Serendipity – Go but go only for what it’s known for: Dessert

The trick about this place:
The only way to avoid the queue for entry is to make a reservation.
The only way to make a reservation is to do so for lunch or dinner (no dessert resos allowed).
The catch: the food sucks, and for the quantity and quality it’s far overpriced.

But, that’s just the journey you have to endure to get to the prize. Eating the dinner food there is like the torture of going to the gym when all you want is the endorphins that arrive after the fact. I won’t even waste time reporting about the $15 chicken “sandwich” with one slice of bread and no fries or salad accompanying it. It’s not worth talking about how tasteless the chicken was and how awkward it was to eat a piled high sandwich with a knife and fork. I’ll focus on what this place is famous for: their decadent, enormous, and sinfully delicous desserts. Yes, they may be slightly inflated in price (sundaes ranging from $10 to $1000, no joke) due to this restaurant’s tourist appeal, but for a special occasion, it’s entirely worth hiking up to the upper east side to get a sundae the size of a bowling ball.*

I went for my friend Ashley’s birthday, so indulging was essential. We ordered the “Forbidden Broadway Sundae” – chocolate “blackout cake,” hot fudge, vanilla ice cream and loads of whipped cream, the “Ultimate Creme de la Creme Cheesecake” – cheese cake with hot fudge and strawberries, and of course, the ultra celebrated Serendipity Frrrozen hot chocolate. The sundae was undoubtedly delicious – each element of it was incredible, down to the very last morsel of moist, dense chocolate cake. The cheesecake was good (though I’m not a fan so not a great judge) with a walnut crust and fluffy filling. The frozen hot chocolate was bomb.com. Surprisingly, though loaded with calories, it’s quite light and refreshing. It’s not as dense and filling as a milkshake (or hot chocolate, for that matter), because you can taste the mini ice crystals that make the dish ice cold and soothing to the throat. It’s just sweet and chocolatey enough to do the job of dessert, and it’s a great replacement to ice cream (I started dipping the rest of the chocolate cake from the sundae in the frozen hot choc – excessive, I know). In light of all the hype, I agree it is a must buy if you go here. Along with the charming atmosphere which I describe as Alice and Wonderland -esque, this place is pretty good at transforming fantasy into reality.

Bottom line: if you hate waiting in line, just suck it up and make a reservation for a meal. If you don’t mind waiting for more than an hour, just go and get ready to eat a massive amount of dessert.

Address: 225 East 60th St. btwn 2nd and 3rd avenue.
Website: http://www.serendipity3.com/
(Checkout the “latest news” on the website to find out the restaurant’s most recent celeb visits).

*This blog is subject to exaggerations