serendipity 3 - where diets go to die

my mother took me to serendipity once when i was a child. it was summertime, probably a weekend. we had just seen pauly shore's smash hit, "The Son-in-Law"; a movie so bad the only way to salvage the night was to overindulge at an ice cream shop of wonka-esqe proportions.

i can't remember what i had that night, and for the longest time i couldn't remember serendipity's exact name or location either. 15 years later, i'm zipping across 60th street on my bike, when i spy a rather thick crowd of out-of-towners and yuppies.

"go fuck yourselves!", i growl from my bike.

i always like to let tourists and the upwardly mobile know exactly where i stand. then i noticed the awning:

serendipity 3
225 East 60th Street
between 2nd and 3rd Avenues
New York, NY 10022

-serendipity! so, we meet again...

a few weeks later i came back to join the throngs of yuppies and tourists with some out-of-towners of my own, sandy's mother and sister. it was a rainy sunday in late november and we still had to wait 30 minutes for a table. apparently, only one person per party is allowed to wait indoors during peak hours - just thought i'd mention it...


the inside is just as i had remembered it; wall-to-wall schmaltz with enough tinsel to choke a reindeer. the foyer is an impulse buy extravaganza; mini jesus statues, hand bags, rubber stamps, and many more spencer's gifts type items. the bi-level dining room is chock full of tacky christmas lights and gaudy chandeliers - incredibly cozy or ostentatious, depending on your mood.


the menu is vast:

buffalo wings, soups, burgers, salads, seafood, pastas and dim sum, all grace the bill, however, most people come for the desserts. a $1,000 ice cream sundae?!? pretty tempting, but i rather be able to pay my rent. sandy and i decide to split an "outrageous banana split" instead.

5 scoops of ice cream:

chocolate
vanilla
mint
strawberry
peanut butter

3 types of syrup:

chocolate
butterscotch
caramel

2 frozen bananas, wet nuts, whipped cream, rainbow sprinkles and a cherry on top!



it was as good as it looks. the flavors were well balanced and the harmony between hot, cold, gooey and creamy was heavenly. a deluge of goodness overflowed beyond the confines of the goblet and pooled in the plate below - my favorite part.

all done!

© 2008 c. c. villani @ "mission: insatiable" - http://missioninsatiable.blogspot.com/