FOOD DAY Vl 2019

And with the melodious chiming of the Unusually Contorted Crispy Noodle does the ushering in of Food Day Six begin.

Silver Star is a mainstay and Rule number one of Food Day for as long as they remain established and we do hope this will be for a Very Long Time.

Frank ordered some Dem Sem (this is the way it is spelled on their Menu) as an appetizer but was eaten along with his main Entree Shrimp in Lobster Sauce (not pictured) with Pork Fried Rice and an Egg Roll. 

Two more orders of Dem Sem along with a Quart of House Special Fried Rice and a Quart of Wonton Soup was also requested to go for a late night snack back home.

Beef with Snow Pea Pods flanked by an Egg Roll and Pork Fried Rice Lunch special portion.

The Architect of Food Day, Fearless Leader and all around Silver Star enthusiast Frank (A.O.F.).

This would have been a visit to Silver Star but to make it Food Day takes a few things. Firstly it must be planned as a Food Day, secondly Food must be Eaten and thirdly a visit must be made to the 18th avenue Bakery on 60th street for some take out Pastries.

In this case half a pound of 7 layer cake (cake ? well these are Franks words and there is a cake version of the Cookie), assorted Italian Cookies and 3 pounds of Cream Puffs (Cannoli Cream filled) was procured for the family. My God Daughter Amelia has grown quite an affinity for the Cream Puff incidentally and can chow down about 67 in one sitting.

And of course a Meal is not complete without Dessert. In this instance being Pistachio and Strawberry Ice Cream.

18th AVENUE/LYDIA'S BAKERY - Brooklyn, New York

For my entire life (since the teenage years) this has been the place. Did I purchase often ? the answer is no.

Were they always there and seen as a stronghold of the neighborhood, YES.

Eighteenth avenue Bakery's reputation has grown over and over again exponentially just from word of mouth spouted amongst my loved ones with a repeated ensconcement of appreciation.

Cannoli - I cannot first hand review the Cannoli as I did not have a taste but I hear that the Cake itself was lacking in Flavor and Character. This is reported to be four star and not five, Not Too Shabby.

You can't win them all, can you.

Napoleon - How very interesting this was as I have been on a Napoleon Hunt as of late.

Filled with Boston Cream as opposed to "Cake" Cream (Whippy Cream for those in the know) made this a surprising and welcome Tart to be reckoned with.

Thus far this is an anomaly and one that shall be revisited on my next sojourn.

Seven Layer Pastry - I was so looking forward to this.

 An oversized 7 Layer Cookie in a Pastry form.

Bit of a let down as it was lacking the Amaretto Overtones expected but still a great purchase and Yummy too.

Apple Coffee Cake - And a HUGE piece was sold to me. I didn't ask and she didn't question.

This may have been the crowning achievement of all these Pastries and will I get it again, Hells YEAH.

Nothing bad to say, Just Delicious.

The "Soft Loaf".

I ate this mother all by myself in one sitting.

Cristina had a sample but I ate it all. Delicious and Soft. Marone.

5/16 - Semolina Loaf -

9/1 - An Assortment of...

Cristina was running some errands on 18th avenue so we made a trip to Lydia's for goodies. Cristina got a half pound of 7 layer Cookies and Butter Cookies along with a Chocolate Cannoli, she gifted me a Brownie and Chocolate Eclair.

Chocolate Cannoli - Good dipped Chocolate but not enough Cream is Cristina's review. 

Chocolate Eclair - I chose an Eclair in great part because of the sign in the entryway espousing the greatness of their Eclairs which was absolutely true. Thick Rich Chocolate, Fresh Whipping Cream, Dense Vanilla moist in a pastry style Cake with REAL Boston Creme filling, I am not a Huge Eclair fan but give me a dozen of these and I will surely become one.

Brownie - Just a Quality Bakery Brownie, very dense with proper Chocolate Icing. The Cherry on the Cannoli in the photo was originally from the Brownie but Cristina wanted it.

Cream Puff (Cannoli Cream) - One of the Elder Cakes in the Bakery canon, I know of Cream Puffs from the Shirley Temple/Laurel & Hardy/Little Rascals idiom and I might be wrong on all counts of any mention from the accused on film or recording but yet I had never tried one myself.

Thanks to Cristina's mom for the leftovers but these were quite simple yet gracious of a pastry. Cut an airy Biscuit of Cake in half, Fill with Cream, in the case photo here it is Cannoli Cream, Regular Cream is also available.

THE NAPOLEON COMPLEX

"Never interrupt your enemy when he is eating a Napoleon" - Napoleon Bonaparte

This began innocently enough prior to my weekly sojourn to Tasty Pastry with Christina. I usually put a little forethought into my Cake of choice earlier in the day so as not to stand before the riches of their assortment gaping and drooling like a man insane with his synapses firing away like a violently shaken bottle of soda water and decided on The Napoleon. I have only had maybe half a dozen in my life but had a clear idea of what to expect and perhaps happily got more than I bargained for.

2/3/16 - Tasty Pastry - This will be a hard one to beat at least from an Italian Bakery (the Napoleon being a French Pastry) as Tasty Pastry is one of the more Outstanding dealers in decadent confectionary delicacies. 

I have no details here as this entry was written as an afterthought after the satisfaction achieved, the only remedy is to get another in the future and write about that one.

2/8/16 - West End Bakery - While this Bakery does not have the best reputation I was very pleased to find the Napoleon ($2.75) featured in its Pastry display case and this was my first stop after deciding I needed another (Napoleon that is) and to compose a comparison.

They got the Cake and Icing right, actually its probably difficult to screw up the Icing and something tells me the Napoleon's around town are being outsourced from another Bakery but only time will tell on that point. The Cream is Cake Cream or Whipped Cream and this might be my only bone of contention* but I am still a newbie at this. Loads of Cream in this one, a bit messy to eat but as I said earlier today "Messy Is Good".

This has prompted me to make a second pot of Coffee.

2/21/16 - Leske's Bakery - This has a lot riding on it as Leske's Scandinavian Bakery has an historic reputation dating from 1961 yet I am not a Napoleon connoisseur in the least but am enjoying Eating my way through the learning process.

Chewy Flaky Crust with an inlaid Syrupy overtone, This is Heaven. Grand Icing and Sweet Cake Cream. Literally mouth watering.

3/2/16 - I was hunting Napoleon's and had some spare time on 13th avenue within proximity of a few bakeries. Gold Star Bakery does not produce Napoleon's but Grandma's and Mona Lisa sure do.

Mona Lisa - OK they only had a baby Napoleon ($1.45) and it was of standard fare, standard fare still being Delicious but this had an aftertaste probably due to retainment and storage and was 2-3 bites worth and gone, well it was a "baby".

Grandma's Bakery - Just when I had almost given up waving my hands in the air for fear that all of the local Napoleon's were "sourced out" and alike I came across this slightest anomaly to keep the fires burning. Perhaps I am being a bit dramatic here but the Grandma's slice  ($2.25) features a minimally crumbly crust in its folded layers of Cake of an almost Graham Cracker consistency but retaining the layered and moist "Filo" style inherent to this Pastry. 

Quite a joy.

Villabate Alba Pasticceria - With two Napoleons on offer (French & Italian) I was quite excited about the Italian one but still preferred the French Mille-Feullie.

(top) French - I expected this to reign supreme as Villabate has quite the reputation that precedes it and it was quite formidable and almost perfect but thus far Grandma's is the ruler of the roost.

(bottom) Italian - Dusted in Brown Sugar with the Creamy innards very much like an Italian Cheesecake which for those not in the know has a grainy consistency as the "base" cheese is Ricotta as opposed to Cream Cheese.

4/15/16 - 18th Avenue Bakery/Lydia's -  Another fantastic bakery with a track record but this Napoleon was just good compared to the Apple Coffee Cake Crumble that I had purchased alongside it. Nothing wrong with this Napoleon but nothing outstanding either, still an impressive 7/10.

5/10/16 - Kaff Bake Shoppe (kosher) - This was quite different as the icing was "inside out" as it were but just a standard Napoleon, Cake was a bit dry but this was served pre sliced in a plastic container so who knows,...

Good View Bakery corps (my local pork bun place) 6/26/16 - The only thing they got right here and barely was the Flaky Cake,which was dry so I suppose they did not get it right. As advertised its a Cheese Napoleon meaning a fake kind of tangy Cheesecake of which they did not get the Cheesecake right as it was dry.

* - Since reading the entry on Wikipedia I have learned that there is no "proper" filling for a Mille-Feullie but a wide variety the world over.

MILLE-FEULLIE (NAPOLEON) ON WIKIPEDIA

WHAT DREAMS MAY COME - CHARLOTTE RUSSE - TASTY PASTRY Brooklyn, New York

My dad used to tell me about the Charlotte Russe in tales of yore but even by the 1970's they were nigh impossible to find, I am sure a few places had them but we never spotted a single one otherwise I am sure I would have been treated to one (or two).

It's charm lies in the simple recipe yet I did not think I would ever have one until Christina told me that Tasty Pastry of Brooklyn had them on offer ($3.50), so at 50 years of age it finally happened.

Birthday Cake Cream (actually Whipped Cream) but not the overly sweet kind topped with a Maraschino Cherry atop a thin slice of Pound Cake. Served in tubular cardboard with a self sufficient base so you can actually push the Confection up from the bottom.

Simple yet elegant.

There they are on display amongst a plethora of Delectable Pastries.

I proudly wield my Charlotte Russe before annihilation.

Christina chose a Nutella Cannoli and how could you not but I was a man on a mission.

1/6/16 - Ferrero Rocher Mousse ($2.75) - Extremely Rich but then again it is a Mousse. 

Covered in Fine Chocolate or Nutella (its hard to tell) which is flecked with crushed Hazelnut to reveal a velvety Mousse therein enrobing further Hazelnut intrusion atop a disc of Chocolate Cracker Cake. The spiraled flute atop the flower at the peak is of a Mint nature.

This one is going to be hard to beat folks.

THE ONE "BEAN" WILL GET YOU IN CORNER - Basically it is a tray of leftover Pastries that are about to reach their demarcation point of sale and on sale for a buck but this is quite the steal as the Cherry Tart photographed above was quite delectable but not so much so as MSG did not indulge.

2/3/16 - One of the Delights on hand that I had a clear idea of its constituency before sampling, namely The Napoleon. So mouth wateringly good that I could have easily had another and dare I say yet another and so on.

You want an Apple Horseshoe, we got em'

Hot Cocoa too.

This is a "one of each" type place.

THE HISTORY OF CHARLOTTE RUSSE On Captainnewyork

FOOD DAY ll - 2015

An Unusually Long and Contorted Noodle.

Just under a year has passed and FOOD DAY TWO loomed and reared its Delicious head so we most willingly did sally forth with dreams of Delectable Delights.

Christina, Maria, Frank and I had a most Digestable afternoon.

Lioni's sporting a Frank (A.O.F)

Fetching my Prosciutto Balls.

No words for this.

It's Bread, Wait its Not, OH MY GOD

That Bowling Ball IT'S MY WIFE !!!.

Maria sporting a Villabate with a baby on board.

We got some Fresh Out Of The Oven (O.O.T.O) at Da Vinci this time and just like always, PIZZA Heaven. Absolutely Perfect but Silver Star loomed on the horizon so I shared a Square with Christina and Frank being the trooper he is had a Slice and half Square, Well it is Food Day isn't it.

BROOKLYN BABY.

Silver Star sporting a Frank (A.O.F.)

And The Stars Aligned.

Maria had Shrimp Mei Fun Combination which comes with Egg Roll and choice of Rice and Soup, in this case it was Pork Fried Rice (beyond compare) and Wonton Soup (also beyond compare) and they also applied us with utensils to consume Foodage with.

The crowning Glory (I shall never order this again).

Beef & Tomato. 

This has been glaring at me on the Menu for Decades and I became Quite Intrigued and it tasted Exactly what it was called, it tasted like Beef & Tomato (in Gravy) and that my friends is that. 

Quite bland for my taste. With many other things to offer on the Vast Menu this was a loser. I added some Soy Sauce and took 4/4th's of it home as a Leftover ragamuffin.

Speaking of Leftovers.

Frank is a wise man who knows the deal.

We also Love the band RUSH.

Check out his Plate(s) (pictured above)

Wonton Soup (of which we know Silver Star Rules at) flanked by Shrimp (don't know what happened to the Mei Fun) with a pair of Dim Sum (kill me now, so good) with a Leftover Egg Roll (which I hope was baked as opposed to microwaved) and half of #44 - Paul Sorvino (Broccoli Rabe and Sausage) from Lioni's who don't Eff around. Eleven American Bucks.

And just to chuck it in as they say I made some Delicious Ravioli from Pastosa the night before for Christina and I.

FOOD DAY 2014