Welcome to a food lover’s Manhattan adventure to breads, cakes and pastries heaven!!!

Welcome to my little adventure in the big city!

Being new to Manhattan, well-known for being a heaven for foodies like me, I decided to get to know my new home by exploring the local food culture and discovering the best places to enjoy what I am most passionate about - breads, cakes and pastries.

So if you share my excitement for these delightful baked goodies then read on and find out what Manhattan has to offer... Enjoy the adventure!

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Two Little Red Hens

1652 Second Avenue New York, NY 10028. (212) 452-0476. www.twolittleredhens.com.




















To begin my journey, I came to an "American Bakery" called Two Little Red Hens, a place which had been highly recommended by girl friends who are fellow foodies and which, based on my research, had numerous positive reviews on thier cupcakes.
From the outside, it looked like a little country store beside the numerous establishments along a very busy Second Avenue. Inside, it looked like your neighborhood bakeshop, with small tables and chairs, shelves of coffee and chillers of freshly baked, pretty-looking cakes and pastries.

I was cheerfully greeted by the ladies behind the counter, but as friends have told me that the cupcakes were the best here, I did not waste any time an ordered a box of cupcakes to bring home – Red Velvet, Banana, Chocolate Marble and Vanilla Butter Cream. The average price for a cupcake would be around $2.75 for regular sized ones and around $1.75 for the mini cupcakes. Not bad, I thought, and definitely comparable to most bakeshops around the city.



I was not disappointed! I have tried a number of bakeshops in Manhattan since I arrived (Chikalicious, Crumbs, Magnolia and Buttercup included), and Two Little Red Hens had the moistest cupcakes (even after days in my refrigerator as I could not eat all at once, of course) and the creamiest icing with just the right amount of sweetness! It was definitely bliss with each bite! Since then, I have returned every other week to Two Little Red Hens and have excitedly tried the rest of the cupcakes - Carrot, Brooklyn Blackout (this is the best choice if you are dangerously craving for chocolate) and Vanilla with Chocolate Fudge. Again, these had consistent moistness to the cake and just the right amount of sweetness to the creamy icing. I had found my cupcake heaven!


But I did not stop there as I became mighty curious about their cakes, pies and pastries as well. This is after all, a search for the best local bake shops. So I tried their Chocolate Chip cookies, Lemon Bar, Banana and Carrot Slices (exactly like the cupcake version but these are cut like cakes), Vanilla Cake with Strawberry Cream filling, Chocolate Mousse Pie and the Key Lime Pie. Rest assured, I did not enjoy all of these in one sitting but did so over a number of weeks while making sure I continued with my weekly physical activities – we all know what happens when you enjoy these things TOO much.



Anyway, I can say that the pastries (though I have only tried a few) are not as heavenly as the cupcakes. Quite a bit ordinary actually and not something I would tell everyone about. I had another wonderful discovery though – the Chocolate Mousse Pie and the Key Lime Pie were to die for! The Chocolate Mousse Pie had a thin light, buttery crust, creamy mousse that had just the right amount of chocolate, and lightly sweetened whipped cream on top. The Key Lime Pie was the best I have ever tasted, with a nice graham crust and creamy, sweet with a nice little bite of sourness from the lime that tasted fresh. It was definitely unforgettable!

So what is my opinion of Two Little Red Hens? It is definitely one of the best local bakeshops in Manhattan, not only for their to-die-for pretty little cupcakes and their deliciously unforgettable pies, but also for the homey, little neighborhood feel of the place, their always cheerful ladies ready to take your order, and the variety of cakes and pastries you may indulge in. Yes, there is a line sometimes but they efficiently take your orders and normally do not take a lot of time packing them for you. And yes, it can get crowded since it is a small place so, I recommend buying to go. Just a tip too, the Key Lime Pie sells out easily, so Friday (the day they make these wonderful pies) is usually the best time to go.

9 comments:

  1. hey leo!
    did you like the cupcake from crumbs? :)
    - apple

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  2. Leo,

    great first entry. good luck with your food adventures. i have this feeling you'll be doing a lot more yoga in the coming weeks.

    Peter

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  3. Hey Leo! Nice blog. Very You. But very bad for my diet! Hehehe...

    Looking forward to taking me to these places when I go there. Which remind me, I have to start working on my papers.

    Some tips:
    What are you using to post the photos? I don't know if it's just my resolution but they look quite pixelated. Are you using Blogger's built-in photo uploader. As a tip it may be good to save the photos on an external account (ie flickr or photobucket) and just link it up here so you maintain the beauty of the original photos.

    Also, another tip would be streamlining the "blog description" section at the top or choosing a smaller font. :D --> Teej

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  4. Hey Apple! Yes, I did like Crumbs cupcakes - I have tried their Chocolate and Lemon cupcakes. But somehow I find the icing a little sweet and overwhelmingly huge! :) Next time you visit, I will bring you to Two Little Red Hens!

    Hey Pete, thanks for the reminder...I swear this enjoyable "new adventure" will have its consequences...more yoga and running to make sure we don't put on the pounds! ;) I still believe in moderation!!! Let me know if you think I'm trying out too many baked goodies!

    Teej, I really appreciate your comments...unfortunately, the blog description section is tied to and is programmed to be bigger than the post text. I'll find a way to fix that eventually. As for the photos, thanks for the tip! I'll make sure to upload ones with better resolution, will have to open an external account (another new thing to discover! :). Need to plan for your coming over! We have a lot to cover! ;)

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  5. hi lee..looks so yummy!bad for my health but i do love sweets..send some over!i must try all these goodies...

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  6. hi again lee..was thinking about SPRINkLES cupcakes.we went and took gaby there at their newport beach store and got a lot of different flavors of cupcakes..i could not really finish even half of a cupcake.too overpoweringly sweet!i should go to manhattan beach and try this other bakeshop..i'll let you know if it's good..key lime sounds good..i'm looking forward to visiting you and trying all the goodies you're describing..

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  7. Thanks, Mom! :) When you go to Sprinkles, try to take pics so you can show me the cupcakes! We should go there when we visit you.

    And when you come here, I will definitely bring you too all the good places I will be discovering... :)

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  8. ok.i will try and get some photos..it's usually full of people and the line is really long...

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  9. You have to go to Billy’s Bakery. In my opinion, they make the best cupcakes – even better than Two Little Red Hens. And if you like red velvet cake, Cake Man Raven is the standard by which all red velvet cakes measure themselves against. They have locations in Harlem and Brooklyn. Speaking of Brooklyn, you must visit Junior’s – the home of the original NY cheesecake. They make other baked goodies as well. Have you thought of expanding your focus to include all 5 boroughs?

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