New York City Highlight No. 1: Banana Pudding at Magnolia's

So I went to NYC last week (for a conference (ahem) more about that later). I could do a whole NYC diary but I'm not sure I have the time and you have the inclination so instead, I'll pick my top 5 best experiences from this trip. So here goes:

While I definitely left my heart in San Francisco, New York makes it beat just a little faster. There is nothing as cool as emerging from your train/plane/bus in New York and immediately melding into the crowd, amongst crisp fall or winter air and twinkling buildings. There's something about it that just makes me feel ALIVE.

But this post is not about my heart, or perhaps only indirectly in vague health-related ways that we should not dwell on right now. This post is about my stomach. It's a post about a very happy food discovery that I made this trip. And to make up for my silence, I shall start my New York posts in the most delectable way possible.

Without further ado I present to you: The Banana Pudding at Magnolia Bakery



The picture could never convey to you the greatness of this humble looking pudding- custard, vanilla wafers, ripe bananas and whipped cream!



This is all of us digging into the banana pudding for breakfast- this is after we ate it for dinner. The next day we ate it after lunch, and the day after that, FOR lunch.



If you're a sex and the city fan (I'm not) you know that this is where Carrie got her cupcakes. But an excellent tipster told us to steer clear of the cupcakes and go for the pudding and now it is only my duty to pass the wisdom along (although pretty much all my readers were actually with me in NYC eating this very same pudding, so who am I kidding).



The inside of the store is 'cute' in a very chick-lit, girly, pastel sort of way.It really looks like it could be the cover picture for a chick-lit book with curly hand writing and a giant pink shoe on a tiered cake...that sort of thing. It's set on Bleeker street (401) in a pretty neighborhood- very NYC. But really forget the ambiance, the cuteness or the pop-culture relevance. Just follow the sign and eat the banana pudding...



The adoring masses....lined up for the cupcakes no doubt, poor things- tsk tsk!