Robicelli's

Building on Friday’s post- Rachel isn’t the only one with a new book out. Our good friend (and former employee) Siobhan Wallace of Blondie and Brownie fame has just released the authoritative guide to the NYC street food scene: New York a la Cart.

Siobhan is the one who looks like she’s about to stab someone even though she’s eating chocolate dipped soft serve ice cream. It’s reasons like that one that cause me to fall deeper and deeper in love with her every single day.

I know lots of our readers are living outside of NYC, and you need to get a copy of this just as much as us natives do. Aside from covering some of the better known, “new wave” or fancy well funded food trucks, Siobhan and Alex sought out vendors from all five boroughs — ones that represent the immigrant experience, scrappy entrepreneurs  trucks that have been in families for generations.  And they don’t just get their stores — they get their recipes, too!  There is no food that is more New York that “street meat”, and yes, there’s recipes for that in here. There’s recipes for real NY hot dogs, tacos, dumplings, dosas, shaved ice, ceviche, and tons more.

Our Ultimate Nacho giveaway is still going on this week- remember to tweet us with why you want a free book and tag it #UltimateNachos.  Both books can be found on Amazon, though I like doing my cookbook shopping from a small independent retailer when possible.  

Now go eat cupcakes while I get back to copyedits on our upcoming book.  I swear, this book is going to get finished……….eventually.

Bea Arthur: Black coffee chocolate cake, cheesecake buttercream, espresso ganache

PB&J: Vanilla cake, peanut butter buttercream, grape jelly, roasted peanuts

S’Mores: Chocolate cake, speculoos pudding, toasted marshmallow buttercream, ganache, graham cracker crumbs

Blueberry Cobbler: Vanilla cake, vanilla buttercream, blueberry compote, brown sugar streusel

As of late I’ve been up til about 4 or 5 every morning finishing the first draft of our book, always with Hallmark Channel on in the background as they play a two hour block of The Golden Girls every night, followed by one hour of Cheers (though they’re showing the Diane years right now which are really far inferior to the Rebecca years- but that is an essay for another day).

Along with my shows are the commercials for the many many many stupid “Made for Hallmark” tv movies (I know for a fact that they’re stupid because I watch them and I can’t stop myself). And oddly enough, there are a TON of Hallmark movies about cake and/or cupcakes! There’s…

“Operation Cupcake”, about a woman who like needs to find herself or something- maybe she got dumped or lost her job- and then she has to bake cupcakes and probably doesn’t think she can do it, but then Dean Cain shows her how and melts her cold cold heart, and then everyone loves their cupcakes and love saves the day! (note I haven’t seen this movie, but this is probably the plot).

Also….

“The Sweeter Side of Life”, about a woman who’s probably a big time executive or lawyer who’s too career driven to find true love, then she probably loses everything somehow and needs to move back to her hometown to save the family bakery, butts heads with a local who ends up melting her cold cold heart, thus teaching her the meaning of love, family, and home. (note: this movie hasn’t actually premiered yet, but I’m pretty sure that’s the plot). 

Or:

“Taste of Romance”- driven chef, icy heart, blah blah blah- probably fall in love and get great restaurant review, then adopt a puppy and make a snowman in the moonlight.

Or

“Just Desserts”, where Lauren Holly & Costas Mandelor play pastry chefs who try to distract you that once upon a time they were on Picket Fences which was one of the greatest television shows of all time, and now they’re in this crap. (and seriously- why don’t we all talk about Picket Fences more? That show was the center of the universe for a solid 3 years).

Kinda makes you wonder what their next movie will be…..doesn’t it?

(I swear- it’s coming back soon. I promise)

rs

Pecan French Toast: Maple custard soaked cinnamon cake, maple cinnamon buttercream, maple glazed pecans

Cinnamon Bun: Cinnamon sugar spotted cake, cream cheese buttercream, cinnamon streusel, cinnamon butterscotch

S’Mores: Chocolate cake, speculoos pudding, toasted marshmallow buttercream, graham crumbs

Funky Monkey: Banana chocolate chip cake, peanut butter buttercream, banana chip, ganache

If you have yet to experience a single episode of “Let’s Bake The Whole Thing Off”, CLICK HERE to find listings to all four riveting episodes.

…………………………………………………………………………………….

I’m you’re muse! Oh, you’re just too much, Alison with your freakish “one L” in your name! Too much indeed!

Now go buy a cupcake or some whoopie pies or something and get yourself super stoked for Saturday!

Clockwise from front: Apple Maple Crisp, Sweet Potato Casserole, Pumpkin Pie, S’Mores

Pumpkin Pie: Pumpkin cake, vanilla buttercream, crushed pie dough

Apple Maple Crisp: Apple maple cake, vanilla buttercream, roasted apple butter, oat crisp, maple syrup

S’Mores: Chocolate cake, speculoos pudding, toasted marshmallow buttercream, ganache, graham cracker crumbs

Sweet Potato Casserole: Sweet potato cake, toasted marshmallow buttercream, demerara sugar

I AM BACK! Now you can all go back to living your lives!!!  Thank you to everyone who’s contacted us to check on my after the accident-you don’t know how much it’s meant to our family. 

We haven’t spoken much about the accident or what happened to me. It’s a long complicated situation with lots of details, but the main point has been made by the poster above- my ass is broken, and I’m supposed to be staying in bed as much as possible and avoiding physical activity in order to recover. That’s why we had to drop out of this past weekend’s Food & Wine Festival, why we’re pulling out of pretty much all in-person events, markets and food festivals we’ve been scheduled to do for a good long while. Thank God that Matt, and our incredible staff, are so good at what they do so that the show may otherwise go on (though Matt isn’t sleeping as much as anyone would like).

That’s all I’m going to say about it from now on. Every single second of my reality right now is consumed with the aftermath of the accident, and I’m not going to let it steal any more of my life than it already has. This blog and our company is the source of awesome things in the world, like chocolate and cupcakes and laughter and occasional pictures of cute otters - NOT the crushing misery of broken asses! So let’s get back to awesome stuff!

Our episode of “Unique Sweets” finally aired last night, so if you’re here because of that, welcome! You’ve been introduced to us at a pretty darn nice time, as we’ve got some amazing stuff going to stores today, moist fall-flavored loaf cakes, rich fudgy brownies and, of course, four delicious cupcake flavors from our list of 200+ varieties…..but we’ll get to those later. We’ve got even bigger news today. 

Ready?

Look up at the top of this page. See the red tab? That red tab will bring up our long awaiting ONLINE STORE! That’s right people, we are finally shipping select Robicelli’s items across the United States! You can get brownies sent to your house in California, send a loaf cake assortment to your mom in Texas, send a package of our hot cocoa mix to your daughter in college. 

And the children will love you, too! Think about the children!

Alas- we’re not shipping our cupcakes or whoopie pies at this time. Our famous buttercream is not made with craptons of powdered sugar and shortening like most bakeries on earth, and instead is the fancy kind which is SUPER delicate. In order to ship, we’d need ice packs, special packaging, and overnight shipping, meaning that to get a dozen cupcakes from Brooklyn to wherever you are, it’s going to cost you roughly seven billion dollars in shipping costs. However, our loaf cakes? Pretty much the cupcakes without the buttercream. And in loaf form. And since people eat loaf cakes for breakfast, it makes them “healthy”, too! Until Thanksgiving we’re shipping our fall variety pack: Pumpkin Espresso Chip, Zucchini Pignoli, and Lemon Blueberry Ricotta. December 1st brings three brand new flavors.

Most importantly, we’re shipping the brownies, which are my favorite Robicelli’s item. Why? Because I’m the type of person who realizes she wants dessert every night after she’s put on pajamas and all the stores are closed. I’ll bring home a dozen brownies every so often, put them in little ziplock baggies, then throw them in the freezer. So 11pm hits and I need something sweet? I’m ALWAYS PREPARED, and never have to put on pants to go get whatever sad dried up donuts that are left at 7-11.  Plus, nothing at 7-11 would ever compare to our Sixpoint Brownstone Ale Brownie, no matter what time of day you went.

And if you live in New York City or Long Island? Well, you can just head over to your nearest Robicelli’s retail partner and get our stuff there. We’ve got these sexy cupcakes headed out to select shops today. You’ve picked a very, VERY good day to discover us.

Clockwise from front: S’Mores, Sweet Potato Casserole, CPB, Pumpkin Caramel

S’Mores: Chocolate cake, speculoos pudding, toasted marshmallow buttercream, ganache, graham cracker crumbs

Sweet Potato Casserole: Sweet potato cake, toasted marshmallow buttercream, demerara sugar

CPB: Chocolate cake, peanut butter buttercream, roasted peanuts, ganache

Pumpkin Caramel: Pumpkin cake, salted caramel buttercream, candied pumpkin seeds

I totally spazzed on writing the Tumblr Wednesday, and even though my last post was about us crossing the 30k mark I figured nobody would notice. Then I called my mom today and the first thing she says is “WHAT HAPPENED TO THE TUMBLR?!?!!”. So, I’m sorry. And all of you can sleep easy now that you know that my mom is totally on top of this.

Why did I skip writing the Tumblr? Because I was working on getting our Thanksgiving ordering together. Yes, THANKSGIVING. I know we’re barely out of September, but over here at the Robicelli’s camp we need to plan ahead. Right now, we’re putting the finishing touches on our hot cocoa packaging so it’ll be ready for store shelves when the temperature drops, designing new loaf cake flavors for the holidays (and debating the legality of our fruitcake since it’s 5% fruit and 95% bourbon), and getting our baked goods packaged for the holiday markets (yup! Just because we’re not personally going to be there doesn’t mean our stuff won’t be- stay tuned for news on that!).

I’ve already started listening to Christmas music on Pandora to sort of get me amped up for all of this, which I could potentially be a very dumb move as I’ll be sick of it before Columbus Day. I find it hard to believe that with over 100 years of popular music, and far longer with traditional music, there are exactly 10 Christmas songs that are played over and over and over again. Luckily for me, through the power of Facebook, this past year I got to reconnect with an old friend from Stuyvesant High School- Liz Chan.

Back in high school Liz was the only 15 year old I knew with a major label record deal. She grew up not to be a musician, but a media executive. And while most people would envy a girl who ended up being an exec at places like MTV and Conde Nast, she always regretted not following her dream- writing a world famous Christmas song.  

Isn’t that the best dream ever? Creating something that will make people smile year after year? I mean, Matt’s #1 lifelong dream was to eat at a real Pizza Hut with a full salad bar. I really wish I was joking about that.

Aaaaannnnd this is a pretty spot-on representation of how I felt through the fulfilling of said lifelong dream.

Last September, Liz managed to snag a spot on Failure Club, the web documentary from genre-master Morgan Spurlock. In the past year, she committed to writing a Christmas song every single day, quit her job at Conde to follow her dream (seriously), and this week, released her first five songs on iTunes.

Am I plugging this project just because she’s an old friend? No. I’m plugging it because I listened to track one, “A Christmas Song”, and I CAN’T GET IT OUT OF MY HEAD. And it would be nice if you all knew the song, because then I won’t look so crazy for singing it incessantly.

Also, if it becomes a hit, then maybe we’ll convince the radio to start playing it instead of that infernal “Christmas Shoes”. Oh man, I hate that song so freaking much. Christmas should be a time of love, compassion and good feelings- not a time where I think of tracking down whatever suck-ass band wrote that song and breaking their kneecaps. 

Go check out Liz’s vastly superior Christmas carol, then check out these cupcakes. They’re perfect for when you want to eat your feelings because you thought about a song where they kill a little boys mom just so some self centered jerk can learn the true meaning of Christmas.

*sniff*

Clockwise from front: S’Mores, Pumpkin Spice Latte, Pecan Pie, Car Bomb

Pumpkin Spice Latte: Pumpkin cake, espresso mascarpone buttercream, fall spiced ground chocolate covered espresso beans

Car Bomb: Chocolate Guinness stout cake, Jameson whiskey ganache, Bailey’s buttercream

S’Mores: Chocolate cake, speculoos pudding, toasted marshmallow buttercream, graham crumbs, ganache

Pecan Pie: Pecan molasses cake, vanilla buttercream, glazed pecans

What EVER will calm your nerves after that thrilling cliffhanger?!!?! How about stress eating! And these are good for that!

For Part II of This Riveting Episode, CLICK HERE

(Also check in later this afternoon- we’ve got a bunch of new locations we’ll be announcing, plus some news about “Chicken”, “Waffles”, and “This Weekend”)

Clockwise from front: Strawberry Shortcake, Apricot Chardonnay, S’Mores, Hazelnut Kiss

Strawberry Shortcake: Vanilla cake, strawberry syrup, mascarpone buttercream, strawberry compote, cake crumbs

Apricot Chardonnay: Apricot chardonnay cake, vanilla buttercream, chardonnay simmered apricot

S’More: Chocolate cake, speculoos pudding, toasted marshmallow buttercream, ganache, graham cracker crumbs

Hazelnut Kiss: Chocolate hazelnut cake, Nutella buttercream, roasted hazelnuts

PREVIOUS EPISODES OF “LET’S BAKE THE WHOLE THING OFF”

Episode #1: “Pilot”

Episode #2: “Holiday Special

Episode #3: “Ice Cream Oopsies”

It’s been one week since my epic meal at WD-50, and I know you’ve all been anxiously awaiting my recap! RIGHT?!?!?!

Here’s the picture I took the second I got there and uploaded to Instagram (follow me!).  It’s also the only picture I took because I wanted to enjoy my meal and be 110% present while I was eating, meaning I didn’t want my phone involved, so I’m just going to illustrate the majority of this recap with pictures of fossas.

They’re adorable, from Madagascar, and honestly- I just feel like they’re not really getting their due on the internet.

Immediately after I took the picture of the sign I started crying a little bit, and Matt yelled at me to stop because I was embarrassing him. I suck it up, we take our seats, and that’s when I realize that it’s almost like they psychically KNEW I was coming, because I was given the one seat in the house that is a direct sightline to fish station, which is the station Wylie Dufrense works. And wouldn’t you know it, he’s working the line on my birthday.

That’s when I start tearing up the second time. The 25 minutes I spent working on my eye makeup to create a “sexy and smoldering look” to seduce my husband was completely for naught, as now I look like a pathetic raccoon. And nobody wants to make sweet, sweet love to a pathetic raccoon. Fortunately, I had the food to make love to- AND I DID. 

Matt and my employees chipped in so we could go with the full-on tasting menu, which was like a billion courses (or ten or something- I don’t remember). They were all so brilliant that, yes, I fully embarrassed myself in front of the staff, and more than likely made every single person in that dining room tremendously uncomfortable. And I can live with that.

Whether the other people in the restaurant can live with it is another story entirely.

I spend the entire evening just staring at Wylie like a lunatic, and then every so often he’d peek out of the kitchen and I’d look at the ceiling or a fork or anything else so it totally wouldn’t look like I was staring at him. I understand how incredibly stupid this sounds - I’ve met lots of famous chefs, become friendly with some, and even count some even more well known than Wylie as fans. But you need to remember that even though I make “cupcakes”, I’m a classically trained former-restaurant chef who was drawn into the business (and pastry) because deep down inside I am a GIGANTIC nerd who likes learning new things every day. Wylie has been my idol for 9 long years. He’s my Elvis. I mean, this is the man who turned mayonnaise into a cube and then deep fried it! How can you read the phrase “deep fried mayonnaise” and NOT be shaken to the very core of your being!!!

Back to the food.

I won’t go into endless detail about every single course, because it’s going to get super repetitive super fast, and there’s only so many graphic euphemisms you can put into a restaurant recap before it becomes grounds for a restraining order. But we desperately need to talk about this:

This was the Serious Eats pic I posted last week, with the description of “I don’t know what it is”.  And now I do: Amaro soaked duck egg yolk on top of chicken confit and English pea puree, wrapped in ribbons of sous-vide carrot, garnished with little orbs of cooked carrot rolled in pea powder. 

Got all that?

Now OBVIOUSLY it was so delicious that I am now pregnant with it’s child. But what made this so good that I need to point it out was the texture: the carrots are cooked just barely soft enough that they retain enough shape to caress your tongue and wrap around it, while the yolk and chicken slowly melt to create a warm suppleness that coats your mouth. 

In layman’s terms: IT FELT LIKE I WAS MAKING OUT WITH A CHICKEN POT PIE. 

You may not feel like you have ever needed to make out with a pot pie, but trust me, you are SO wrong. I urge each and every one of you, even if you aren’t game for the complete tasting, to at least go to the bar at WD-50 and experience what it’s like to be mildly sexually accosted by cooked chicken.

Then at the very end of the meal, the manager Chris (who was one of the best I’ve ever seen working the floor) comes to say that he’s arranged for us to go on a tour of the kitchen. And I immediately try to find a way out of it, because I am terrified of meeting Wylie Dufrense.

As many of you who have met me know, I am not a shy person. I’m very much the girl reflected in my tweets and on this blog- except I use a f***ton more four letter words in person. I can talk to anybody, broach any topic- I’ve hung out with John McCain, the Fonz, and Alton Brown on different occasions, and never once have I been nervous about possibly projectile vomiting on them. But there I stood at the edge of the WD-50 kitchen, my stomach filled with the food I’ve waiting 9 years to eat, flipping over and over and over again. I shake hands with the pastry chef and realize that he looks like he’s 18 freaking years old, and try to keep reminding myself that I’m the grown-up in the room and I’m a respected chef with a book deal and tv appearances and the whole shebang AND I’M THIRTY-TWO YEARS OLD, and yet I feel like I’m a little girl, totally insignificant, and know nothing. 

Finally there’s a break in service, and I am waved over to meet Wylie Dufrense…..and that’s where my memory goes black. I choked. I don’t remember anything, because I had to use all my energy not to burst out crying in front of everyone in that room. I finally come to about 20 minutes later while crossing Allen street, with Matt asking me what happened to me and why I wasn’t my normal, gregarious, idiot self.

That’s when it all hits me. Not just my love of Wylie. Not just the fact that I’ve eaten the best meal of my life. The fact that for seven years my husband on various occasions has saved up to bring me to WD-50, and every time something had happened- like the time my grandmother died days before my birthday, or the wedding anniversary where Atticus had the lung infection and ended up in the pediatric ICU, or the many, many years where we were sacrificing everything to build this business and were barely putting food on the table- much less eating food from one of the fanciest restaurants in New York.

It all came out standing in the drizzle in the middle of Allen Street- waves upon waves of uncontrollable sobs. And again that night as I held Matt in my arms and played with his hair as he slept. Food can be a lot more than just “food”, you know? It’s knowing that it can create moments like that one that makes me fall in love with my job all over again.

I met my hero- even if I made an ass out of myself and possibly scared him with my creepy staring. I went to bed that night next to the greatest man in the entire world. And I made out with a chicken pot pie. It was the best birthday of my life.

PS- Wylie, if you ever read this, I am SO much cooler than I came off that night- I promise. Though you’ll probably never get to see it because I’m spending all my time choking back tears and trying not to puke on you. And I mean that in the nicest possible way.

Now lets get to flavors so you can all enjoy your Wednesday. They may not be made with liquid nitrogen, freeze dried potatoes or sous vide salsify- but as long as they put a smile on your face, we’ve done our job.

Clockwise from front: Strawberry Shortcake, Hot Sundae, S’Mores, Duckie

Strawberry Shortcake: Vanilla cake, strawberry syrup, mascarpone buttercream, strawberry compote, cake crumbs

Hot Sundae: Chocolate cake, vanilla buttercream, hot fudge sauce, maraschino cherry

S’Mores: Chocolate cake, speculoos pudding, toasted marshmallow buttercream, ganache, graham crumbs

Duckie: Peanut cake, peanut butter pudding, marshmallow buttercream, roasted peanuts

I haven’t left the East End yet. We didn’t want to hit traffic after our pop-up shop at Borghese Vineyards, so we decided we’d stay til Monday morning. Or maybe afternoon.

You’d think that with an aunt with a house in the Hamptons, we’d be here all the time. But then real life starts getting going and you have a baby, then another, then a business, then you work every single day growing the business and you keep putting yourself last over and over again because that’s what mommies and daddies do, and one day you wake up and realize that the last time you’ve been in this cottage was seven years ago.

So now I’m going to post the flavors, close the computer, go cuddle on the front grass with the love of my life, and watch the stars. 

We are coming back. I promise. (i think)

Note: If you want to follow more of our adventures behind the scenes, at home, and around town, follow me on Instagram: @robicellis

Clockwise from front: Funky Monkey, Bea Arthur, S’Mores, Estelle Getty

Funky Monkey: Banana chocolate chip cake, peanut butter buttercream, ganache, banana chip

Bea Arthur: Black coffee chocolate cake, cheesecake buttercream, espresso ganache

S’Mores: Chocolate cake, speculoos pudding, toasted marshmallow buttercream, ganache, graham cracker crumbs

Estelle Getty: Amaretto cake, cheesecake buttercream, crushed amaretti cookies

And today’s cupcakes have finally arrived! We still also have brownies and THREE types of Whoopie Pies at DeKalb Market (Nutella, Fluffernutter and Classic Vanilla Marshmallow). We’ll be closing at 8 tonight as our dreams of staying open late have been thwarted by our needs to catch up in our production. Our apologies to all those coming out for the Rockabilly Night Market- we were really looking forward to it, and are super bummed.

Anyway- FLAVORS!

Toasted Almond: Almond cake, vanilla buttercream, toasted almonds

S’Mores: Chocolate cake, speculoos pudding, toasted marshmallow buttercream, ganache, graham cracker crumbs

Lemon Blueberry Ricotta: Lemon cake, ricotta buttercream, wild Maine blueberries, lemon zest

Key Lime Cheesecake: Graham cracker cake, key lime curd, key lime cheesecake buttercream, graham crumbs, lime zest

IT’S SUMMERTIME! Everyone get up! Let’s dance!

My back is better, so now we must calypso! 

Not only are we counting coconuts, Matt and I are counting down the days until we take our annual family vacation to SESAME PLACE! As you know, I love Sesame Place not only because it’s super manageable with young kids or because every time I see Super Grover a burst out crying with joy, but also because every woman there has given birth at least once so it’s a judgement free zone in the swimsuit department. May not be the sexiest place on earth, but who really cares about sex appeal when you’re rambling down Big Bird’s Lazy River with remnants of chicken fingers in your hair and a five year old clinging to your neck because he refuses to believe that there are in fact NO alligators hiding on the rides waiting to eat him? Not I.

Besides if you’ve been married as long as I have, you’ll know that after a point it doesn’t really matter if you look flawless in a swimsuit, at long as you smell at least a little like fried chicken. And thank God my kids and their filthy little hands always make sure that happens.

This vacation is being made possible by the letter Q, the number 6, and by the fact that we’ve got a hell of a team running the Robicelli’s show.  So good, in fact, that this year Matt and I are getting to sneak away for a whopping FOUR WHOLE DAYS!  However I still run our entire social media department, so expect my blogging to be spotty, as I refuse to pay a surcharge for WiFi at hotels. Honestly, why not just make me pay for oxygen while you’re at it. Sheesh.

You know what else will get you stoked for summertime aside from dancing to Harry Belafonte? The return of KEY LIME CHEESECAKE!

Key Lime Cheesecake: Graham cracker cake, key lime curd, key lime cheesecake buttercream, lime zest, graham cracker crumbs

The Pickett: Vanilla cake, custard buttercream, feuillitine (crunchy pastry), ganache

Creamsicle: Orange cake, vanilla buttercream, orange zest

S’Mores: Chocolate cake, speculoos pudding, toasted marshmallow buttercream, ganache, graham cracker crumbs

Available at Robicelli’s at DeKalb Market and select Robicelli’s retail partners.

You now have SEVEN DAYS TIL MOTHER’S DAY.

I know, like 5 days ago we were talking about Easter and Valentine’s, and this one totally creeped up on us. Hell, I AM a mother and I had no clue until the end of last week when I went to pick my kids up from preschool, and they both handed me invitations they handmade for this Friday’s “If You Give Your Mommy a Muffin” teaparty.

Did I cry like a 4 year old girl? Ooooohhhh yeeeaaahhhh…….

So, as a certified mother myself, this is what your mom/wife/partner/babymamma wants:

1. Cupcakes, Brownies, and/or Whoopie Pies. Of course I was going to say this! What did you think I was going to suggest- another vase? Listen, I love my kids, I’ll love anything they get me because it’s from them, but I do not need another thing in this house that I need to dust, wash, worry the cat’s going to knock over, or generally take care of. Speaking of that…

2. Don’t Get Her a Plant. I know we’re only two entries into this list and already we’ve gotten completely off-topic, but any regular readers of this blog totally saw this happening. And if you’re a new reader, welcome, and I apologize in advance.

Getting back to plants- I take care of two kids, two cats, and a husband. I have to do dishes, laundry, and clean the house just enough before the cleaning lady gets here so she doesn’t think I’m some sort of savage beast. If anyone gives me a plant- aka, the gift of “more responsibility”- I’m going to be angry.

Not only that, but the plant WILL end up dying. Matt knows about me and plants so he once got me a cactus after a big fight. Guess how THAT turned out.

Ricardo “El Bandito” Robicelli: January 26 2012-Febuary 4 2012

The last thing I need is to explain to two heartbroken little boys why the “love plant” they gave me is gone, and does the fact it’s dead mean that I don’t love them. This hasn’t even actually happened and already I’m getting stressed out over it. So, no plants. Now we can get back to the list.

3. Clean the house. Or if you don’t want to do it, pay someone for the day. And I mean CLLLEEEAAAANNN the house, especially the kitchen and bathroom. If I got to sit on the couch stuffing my face full of the aforementioned whoopie pies with the knowledge that I did not have to stick my hand inside the toilet for a good long while, I would be freaking thrilled.

4. Take her outside. Anywhere. It doesn’t even need to be “brunch”- in fact, I’d prefer it if I never had to go to a crowded pre-fixe Mother’s Day brunch with my family. Go to a museum, a movie, mini-golf, a scavenger hunt, a walking tour, bowling, shopping at DeKalb Market (hint hint)- anywhere.

The best Mother’s Day I ever had, we went to the kid’s museum, a duck pond, the playground, and then had Denino’s pizza and ices from Ralph’s. Yes, it sounds like more of a day for the boys, but the truth is the only thing that I really ever want, more than a clean bathroom, more than shiny things, more than a robot that does the robot, is to be with the three guys I love more than anything in the entire world.

Doesn’t mean you shouldn’t also get her some cupcakes,though. She’ll just love you more for that.

Clockwise from front: Hazelnut Kiss, PB&J, S’Mores, Wild Maine Blueberry Cobbler

Hazelnut Kiss: Chocolate hazelnut cake, Nutella buttercream, roasted hazelnuts

PB&J: Vanilla cake, grape jelly, peanut butter buttercream, roasted peanuts

S’Mores: Chocolate cake, speculoos pudding, toasted marshmallow buttercream, ganache, graham cracker crumbs

Wild Maine Blueberry Cobbler: Vanilla cake, blueberry syrup, vanilla buttercream, wild Maine blueberry compote, brown sugar streusel

__________________________________________

Cupcakes Available At:

Robicelli’s at DeKalb Market: 138 Willoughby Street, Downtown Brooklyn (CLOSED MONDAYS- come visit us on Tuesday for “2 for $5 Tuesday”!)

Aloha Grinds: 77th & 3rd Ave, Bay Ridge

Crespella: 7th Avenue off 9th Street, Park Slope

Tazza: Clark Street off Henry AND Henry Street off Atlantic, Brooklyn Heights

Cake Shop: 152 Ludlow St, Lower East Side

Simon Sips: Hidden inside 1185 6th Avenue, Midtown

Battery Place Markets: 240 Murray Street, Goldman Sachs Building, Financial District

Joe Columbia University: West 120th btwn Broadway & Amsterdam, Morningside Heights

Queen City Cupcakes: 62 West Main Street, Patchogue, Long Island

___________________________________

Whoopie Pies Available At:

Robicelli’s at DeKalb Market

Red Hook Lobster Pound: 284 Van Brunt Street, Red Hook

Tazza: Clark Street off Henry AND Henry Street off Atlantic, Brooklyn Heights

Queen City Cupcakes: 62 West Main Street, Patchogue, Long Island

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Brownies:

Robicelli’s at DeKalb Market

Simon Sips: Hidden inside 1185 6th Avenue, Midtown

Oaxaca Tacos: 250 4th Avenue- Park Slope Brooklyn; 251 Smith Street Cobble Hill Brooklyn; 16 Extra Place, LES Manhattan; 48 Greenwich Avenue, West Village Manhattan

Queen City Cupcakes: 62 West Main Street, Patchogue, Long Island

So…um….dude….um…..yeah. Um, it’s Friday…um….yeah…and so, like, you should totally be eating some cupcakes or something dude because, like, um…..yeah….oh man! I just totally f**ked that up right now! What are we talking about again?

Oh yeahhhhhh….riiiight….

So like, you might need a lot of munchies and stuff today, like, for whatever totally legal reason. Which, you know, is cool, because there’s lots of stuff that’s like, REALLY GOOD with our cupcakes today. 

It’s all like, you know, like cake and stuff, but it’s also like other stuff too! Like, potato chips and pretzels and stuff like that.

What also would be like, really awesome, is if you went over to InBundles and could score, like, 6 cupcakes for half price. Cuz then you could totally save the rest of your cash and, heh heh heh…..use if for something else of the recreational persuasion? Know what I’m saying?

Like maybe for some damn books. Because nobody likes a freaking idiot.

C’mon, guys. Sheesh.

Clockwsie from front: Pecan Potato Chip, S’Mores, Chocolate Caramel Pretzel, Mary Jane

SPECIAL EDITION! Mary Jane: Molasses peanut cake, peanut butter buttercream, Mary Jane caramel, roasted peanuts (you know, like the caaannnddy)

Pecan Potato Chip: Pecan potato chip cake, vanilla buttercream, roasted pecans, potato chips, salted butterscotch

S’Mores: Chocolate cake, speculoos pudding, toasted marshmallow buttercream, ganache, graham cracker crumbs

Chocolate Caramel Pretzel: Chocolate cake, salted caramel buttercream, crushed pretzels, caramel & ganache drizzle

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Cupcakes Available at:

Robicelli’s at DeKalb Market: 138 Willoughby Street, Downtown Brooklyn

Aloha Grinds: 77th & 3rd Ave, Bay Ridge

Bagel Schmagel: 76th & 3rd Ave, Bay Ridge

Crespella: 7th Avenue off 9th Street, Park Slope

NEW! Bagel Pub: 287 9th Street, Park Slope

Tazza: Clark Street off Henry, AND Henry off Atlantic, Brooklyn Heights

Blue Apron Foods: Union Street off 7th Ave, Park Slope

Eastern District: Manhattan Ave off Eagle, Greenpoint

Brooklyn Standard: Nassau Street off Jewel, Greenpoint

Battery Place Market: 240 Murray Street, Financial District

Cake Shop: Ludlow btwn Stanton & Rivington, LES

Simon Sips thesecret coffee bar inside 1185 6th Avenue- find by going in the back way under the scaffolding- I know it’s tricky, but it’s there. One day I’ll draw you a map. Promise.

Bar 5F at Bergdorf Goodman: 5th Avenue & 58th Street, 5th Floor, Manhattan

Queen City Cupcakes: 62 West Main Street, Patchogue, Long Island

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Whoopie Pies Available At:

Robicelli’s at DeKalb Market: 138 Willoughby Street, Downtown Brooklyn

Bagel Schmagel: 76th & 3rd Ave, Bay Ridge

Red Hook Lobster Pound: 284 Van Brunt Street, Red Hook

Tazza: Clark Street off Henry, AND Henry off Atlantic, Brooklyn Heights

Queen City Cupcakes: 62 West Main Street, Patchogue, Long Island

_________________________________

Brownies Available At:

Robicelli’s at DeKalb Market: 138 Willoughby Street, Downtown Brooklyn

Simon Sips

Queen City Cupcakes: 62 West Main Street, Patchogue, Long Island

Oaxaca Tacos: 250 4th Avenue- Park Slope Brooklyn; 251 Smith Street Cobble Hill Brooklyn; 16 Extra Place, LES Manhattan; 48 Greenwich Avenue, West Village, Manhattan

I was planning on writing a big, quirky Tumblr post just for Leap Day, but today (Tuesday) has been one of the loooooongest days of my life, starting at 6am and involving lots of running around Manhattan like a crazy person. I’m totally burnt and need to go to bed, so you’re all going to have to wait another four years for the post. Sorry.

By this point, you know how much I hate taking pass days on the blog, but I always like to put something up to make you smile. So here’s an adorable cat!

What do you mean “Cats Again”?

Not true! Or at least, not every single time. But cats are the single most popular thing on the internet, so we get tons of hits and reblogs from it.  I mean, I doubt people really care or even notice…..

Well maybe I’m TIRED, cat!!! Maybe I’m, you know, wasting all my energy raising two kids and, you know, running a freaking business!!!

I’m TIRED! I’m trying!

Ok, fine. If I don’t have my A-game today, and stupid jerk face cats won’t cover for me, then I’m just going to have to use the second most viewed thing on the internet.

Yes sir.

Clockwise from front: S’Mores, Banana Cream Pie, Milk & Cookies, Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel

S’Mores: Chocolate cake, speculoos pudding, toasted marshmallow buttercream, ganache, graham cracker crumbs

Banana Cream Pie: Banana cake, vanilla custard, vanilla custard buttercream, banana chip, graham cracker crumbs

Milk & Cookies: Brown sugar chocolate chip cake, mascarpone buttercream, crushed chocolate chip cookies

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel: Chocolate cake, peanut butter buttercream, crushed peanuts and pretzels

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Cupcakes Available at:

Hom: Third Avenue and 88th Street, Bay Ridge

Cafe at Sam’s Bakery:  94th off 3rd, Bay Ridge

Battery Place Market: 77 Battery Place, Battery Park City AND 200 West Street, Goldman Sachs Building

Joe Columbia University: W. 120th Street btwn Broadway & Amsterdam, Morningside Heights

Queen City Cupcakes: West Main Street, Patchogue, Long Island

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Whoopie Pies Available At:

Red Hook Lobster Pound: 284 Van Brunt Street, Red Hook

Tazza Cafes: Clark off Henry AND Henry off Atlantic, Brooklyn Heights

Queen City Cupcakes: West Main Street, Patchogue, Long Island

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Brownies Available At:

Queen City Cupcakes: West Main Street, Patchogue, Long Island

Oaxaca Tacos: 250 4th Avenue- Park Slope Brooklyn; 251 Smith Street Cobble Hill Brooklyn; 16 Extra Place, LES Manhattan

We can’t go TOTALLY dark today, but I’m not writing anything (this doesn’t count).  Click on the pic above to be taken to the online petition to stop SOPA. If you don’t know anything about it, scroll through this infographic I pilfered from their site:

Back on Friday!

Clockwise from front: Pecan French Toast, S’Mores, Ebinger, Dom DeLuise

Pecan French Toast: Maple custard soaked cinnamon cake, maple cinnamon buttercream, maple glazed pecans

S’Mores: Chocolate cake, speculoos pudding, toasted marshmallow buttercream, ganache, graham cracker crumbs

Ebinger: Chocolate cake, chocolate custard buttercream, chocolate fudge, chocolate cake crumbs

Dom DeLuise: Pistachio cake, cannoli cream buttercream, pistachios, citron, mini chocolate chips

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Cupcakes Available at:

Hom: Third Avenue and 88th Street, Bay Ridge

Cafe at Sam’s Bakery:  94th off 3rd, Bay Ridge

Tazza Cafes: Clark off Henry AND Henry off Atlantic, Brooklyn Heights

Battery Place Market: 77 Battery Place, Batter Park City

Joe Columbia University: 120th btwn Broadway & Amsterdam, Morningside Heights

Queen City Cupcakes: West Main Street, Patchogue, Long Island

Whoopie Pies Available At:

Red Hook Lobster Pound: 284 Van Brunt Street, Red Hook

Tazza Cafes: Clark off Henry AND Henry off Atlantic, Brooklyn Heights

Queen City Cupcakes: West Main Street, Patchogue, Long Island

Brownies Available At:

Crespella: 7th Ave off 9th Street, Park Slope

Queen City Cupcakes: West Main Street, Patchogue, Long Island

Oaxaca Tacos: 250 4th Avenue- Park Slope Brooklyn; 251 Smith Street Cobble Hill Brooklyn; 16 Extra Place, LES Manhattan

Ok, remember how I was a total jerk on Friday saying I had news that I couldn’t tell you? Well I can finally start telling you a bit of it……….

Image courtesy of Free Food Boston

…..BROWNIES! You know- the ones that we kept selling out of like crazy at DeKalb and Madison Square Eats and Union Square…..as of this very second, we’re finally wholesaling them!  (We hired more people to keep up with demand) WOOT WOOT!  

If you haven’t had the opportunity to try them yet, you need to get to this.  Brownies were one of the top sellers at our original store before we closed it to go wholesale over 2 years ago, and were the #1 most requested item from all our original fans.  As you might have noticed, Matt and I are perfectionists when it comes to what we do, and we have no desire to release a product unless we can consider it as one of the absolute best that we have ever tasted (and trust me, we’ve tasted a LOT of brownies.  For, um, research. Yeah….that’s it….research). So until we had enough hands on deck to make sure we could produce these in large enough quantities where the quality would be flawless and none of our other products would suffer- they were left on the back burner.  And now, their day has come! Huzzah to that! 

What differentiates our brownies from the rest of the pack? Ultra chocolatey Valrhona cocoa, plenty of eggs and butter, and copious amounts of melted chocolate.  It’s not cakey, and not exactly fudgy- it’s just wrong, in a very, very right way.

You can find them at current Robicelli’s retail partners Crespella (Park Slope) and Queen City Cupcakes (Patchogue Long Island), and our NEW LOCATION:

Oaxaca Tacos!  With three locations in Brooklyn, and one on Extra Place in Manhattan (you know, that alley behind CB’s. And YES, it will always be CB’s, and I will acknowledge it as the John Varvartous whatever store over my cold dead body).  You can get our “Fany” brownie on their dessert menu: rich chocolate swirled with cinnamon and cajeta from Fat Toad Farms in Vermont.  And if you’re curious about the name, it’s names for one of my best friends and the grand dame of Mexican pastry- Fany Gerson.  And if someone I admire as much as Fany loves them, I know they’re good!

We’re going to start pounding the pavement and trying to bring these brownies to more shops around NYC soon- if there’s a place near you that you’d like us to hit, let us know!  And I am swearing in front of you all at this very moment- these brownies WILL SHIP IN 2012.  Super-duper-ultra-infinity promise.  

Even though we’re letting brownies finally have their moment in the sun after playing third fiddle to our other products, there are still cupcakes that are going to stores and need to be eaten to fulfill their cupcakey destiny.  Back from the vault today- The McFadden! Lemony delicious with just a splash of Pimm’s- this one’s a huge cult classic, and worth searching out.

Clockwise from front: S’Mores, McFadden, Hazelnut Kiss, Pecan French Toast

S’Mores: Chocolate cake, speculoos pudding, toasted marshmallow buttercream, ganache, graham cracker crumbs

McFadden: Victorian lemonade cake and buttercream with lemon, ginger and a splash of Pimm’s, candied lemon peel

Hazelnut Kiss: Chocolate hazelnut cake, Nutella buttercream, roasted hazelnuts

Pecan French Toast: Maple custard soaked cinnamon cake, maple-cinnamon buttercream, maple glazed pecans

______________________________

Cupcakes Available at:

Cafe at Sam’s Bakery:  94th off 3rd, Bay Ridge

Aloha Grinds: 77th and 3rd, Bay Ridge

Bagel Schmagel: 76th and 3rd, Bay Ridge

Crespella: 7th Ave off 9th Street, Park Slope

Tazza Cafes: Clark off Henry AND Henry off Atlantic, Brooklyn Heights

Cake Shop: Ludlow btwn Stanton & Rivington, LES

Queen City Cupcakes: West Main Street, Patchogue, Long Island

Whoopie Pies Available At:

Red Hook Lobster Pound: 284 Van Brunt Street, Red Hook

Tazza Cafes: Clark off Henry AND Henry off Atlantic, Brooklyn Heights

Queen City Cupcakes: West Main Street, Patchogue, Long Island

Brownies Available At:

Crespella: 7th Ave off 9th Street, Park Slope

Queen City Cupcakes: West Main Street, Patchogue, Long Island

Oaxaca Tacos: 250 4th Avenue- Park Slope Brooklyn; 251 Smith Street Cobble Hill Brooklyn; 16 Extra Place, LES Manhattan