I was able to visit a small shop named Douhgology, which is Located in Lynbrook, LI. When you think of this place it’s nothing like Dunkin Donuts. You are able to create your own doughnut right in front of you. Doughology opened in early January of 2016, by couple Chris and Jackie Stiansen. I was able to speak with Jackie herself, of how her and her husband came up with the idea of this store. Jackie told me that her reasoning behind her wanting to open up a store was because she was diagnosed with Breast Cancer. This was an eye opener for her, which made her want to change her life around. Her husband Chris, who is a retired New York City police officer supported his wife’s idea.

Each of the doughnuts are made from a Belshaw Dount Robot, which is  contraction that plops out rounds of vanilla and chocolate dough into hot oil, lifts them onto a conveyor belt. flips them to finish cooking and then deposits them on a rack to cool. They are then able to be dipped in a glaze and moved down the doughnut bar, where the customer can choose from 21 toppings.

I was able to try two doughnuts. One being the S’mores and the other vanilla frosting with rainbow sprinkles. Both of the doughnuts were vanilla. The S’mores doughnut had a marshmallow topping and a chocolate fudge drizzle. It was topped off with graham cracker crumbs and more marshmallows to follow. The texture of this doughnut was freshly made because of the warmth it left in your mouth after you took a bite. It was very fulfilling, and reminded you of being around a camp fire. The vanilla frosting with rainbow sprinkles reminded me of a traditional ice cream cone. The vanilla icing was smoothly drizzled on top of the doughnut. And there is never enough rainbow sprinkles to top something. Both of these doughnuts were out of the ordinary for me to try. But it left my appetite satisfied.

I was on my way to work one day and had time to waste so I decided to get a little lunch before I went in. I went to this vegan restaurant in Koreatown on 35th and Park Avenue. It was called Franchia Vegan Cafe. After looking at the menu I saw a dessert called monkey bread and I thought it sound interesting so I asked the waiter what it was he told me it was like a large cinnamon roll that was very gooey and served with ice cream. When it came to my table it looked exactly that like mini cinnamon rolls baked together and it was served with a coconut non-dairy ice cream on top of it. the monkey bread was served warm but the ice cream wasn’t melting on top of them and I thought that was very interesting. I tried the monkey bread without the ice cream first and it was very sweet and chewy although it tasted good it was really messy and it was a little too sweet for me. I then tried a piece with the coconut ice cream and the ice cream balanced out the sweetness of the monkey bread and made it taste delicious.  I think that this is a good dessert and I would have it again but I wouldn’t go out of my way to order it

While in Chinatown for the tour, I was able to sample Chee Cheong Fun.  It is basically a rice roll.  When I first heard that, I pictured something along the lines of sushi.  It’s a roll.  It has rice on it.  Must be sushi!  I was really wrong (reference the picture above.)  It is a realllllllllllly big rice noodle that is steamed, and rolled with your choice of filling.  I had the roast pork.  The noodle had an amazing texture that held on to the peanut sauce, sriracha, and hoisin perfectly.  The filling was a little lacking, but the delicious sauce definitely made up for it.  They’re all made to order and served steaming hot, as evidenced by the burns in my mouth (so worth it.)   I can’t wait to go back and try every variety of rice roll.

Sponge Cake is a common thing in the pastry world.  They can be tasty, light, and airy.  Or bland, dense, and rubbery.  During our walking tour today, I tasted a sponge cake from Chinatown.  It was everything a Twinkie wanted to be.  The cake was super airy, like no cake I’ve ever tried before.  Each bite was like taking a piece out of a lightly sweetened cloud.  The cakes are steamed, which preserve the moisture of the cake while providing it with its light texture.  I may have to frequent Chinatown for my new addiction…