A Full Belly

nyc ice cream sandwiches face off

Taste Taste: Ice-Cream Sandwiches. I would get all excited about New York Magazine's round-up of the city's eight best ice cream sandwiches except that a) the one from Otto doesn't count because it involves brioche instead of a cookie (and yes, I know this is traditional in Italy), and b) I'm already in love with the one the deli on the next block sells for 35 cents. I'm sure I'll enjoy the listed treats once I get around to trying them but I doubt they'll ever be the remedy I think of when I feel an ice cream sandwich-shaped hole in my heart! Sometimes cheap and simple is all you really want.

What's it?

One of the San Francisco treats I've had the pleasure of discovering is IT's IT. IT's IT is a ice cream sandwich made up of a scoop of vanilla ice cream between 2 oatmeal cookies and dipped in chocolate. Google chef Nate Keller worked with IT'S IT to create a natural, locally-sourced, trans-fat free version of the treat, only available at the Google campus . Very cool. [via Sippey]

Bacon and butterfat

Bacon ice cream -- it exists! "Bacon and butterfat, what could be better? The stuff should come with CPR instructions." This story is from last summer, but worth linking to again because well, bacon and ice cream!

Champagne Brownies

In case you haven't been following along, Lovescool's Kelli has made the leap from blogging about sweet things to starting her own bakery business, Amai Bakery. Congratulations! To celebrate, go order a box of her champagne brownies: "We use Callebaut 99% dark chocolate, Valrhona cocoa and real champagne to give this classic brownie an unexpected twist. Our champagne brownies are perfectly moist and chewy (not too fudgy, not too cakey), with subtle hints of champagne running throughout the dark chocolate cake."

world's coolest frozen pop contest

The 10 Winners of Nestle Ice Cream's  World's Coolest Frozen Pop Contest. I want to taste the PB&J Pop: "The sweet, gooey, kid-friendly flavor of a PB&J sandwich moves from the lunchbox to the frozen pop. The tart flavor of raspberry jam sandwiched between two layers of smooth, creamy peanut butter definitely makes this snack a chilly classic."

liquid nitrogen ice cream

Liquid Nitrogen Ice Cream. "If you are anything like me, then you love ice cream. There is nothing like making your own, but the problem is, it just takes too long to freeze and some things just don't like to freeze. A while ago Scientific American [April, 1994 pgs. 66-71] had an article call Cooking with Chemistry or something along those lines. One of the recipes was one for using Liquid Nitrogen to make Ice Cream. Great!" This site is circa 1996 but still going strong. Make sure to watch the video!

chocolate breakfast

Tecumseh, Michigan's own Chocolate Vault has "all kinds of chocolate molded food related gifts and favors for the chocolate lover!". Chocolate molded cell phones and cameras are pretty neat, I must admit, but it surely comes as no surprise to you readers that my heart belongs to their chocolate breakfast items. I mean, sunnyside-up egg and strips of bacon? Come on:

deepfriedmarsbars

If you're interested in video games at all then you know about the controversial Hot Coffee mod for last year's Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, but did you know that 2002's Grand Theft Auto: Vice City had a food-related cheat code too? Entering DEEPFRIEDMARSBARS in the PC version of the game makes your character fatter. [thanks dirtynerdluv]

If you don't have GTA: VC or a PC to run it on but live in New York, you can get fatter on deep-fried Mars Bars, Twix, Twinkies or Hostess Cherry Pies at Park Slope's own Chip Shop, just take the F to 4th Ave/9th St. Mmmm, deep-fried candy.

buttermilk pie

Buttermilk Pie recipe. I like buttermilk and I like pie, so why is it I didn't even know there was such a thing as buttermilk pie till now? Haven't seen any around NYC so perhaps I will have to bake one myself.

sweet stuff

NYC Manhattan User's Guide: Sweet Stuff. Charlie Suissman lists his favorite treats from around the city; he will never lead you astray, so pay attention.