On Thursday, November 3, The Holiday Shops at Bryant Park celebrated their 10th season opening. Invited media were treated to drinks at Celsius, great views of Citi Pond (now in it’s 7th season) and gift bags from Molton Brown and Sabon–two of the 120 shops. According to Frank DiPrisco, producer of the Holiday Shops at Bryant Park, about 35 of the shops this season feature new vendors adding to the diversity of products, goods and services available to shoppers. Attendees of the opening were also treated to complimentary bites from participating shops during the event. Now, things get delicious…
Ken lured me over with the offer of freshly-popped, sweet and salty kettle corn. 16 flavors include Caramel, Chocolate, Cheddar, Sour Cream N’Chives and Spicy Ranch. Located by the fountain in Bryant Park, Kettle Corn NYC is “popping delicious!”
On the other side of the fountain, stands the Crepe Café. They offer an extensive menu of choices, including the staples; strawberry, chocolate, nutella. Add as much, or as little powdered sugar as you’d like. There was powdered sugar on my jeans at the end of the evening (just to give you an idea).
I followed up crepes with wafels; crunchy-on-the-outside, soft-on-the-inside wafels. Sonya prepared three wafels for me –liège wafel, deThrowndown wafel and deBacon+syrup wafel. Bacon in your wafel, topped with syrup, is where it’s at. deThrowdown wafel is topped with their spekuloos & whipped cream. I’ve been a slave to nutella on previous visits to Wafels & Dinges but it’s got some serious competition in spekuloos.
This one-man operation, run by Peter Starr, is home of small and large cucumbers shriveled to jaw-puckering crunchiness. I had the small Super Spicy pickle. As a lover of spicy…anything, that hit the spot. Pickle Me Pete also offers an even spicier pickle, the Ridiculously Spicy, for anyone adventurous enough to try it. Also available: pickled tomatoes!
Diggity Diggity Dog
Pickles can also be found on hot dog creations at Diggity Dog (same owner as Crepe Café). Take a tour of the USA through their menu… including The California, The Chicago and The Yellow Cab for NYC. I had the Ms. Sunshine (to match my sunny disposition and my mango obsession)–hot dog topped with mango-peach salsa and cucumber (pickled, not fresh). I usually like my hot dogs charred, with grill marks and I think that would compliment the toppings better, but the Ms. Sunshine still made me smile.
Rashidah November 13, 2011
I love the holiday shops at Bryant Park. I'll have to stop by one weekend.
Pearl Jewelry December 8, 2011
Hi, this market looks so cozy and festive! I've never tried Kettle corn but it looks and sounds exciting. Oh, and the sweets! How can you choose among all those delicious titbits? I usually enjoy those big Crepes they sell at markets, but sometimes they don't bake them long enough and the crepes feel a bit mushy and heavy. Waffles are safer in this respect, and easier to hold as well. 🙂 I hope you ad fun and will keep us updated about your festive shopping sprees!
Hugs, Flora
Thomas sumer March 16, 2012
Holiday shops in Bryant park are awesome.The Holiday Shops at Bryant Park is a European inspired open-air market offering access to a juried collection of over 115 unique artisans from around the world .Thanks for your post.Panama City Beach Condo Rentals