This is a dump of all the lunches, snacks, etc from New York.
Magnolia Bakery
We got two vanilla cupcakes with chocolate frosting. The cupcakes were good. The cake itself was light, fluffy, and had good flavor, but the frosting is what sets Magnolia apart. It is dense, but in a good way. The frosting has a real chocolate flavor, rather than tasting artificial and buttery. Elena recommends trying the lemon cupcakes in the spring. This is a 4/4 bean* cupcake.
* We are not saying that the single cupcake is as good as a 4/4 restaurant, but just that we would not change anything about it.
Shake Shack
A solid fast food burger. Not as good as five guys, but above the standard fast food offerings. Elena says five guys is too greasy, while shake shack does not leave you thinking you are going to have a heart attack. 2/4 beans.
Devoción Coffee
Devoción serves Columbian beans roasted in Brooklyn. Both the pour over and drip coffee were very good. The pour over was expertly poured, with hand weighed beans freshly ground, and precise timing on all of the pours, which is probably what you are paying for more than the beans. The coffee tasted very clean, with no bitterness, but also not very much sweetness, a significant jump up from anything you can get in Ithaca. Elena’s latte was also very good, but only a bit better than the lattes you can get in Ithaca. This place was good enough that we had to go back the next day, all the way from 51st street. 4/4 coffee beans.