This was a really cute cafe with a good amount of seating and plenty of beverages to choose from…read more There's a little something for everyone, even caffeine averse people like me. They have really intriguing flavor combos you won't find anywhere else, as a lot of their special seasonal flavors are inspired by Chinese floral teas. You won't get that any other modern coffee place, no matter how sophisticated they are. I'd love a location in NYC, but some gems are best where they are. It gives me a reason to come back!

Incredible dessert shop serving craft mousse, cakes, lattes and matcha. I dined in and tried the…read moreearl grey mousse with raspberry ice cream. The textures were incredible, it was light but decadent, soft yet crunchy, a truly perfect dessert. I also tried a berry chocolate cake and it was delicious. The strawberry matcha was good but nothing special. The space inside to eat was on the smaller side, but there was plenty of seating available. Table service menu is $1 more expensive than take out. Worth it for the plating.

I love love love Van Leeuwen scoop shops and I was so excited to move to a city that has them! I…read moredecided to get something super indulgent, the chocolate peanut butter sundae, and it did not disappoint. The peanut butter sauce with the chocolate brownie ice cream is a match made in heaven. The girl working was also super friendly and so patient with me while I tried several samples and took forever to decide! She was genuinely one of the nicest people I have interacted with in a while (I wish I had gotten her name!) The store also is very spacious and has some seating available. Overall a wonderful experience and I will for sure be back!

Bang for your buck: 8/10 Quality: 9/10…read moreService: 9/10 Ambiance/Location: 7/10 Overall: 8/10

What a place. You'll either love it or you'll hate it. The menu is VAST, and it seems like a…read moremillion things are going on at once. But that's part of the experience. This place puts the fun back into ice cream, with its lively atmosphere out of this world flavor combinations and upbeat crowds: The premade combos are my choice, but if you're more daring definitely create your own unique creation

I love this place! It's been one of my favorites since I was younger. The ice cream alone is easily…read more5 stars for me. It's always delicious and worth the visit. If I'm rating the overall experience, I would take off a couple of points because the shop is pretty small with limited seating, and the cleanliness could be better. Service isn't the fastest either, but honestly I don't mind waiting because the ice cream is so good. It keeps me coming back. The portions are so worth the price. Even the kids size is really plentiful and not too expensive considering the quality and the city. I love the unique flavor combinations and how many choices there are. I really recommend this spot if you want great ice cream.

Tiny little Insomina in the Gayborhood. Solid location but gets soooo crowded and chaotic on the…read moreweekend. Always has all of its standard offerings. The staff at this location is so lovely! They can't take tips on cards tho which I don't love. Insomnia does not have the best cookies in the world, but they are consistent, a reasonable price and open late so thats a win in my book!

$ well spent! Had a dozen hot, fresh, wonderful cookies delivered to our hotel room on a Monday…read morenight after midnight when nearly every other option, including the hotel bar & restaurant, was closed. A few additional cookies tossed in our delivery for free, made it feel like a better value since we had some leftover to enjoy with morning coffee. Anticipated a long wait given the time & day, but a friendly face handed them to us in less time than Domino's. The Deluxe cookies were a treat w/ the peanut butter varieties a fav, but ALL the cookies, including the ones I didn't pick, were delicious. A little annoying the upcharges for deluxe varieties when I thought that was the point of picking an option that includes them, but the additional free cookies helped soften that. A must for any overnight stay in Philly!

Another trip to Philly and another delicious lunch at Gran Caffe L'Aquila! Appetizers, entrees,…read moregelato, coffee- all delicious! Prompt, friendly, courteous service, as usual. The place was busy, but that didn't delay our orders. We could hold a conversation without having to speak loudly. We bought some dark roast beans, ground there for espresso, to take home.

The food here was fresh and delicious. Starting with tomato and basil bruschetta and Mozzarella,…read moreboth the tomato and Mozzarella tasted like they were harvested that day. Even the grilled bread used for the bruschetta tasted fresh. Arancini with pork and veal ragu peas was great; the peas added a new texture to the traditional arancini. We also got fried artichokes as an appetizer. It was crispy and salty -- I could munch on that alone. For the entree, I got the veal braciole with tagliatelle and tomato sugo. The whole dish tasted homey, like what you would get at an Italian family's house. The veal braciocle was small, and I wished there was more protein and less pasta to be more balanced. For dessert, everyone raved about their gelato. Their pistachio flavor was clearly a favorite, as it had intense fresh pistachio flavor. It was also tan in color, as you would expect a pistachio nut to be, not the artificial green color added to other pistachio gelatos. I had the amaretto cherry flavor. It was good too, although I wished it had more cherries. A few people got their espresso, and really enjoyed it. They roast their own coffee on-site, so I am not surprised again how fresh it tasted. Tip: Pour a little of their fantastic coffee over your gelato to make your own fresh affogato. I came here with a large group and despite the tight space, we felt cozy. Service was spectacular. We had multiple food allergies in the group, and the waitstaff took each one very seriously, asking down to the detail if the allergy was by consumption or cross-contamination. Thank you to the staff for being so conscientious!

What a charming old school ice cream shop that's been open since the early 2000s. I still remember…read morecoming here back in 2005 and loving their product. My favorite part of their ice cream was the rich creamy texture with a great chew. On my recent visit, I ordered a single scoop of pistachio ice cream with hot fudge. For some reason, I didn't think the pistachio flavor is as strong as I remembered it, but still pretty solid. Thankfully, the texture is still as good as ever, so it still hit the spot. Sadly, the current prices make it a bit harder to swallow. My scoop of pistachio ice cream with some hot fudge was roughly $13. Ouch! I will admit that the scoop, served in a cute Chinese takeout box, was quite large, overflowing with hot fudge. Regardless, the price is still quite heavy. With that said, I rather pay a bit more for a quality product that is made by hand fresh daily. The Franklin Fountain has never taken any shortcuts, and I hope they never change.

Franklin is a great place for old-school candy and great ice cream! This is definitely an ice cream…read moreparlor that transports you back in time! Even when they are busy, the staff is always great. This time I noticed lots of Takeaway containers to bring your favorite flavors home. Ice cream is pricey but comes with the experience.

I ordered pick up from this new business. I saw their advertising on instagram and decided to give…read morethem a try. They offer vegan, gluten-free, refined sugar free, plant based desserts with no additives or preservatives. I ordered a multi pack and got hazelnut chocolate crunch, key lime chai, matcha mousse, and strawberry shortcake. They were actually out of the strawberry shortcake so the business owner contacted me for a substitute flavor. I chose the tiramisu instead. The desserts were delicious, she even threw in a pinacolada crumble freebie and an extra tiramisu. The flavors were good although some could be a little stronger (pina colada and key lime chai). I really enjoyed the crusts which tasted like some combination of dates and nuts. My favorite was the hazelnut and the tiramisu Would definitely order from again, packaging was nice and owner was easy to communicate with and the service was great.

So nice to stop in on a hot day. Very cool temps inside. And Right in time for happy hour…read more All the buns on the HH menu are good. Really bite size. The burger and beer combo is the best deal in the city. Burger was cooked perfectly. My son got the raw steak frites, and I got the ribs. Love the fries - it had some fresh horseradish shavings and Parmesan. The ribs weren't juicy. Needed better bbq sauce too. Service was at the bar. The bartenders were attentive and the food came out pretty much on time. We were able to get drinks off the HH menu. The frozen cocktails are the best. And also the old fashion.

5 stars for Bud and Marilyn's? I recently gave The Love 5 stars for its fried chicken!…read more The Marilyn's Fried Chicken I had this evening was every bit as good! I'm not sure why I waited so long to try the chicken at Bud and Marilyn's, but better late than never! They serve a LARGE 1/2 chicken. I started with the thigh. I was smitten by the first bite. I was told the chicken is soaked in a buttermilk brine for 24-48 hours - dipped in a buttermilk dredge - covered with their 'secret recipe' seasoned flour - and fried in a 'pressure fryer' that cooks the chicken in 12 minutes. It was perfectly fried - so crispy - the texture and seasoning of the exterior coating was incredible. The chicken was tender and juicy - the thigh was the juiciest - I didn't get to try the drumstick as I was too full! I had the thigh and 1/2 the breast. The breast is my favorite and I savored each large delicious piece I broke apart. It's important to pick up the chicken and eat it by hand - I did cut mine in half for a picture - but didn't use a fork to eat it - you lose the 'panache'of the meal. I didn't use the hot sauce served with the chicken - I brought my own bottle of honey and poured it over the chicken and biscuits. It was heavenly! Which brings me to the Biscuits! The dish comes with 2 large fluffy buttermilk biscuits - they were golden brown on the outside and tender and fluffy on the inside! They had such a rich, buttery flavor. I took several pieces of chicken and layered them on pieces of biscuit, drizzled with honey! It was truly a 5 star fried chicken and biscuit dinner!

I've been to A La Mousse many times and have only had amazing experiences here. The ambiance is…read morerelaxed but they have very nice offerings for desserts. The service is always kind and accommodating. This most recent visit we tried the Tea-Ramisu (Matcha Tiramisu) with salted caramel ice cream and the Earl Gray Cyclone. Both were amazing. The matcha tiramisu was really light and I love Earl Gray tea so I always enjoy getting the Earl Gray Cyclone. Overall, amazing dessert spot and I always try to stop by when I'm in the area.

I had occasion to try four things from A La Mousse -…read more Tangerine cheesecake Strawberry cream cake Double chocolate cake Caramel chocolate cake Everything was tasty, but I found the citrus items to be especially fluffy and light on flavor. I usually like my desserts to have more of a bang, but if you're into lightly sweet things that aren't too heavy, the non-chocolate items are for you. The two chocolate cakes I tried were delicious. Very chocolately, great textures. Overall I'm glad I tried A La Mousse but probably won't be going tout of my way to return in the future.

It was my first time trying this place and I came back for a second matcha, very nice staff and…read morelocation is very clean and also aesthetically appealing, do try the coconut and strawberry matcha

This is my second time visiting a Matcha Panda location, and I'm happy to say the quality is just…read moreas good as the Chestnut Street one. They definitely seem consistent, which I really appreciate. I came with a couple of friends on a Saturday afternoon, and wow... this place was packed. Even with the crowd, the staff stayed friendly and worked quickly, so we didn't have to wait too long for our drinks. One thing I still love is the seating. They have giant plushies sitting in the booths, so if you're by yourself, you're not just awkwardly staring at an empty seat across from you. Maybe I'm the only one who appreciates that, but I think it's a cute touch. The matcha here is the real deal. It's bright green, fragrant, and has that rich, earthy flavor with just enough natural bitterness that you know they're using quality matcha. A lot of places advertise matcha, but this one actually delivers. I ordered one of their matcha desserts with ice cream, and it was creamy, refreshing, and let the matcha flavor shine instead of burying it under sugar. My only complaint is that it was pretty warm inside. It was a hot summer day, and I honestly couldn't tell if the air conditioning was running or if it was just fans. Either way, it wasn't very cool inside. Thankfully I had ice cream, so it didn't bother me too much, but it's something to keep in mind if you're stopping by on a really hot day. Overall, another great visit. Friendly staff, consistently high-quality matcha, and a fun atmosphere. If you're a matcha lover, this is still one of my favorite spots in Chinatown.