First the Treats Truck, then Dessert Truck, Wafels & Dinges, and now the Street Sweets Truck (followed by the Big Gay Ice Cream Truck). It would be easily to shake one’s head at the severe overflow of baked good and dessert oriented trucks in the city, but as far as I’m concerned (from a consumer perspective) the more, the merrier.

Unlike the other aforementioned trucks, Street Sweets Truck sets itself apart by being tied to a stone and mortar bakery in Brooklyn, One Girl Cookies. One Girl Cookies bakes a good number (but not all) of the products sold at the SS truck, including a selection of One Girl Cookies and some goods exclusively made for for SST.

I sampled my way around a good portion of their products, and while nothing is “the best of its kind”, as a whole SST is a notch above Treats Truck, the most comparable of moving dessert vehicles in town. Below, the top five to note for your next SST visit.

1. Pumpkin Whoopie Pie

Imagine this: two plush pumpkin cookies rounds, gently spiced and oh-so adorable. In the middle, a thin swoosh of gooey, frosting. The frosting is perhaps too sugary sweet on its’ own, but together, they make a wonderful pair. Whoopie pies seem all the range, and since Joe the Art of Coffee stopped carrying those lush mint whoopie versions from This Chick Bakes, the SST is your best bet for a midtown whoopie hankering. Over at the One Girl Bakery, where these whoopie pies were made famous, they also serve a pumpkin whoopie ice cream sandwich with Il Laboratorio’s ricotta gelato which is absolutely to die for. Perhaps we can rally and suggest that Street Sweets start carrying the ice cream sandwiches as well!

2. Lemon Loaf Cake

I showed up just before 11am on a Monday, and as I was settling upon an order I spotted a batch of something fresh coming out of the oven. “Loaf cakes!” the proprietor declared. And I could not say no. If you do happen upon an opportunity for a fresh loaf cake, do not pass it up. The cake alone is lovely, but served warm it is something special. The top is golden, and extra crunchy, and the cake boasts a dense, buttery crumb offset by citrus-y bursts of lemon. Extra lemony – that is a bonus. Priced at $3, it’s also one of the best deals to be found at the SST.

3. Flourless Chocolate Walnut Cookie

Small, yes. Pricey for the size, yes. But tasty? Ooh yess. The abundantly nut-studded cookie is a familiar cross between cookie and brownie with a gleaming, crackly crust. Moist, chewy, and dark chocolate-y in flavor, it’s the kind of compact though richly satisfying treat I like to tuck into my work bag for a late afternoon snack or an on-the-bus-home sort of treat.

4. Red Velvet Cupcake

I head straight downtown to Pinisi Bakery for my red velvet cravings, but SST’s version, even by non-Midtown standards, is pretty awesome. Moist and fluffy crumb, heavy on the cocoa, the cupcake is topped off with a just-the-right-portion of tangy and sweet cream cheese frosting. It’s easy to see why this is their top selling cupcake.

5. Croissants

The SST croissants are served plain, or stuffed to order with your choice of filling. Honey, dulce de leche, and cashew butter all sound very nice, but it was the praline cream I fell for. Chilled, smooth, nutty, and generously smothered about, it brought a memorable twist to an otherwise ordinary treat. The croissant is a solid creation, good for midtown, but keep in mind it cannot compete against those in non-midtown territories around Manhattan (aka Patisserie Claude, La Bergamote).

The Street Sweets Truck usually parks M-W-F on 53rd btw. 5+6th, and T-Th on 55th btw. Mad+Park.  For their exactly location, check their Twitter Account, or the Midtown Lunch Twitter Tracker.

Read these other posts by Kathy YL Chan:

• Shave Ice is the Best New Thing at Cafe Zaiya (But the Frappes and Soft Serve are Pretty Awesome Too)
• A Food Porn Guide to Navigating Your Way Through Cafe Zaiya
• Where to get Two Little Red Hens, Doughnut Plant, Balthazar & More (in Midtown)
• Everything You Wanted to Known About FreeFoods NYC But Were Too Cheap to Try
• Hawaiian Island Grill Won’t Remind You of Oahu, But This Fat Guy Didn’t Mind

Since you’ve already had a first look at the menu and set up of Cafe Zaiya’s new coffee and dessert station, let’s just get straight to the point. The best thing on Cafe Zaiya’s new drink bar menu is SHAVE ICE. It’s near impossible to find shave ice in this city, much less a decent bowl of shave ice. It’s a terribly painful fact for someone who grew up in Hawai’i, consuming shave ice bowls on a daily basis. Zaiya’s shave runs $3.79 for a small and $4.29 for a large, and comes in one flavor: Green Tea. Unlike most places which fill the cup with shave ice and then put on the syrup, Zaiya fills half the cup with shave ice then pours on green tea syrup and plenty of condensed milk. Then more ice, till it forms a decent mound, and then more syrup and condensed milk.

How about the toppings?

To top, spoonfuls of azuki beans and mochi. Mochi… as in ONE mochi. That was my only complaint. One. Single. round of mochi. Just one. Aside from the ridiculously paltry serving of mochi, this shave ice is a winner. Not because of the ice (which could be shaved finer), but because the syrup flavor is tops, and the deep matcha flavor is generously poured. And of course, condensed milk makes everything better.

Frappes are also offered on the menu in flavors of black sesame and green tea. I blogged about the very lovely black sesame on Serious Eats New York. Note, these are not ice cream based drinks, but rather a milk and ice blended frappe. Think Starbucks frappucino gone Asian, but less sweet and much tastier. Like the shave ice, and the soft serve below, the matcha flavors shine through more boldly than expected, which is a good thing. Whipped cream is optional, and it’s worth nothing that the matcha frappe comes dusted in matcha powder if you opt for the whipped cream.

The frozen treats have me quite excited here. Cafe Zaiya started selling pints of frozen ice cream before the new Cafe opened, but now they’ve added soft serve to the collection! Soft serve comes in black sesame and green tea. And if you simply can’t settle on one, the most awesome part is that you can twist both flavors and not miss out on anything.

In this Manhattan world where soft serve is all the rage, Zaiya’s version ranks among the top tier. Ice cream is offered in both those flavors as well as rum raisin and caffe latte. The ice cream is decent, if not passable, but the soft serve is definitely worth your stomach space.

Your typical mochas, lattes, and chais are on the menu as well, and range from plain and expected to reliable. However, the Green Tea Chai piqued my interest as I had never consumed the two flavors together. The end result is more green tea-y than chai-y, and on both occasions I had this drink it was served SCALDING hot. So don’t say we didn’t warm you! Price-wise, this is a better deal than your neighborhood Starbucks, and besides, wouldn’t you rather support Zaiya?

P.S. The Cafe is hoping to roll out a bubble tea menu at some point this summer. We’ll be sure to keep you posted!

Cafe Zaiya, 18 E. 41st St. (btw. 5th+Mad.), 212-779-0600

Read these other posts by Kathy YL Chan:

• A Food Porn Guide to Navigating Your Way Through Cafe Zaiya
• Where to get Two Little Red Hens, Doughnut Plant, Balthazar & More (in Midtown)
• Everything You Wanted to Known About FreeFoods NYC But Were Too Cheap to Try
• Hawaiian Island Grill Won’t Remind You of Oahu, But This Fat Guy Didn’t Mind

Two Little Red Hens

• Actual Bakery Location: 1652 2nd Ave (btw. 85+86th), UES
• Favorite Item: Brooklyn Blackout Cake

This dark and luscious number never fails to leave me intoxicated in a sugar coma, post-consumption. Regardless, I return to it over and over again. And no, there are never regrets. Tiers of chocolate cake layered with chocolate pudding, finished off with frosting and a smattering of cake crumbs. Too sweet? Of course! But in just the right ways that you would expect and want. Where to get it in Midtown: Dean & Deluca

Sage General Store

• Actual Bakery Location: 24-20 Jackson Ave., Long Island City
• Favorite item: Carrot Cake Cupcake

The girls over at Lunch Studio have already spilled wonders on this oversized cupcake creation. Carrot cake and a smother of whipped cream cheese frosting. Simple and classic, no surprises here, just pleasure all around. Where to get it in Midtown: Dean & Deluca

Ceci-Cela Patisserie

• Actual Bakery Location: 55 Spring Street, Nolita
• Favorite item: Cherry Danish

A base of flaky pastry (only on non-humid days), a layer of supple pastry cream and cherries studded throughout make this number easy on the eyes and tongue. Ceci-Cela does fruit danishes in other flavors, including pears and plums, but cherry, with a bright tart pucker, is the best. Where to get it in Midtown: Joe The Art of Coffee

Tisserie

• Actual Bakery Location: 857 Broadway, Flatiron
• Favorite item: Croissant Bread Pudding

Tisserie’s Croissant Bread Pudding is one of the few bread puddings that I enjoy at room temperature. Torn croissant cuts are soaked in an eggy and cream heavy mixture, then baked till the outer layers turn all golden and crisp. The innards remain custardy, lightly sweetened, and very dense. Where to get it in Midtown: Oren’s

This Chick Bakes

• Actual Bakery Location: Wholesale Only
• Favorite item: Vegan Peanut Butter Cookie

The Pomegranate White Tea cookies are fun suprises, as were the Whoopie Pies (which, are sadly, no longer sold), but I’m invariably drawn back to the Vegan Peanut Butter cookie, crumbly and unexpectedly satisfying. This Chick Bakes keeps an interesting rotation of products at Joe’s in Grand Central, so sweets and pastries never get boring with this bakery. Where to get it in Midtown: Joe The Art of Coffee

Doughnut Plant

• Actual Bakery Location: 379 Grand St., LES
• Favorite item: Blackout Cake Doughnut

Just as chocolaty and decadent as the Brooklyn Blackout Cake from Two Little Red Hens, but extra special because these are not only coated in cake crumbs but also deep-fried. Oren’s, Dean & Deluca, and Joe’s keep a steady rotation of different flavors from Doughnut Plant, but you can never go wrong with this classic. The Strawberry Yeast Doughnut is always a tasty fallback. Make sure to come in the early mornings for doughnuts – they’re usually sold out by noon. Where to Get it in Midtown: Oren’s, Joe The Art of Coffee, Dean & Deluca

Erica’s Rugelach

• Actual Bakery Location: Brooklyn, NY (Advance orders only)
• Favorite item: Raspberry Cinnamon Rugelach

At $1.25 a piece, I like to get a few of these and munch on them throughout the day. Raspberries and cinnamon make an unusual, though perfectly paired combination. I believe that Erica’s makes one of the best rugelach in the city (though I’m open to other suggestions), always generous with the currants and walnuts. The cream cheese pastry dough is always spot on, delicious and consistent. Where to get it in Midtown: Joe The Art of Coffee

Balthazar

• Actual Bakery Location: 80 Spring St., Soho
• Favorite item: Sticky Bun

Everyone knows about Balthazar’s Sticky Bun. And if you don’t, you should be thoroughly ashamed of yourself. This is not your usual doughy and plush bun. This is a crisp and flaky number – imagine sticky glazed croissant laced with sweet pecans and raisins. It’s tiny in size compared to the average sticky bun, but you’ll quickly discover that looks are deceiving once it hits the bottom of your belly. Where to get it in Midtown: Oren’s

BisCoLatte

• Actual Bakery Location: 667 Tenth Ave. (btw. 47+48th), Hell’s Kitchen
• Favorite item: Chocolate Hazelnut Biscotti

Chocolate. Hazelnut. A classic combination. Merge the two in a piece of BisCoLatte’s biscotti, and dunk in your morning mug of coffee. BisCoLatte ranks high in my books precisely because they cut their biscotti on the thin side. Too thick -> breaks your teeth. Cut it thin and you’ll expose the optimal amount of surface area for coffee dunking. Where to get it in Midtown: Joe The Art of Coffee

Corner Cafe & Bakery

• Actual Bakery Location: 1645 3rd Ave (btw. 92+93rd), UES
• Favorite item: Chocolate Farm Muffin

The Chocolate Farm Muffin is the “lightest” of the sweets mentioned in this post, even with a generous swirl of cream cheese in the batter. It’s not dark, not very decadent. Remember the texture of Betty Crocker and Duncan Hines chocolate cake mix? Think something along those lines, only really really tasty. I could easily down three of these muffins in a sitting. Where to get it in Midtown: Joe The Art of Coffee

Dean & Deluca (Multiple Locations)

• 620 8th Ave. (on 41st St.), 212-221-0312
• 1 Rockefeller Plaza (on 48th btw. 5+6th), 212-664-1372
• 9 Rockefeller Plaza (on 49th btw. 5+6th), 212-664-1363
• 235 W. 46th St. (btw. 7+8th), 212-869-6890
• 156 W. 56th St. (btw. 6+7th), 212-586-2970

Oren’s Daily Roast (Multiple Locations)

• Grand Central Terminal (2 Locations)
• 830 3rd Ave. (btw. 50+51st)

Joe The Art of Coffee, Grand Central Terminal (in the Graybar Passage)

Post and photos by Kathy YL Chan

Other posts by Kathy on Midtown Lunch:
Everything You Wanted to Known About FreeFoods NYC But Were Too Cheap to Try
A Food Porn Guide to Navigating Your Way Through Cafe Zaiya
More From Dainobu: The Good, The Bad, & The Udon
Hawaiian Island Grill Won’t Remind You of Oahu, But This Fat Guy Didn’t Mind

What I’m saying is, I could never compile a post like this. It would require too many visits… choosing too many things… making too many decisions. I just don’t have that willpower. I would probably just end up buying one of those little fried chicken sandwiches and a rice ball every single time. Damn you Zaiya! Luckily, Kathy YL Chan, author of the blog A Passion for Food, and our resident Hawaiian food expert, doesn’t have my issues. And she was happy enough to put together this massive look at some of the best things Cafe Zaiya has to offer. Sure it’s nothing groundbreakingly new here on Midtown Lunch… but who would complain about looking at a ton of amazing food porn from one of the best lunch places in Midtown.

Of all the places to eat lunch in Midtown, Café Zaiya is my safe haven. Reliable, cheap, and most importantly, very tasty. Most days I veer straight towards the bakery counter and select two baked goods. That fills you up just about right for less than $5. You’d be hard pressed to find a better deal.

The café is divided into five major sections. The bakery area on the left side of the shop, bento and sandwiches in the middle, a hot food station in the back, a cold food area to the right (sushi, salads, and cold sandwiches) and Bead Papa’s upfront. I find the hot food at Zaiya to be simply passable and nothing more. Same goes for the sushi. Divert your attention to the bakery.

Here you’ll find wonders (most priced under $2) of the sweet and savory sort, either baked, steamed, or deep fried. Below are a few of my favorites.

The yakimochi is perhaps what Café Zaiya is best known for. A crisp, baked exterior, followed by a chewy inside mochi layer, and then a center of azuki bean paste. It’s no single element, but rather the textural combination of all three that make this exciting to eat.

The Sweet Cheese Dome is a fun one- a billowy baked bun stuffed with whipped cream cheese. I like to warm this in the oven toaster at work ’til the outside gets crispy and the innards, all molten and creamy.

The Sakura Yakimochi comes and goes, though I have not spotted it recently. The baked bun (similar to the Sweet Cheese Dome) is filled with a sweetly scented white bean paste.

On days I know I’ll be working late, I like to bring back a few extra Mushipans – sweet steamed cakes. They have a bunch of different flavors, including chocolate and matcha, but the sweet potato is best.

Corn & Tuna sits heavy on your stomach, but it’s worth the once a week indulgence. The soft bun is stuffed with a mayo-dense tuna salad, and then slathered with MORE mayo and a smattering of corn. You’ll need a cleansing mug of hot tea with this.

A slightly lighter route takes you to the Spicy Tuna Bun, with the tuna encased in a shell noticeably harder/crisper than most of the other buns. This too, becomes quickly addicting.

Sometimes I leave for work extra early just so that I can stop in before breakfast. Because only in the morning have I ever been lucky enough to get a warm Curry Pan. And I swear to god, few things are more blissful than hot fried bread stuffed with curry first thing in the morning. Come in the afternoon and the curry pan is room temperature. Nothing wrong with that, but once you have it hot, it’s hard to turn back.

I’ve been able to get the Croquettes warm at lunchtime though, so that is nice. Make sure you ask for the little packet of katsu sauce with the croquette, it makes a huge difference.

If you want to make your meal complete with something fried, savory, and sweet, follow it up with one of Zaiya’s doughnuts. Mochi Doughnut, Twist Doughnut, or the one I often lean to: the An Doughnut. Why have plain doughnuts when you can have them sugar-dusted and stuffed with red bean paste?

On the matter of fried foods, I strongly believe the onion and ground beef stuffed Piroshiki would taste awesome if fried (as it is traditionally done.) Perhaps I will mail in a suggestion letter to Café Zaiya. “Please fry the piroshiki.”

Newest to the bakery counter is a selection of steamed buns in trio of flavours: beef curry, red bean, and pork. The steamed buns are the only bakery section product always served warm, which is just right for those chilly days. I had the beef curry one the other day, and it was a plush warm bun with a fair amount of filling (shredded beef, carrots, and onions), hinging on the sweeter side.

Mapo Tofu Bowl

If the bakery section doesn’t appeal to you, head to the middle and feast on sandwiches, onigiri and rice bowls.

Honey Chicken Sandwich

Chicken Curry Sandwich

After eating my way though nearly every single sandwich, I must say that I prefer the chilled white bread sandwiches (especially the spicy tuna one) over the hot dog and hamburger stuffed sandwiches. I’ll make an occasional exception for the Curry Chicken Sandwich, greasy and overwhelming, though nonetheless satisfying.

Cafe Zaiya’s onigiri don’t stand really stand out from the ones served at the other Japanese delis in this area. As said before, Zaiya’s strength lay with their baked goods.

As you know, at the beginning of the year Zaiya rolled out a $5 lunch special, which after a few visits, turns out to be not that special considering that one can easily compose a solid meal here for under $5. Nonetheless, the $5 meal includes any one of the bentos labeled “Zaiya Meal” and a bottle of water, coffee, or tea. Add on a salad and it becomes $7. Do without the liquid and the price is dropped to $4.25 (plus tax).

“Zaiya Meal” bento options cover a broad range of items. To name a few: Oyako Don, Unagi Rice, and Hamburg Steak.

Ahh… the Hamburg Steak is a funny one. This bento comes with your starch choice of rice or white bread. But no matter which option you choose, both come with a fair helping of spaghetti tucked under the steak.

I tend to lean away from the salad, sushi, and hot foods section. If you come to Zaiya, come for the unusual assortment of pastries. With a steady rotation of new products, it never gets boring. I find that 1 savory pastry + 1 sweet pastry = a most satisfying lunch combination. Though on some days, I’ll have 3 sweet pastries and nothing else for lunch. Whatever suits your mood.

…But if you have room for more sweets at the end of the meal, polish it off with a Beard Papa cream puff strategically placed towards the exit of the cafe. Nothing quite like making your co-workers envious with a custard-filled double choux shell.

Post and photos by Kathy YL Chan

Cafe Zaiya, 18 E. 41st St. (btw. 5th+Mad.), 212-779-0600