February 01, 2008
Snacking on the Lower East Side Artisan Food Tour
Nichelle Stephens, a co-founder of the Cupcake Takes the Cake blog, is the desserts correspondent for NewYorkology. She hits up desserts sweet and savory in all the boroughs. By day, she does bookkeeping and Tuesday nights she can be found laughing with some of the best female comics she can find at Chicks and Giggles at Ochi's Lounge.
Two weeks ago, I got up early on a Sunday morning for a tour of duty, well more like a tour of foodie, to the corner of Essex and Delancey. I went there to do a Lower East Side Artisan Food Tour put on by City Food Tours.
 Over two quick hours, the friendly guide Conrad told us attendees bits about the cultural history and food of the immigrants who lived in the Lower East Side at the turn of the last century. I don't want to give away all the places on the tour, but they do include both sweet and savory items. (Pickle anyone?!) Since this is a sweets column, I will tell you that the tour starts and ends sweetly with the first stop being the deliciously decadent Doughnut Plant (379 Grand Street) and the last stop being the Cocoa Bar (21 Clinton Street).
At the Doughnut Plant, there are so many choices, but the tres leches doughnut is my favorite. Tres leches is actually a Mexican cake and it literally means "three milks" because the cake has cream, evaporated milk, and condensed milk. The translation of the tres leches cake into a doughnut is yummy- fantastic, but definitely not for the lactose intolerant.
 The Cocoa Bar is a fairly new spot to the Lower East Side, and maybe the only place downtown that sells what I would call a "hipster chocolate", a wasabi truffle. I tried one but it was not spicy and had a funny aftertaste. I loved all the others truffles I sampled, and the place is nice.
Even if you are a native or a newbie to New York City, you will enjoy discovering the goodies of the Lower East Side, which is rich in both history and cool new places. Tours are offered Wednesdays through Sundays, and the tour stops vary depending on which places are open on the weekends. The tour is $40 per person, which includes all the food samples, though you can buy extra at each stop.
City Food Tour
(212) 838-4026
Image credits: Nichelle Stephens
Earlier: Charbonnel Et Walker's $6 sticky toffee cupcake
Ice cream goes organic at Boerum Hill's Blue Marble
February 1, 2008 10:04 AM in Downtown, Foodology, History, Shopology, Tours
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