Midtown Lunch

I read on Serious Eats that a gourmet market near Grand Central was doing the unthinkable: making frozen Greek yogurt with liquid nitrogen. That sort of high-tech sciencey stuff is usually reserved for molecular gastronomy restaurants – certainly not at gourmet bodegas. Blue Olive Market is a Mediterranean foodshop that just opened late last year and had not been on my radar. It looks like they sell interesting sandwiches for under $10 (like fennel salami or black angus meatballs) and Greek specialties. There’s also a small dining area and lots of specialty products for sale.

I had already eaten lunch, but was curious about this unusual frozen yogurt. You get to choose between sweet and tart yogurt and then from an array of toppings (some sweet, some savory) which they all whip together in a haze of smoke and mirrors. Thankfully this wasn’t one of those DIY yogurt shop!

I took one of the worker’s suggestions and had them mix my tart yogurt with honey and a Greek sesame candy called pasteli. The yogurt was certainly rich and creamy with a strong tart flavor. The honey and pasteli added a nice contrast of sweetness and crunch – although both disappeared rather quickly.

But ultimately this was basically very cold fresh yogurt. I’m not sure the liquid nitrogen added much in terms of texture. It didn’t have that smooth frozen sensation that makes frozen yogurt so appealing to me.

It might be worth it to check this out based on the novelty alone, but not sure it’s worth the extra few dollars for the gimmick. However, I would like to return here because I think some of their savory options might make for an interesting Midtown Lunch. Has anybody tried it out?

Blue Olive Market, 210 East 41st Street (b+w 3rd and 2nd Ave), (212) 922-0991