochi, and it’s simply not going to get done without help.
Canarsie-based swimwear brand creates affordable, sustainable luxury for all – Entrepreneur Nia Gordon went to middle school with me and has since created her own business!
The most eclectic performance space in Brooklyn is hiding on Quincy St – My very talented friend Norell played a show at this fascinating community-run music venue/townhouse a couple weeks ago. Follow them if you want to catch some shockingly good music in an unconventional venue.
Crown Heights-base R&B artist set to be next ‘Supernova’ – I asked Garth. for an interview without realizing that not only did he go to Wesleyan ten years before me, but he also sang in the Spirits (my a cappella group’s brother group), AND he was in the Vineyard Sound, my old favorite professional a cappella group — which means I guess I’ve been doing background research on him since I was born. His new song ‘Supernova’ is so much fun.
With love,
Hannah