Friday, November 16, 2007

Frrrozen Hot Mouse Droppings?

Husband and I have a yearly tradition when it comes to my birthday. We always go for ice cream. Neither of us are fans of cake, so when it comes time for me to blow out the candles, I would much rather lick the side of an ice cream cone or have a blizzard held upside down over my head. (I am a big ice cream fan. Next to bread and cheese, ice cream is my weakness.) I know my birthday is still more than two months away, but as soon as Husband and I decided to move to NYC I knew that I had to go back to Serendipity 3 for one of their famous “Frrrozen Hot Chocolates” and my birthday just seems like the perfect time/reason to go!

If you have never heard of Serendipity and their amazing Frozen Hot Chocolate, you are definitely missing out. If you that have seen the movie “One Fine Day,” then you have seen this famous institution. There is a scene in the movie where Michelle Pfeiffer is having Frozen Hot Chocolate with the two kids (right before the little girl disappears).

Serendipity has been a landmark in the heart of the Upper West side of Manhattan since 1954, where they serve Frrrozen Hot Chocolate, one of the most famous desserts here in New York. Not only is Serendipity a restaurant, but it also has a general store, soda fountain and coffeehouse. The Frrrozen Hot Chocolate is a secret-recipe of icy-chocolate confection served in an enormous fishbowl-shaped goblet, garnished with a mound of fresh whipped cream topped with shaved chocolate, accompanied by a mixing spoon and two straws. This frosty, velvety-smooth creation is made from no fewer than 14 kinds of chocolate and exotic cocoas, ground into a rich slush. Yes, it is absolutely phenomenal!

Unfortunately I read some dreadful news the other day that is making me question my decision of wanting to go to Serendipity. Wednesday night, the city Health Department temporarily shut down Serendipity. It appears that the restaurant has failed two health inspections in the past month. According to Business Week, on Wednesday, the Health Department said an inspector spotted a live mouse in the building, as well as mouse droppings, fruit flies, houseflies and more than 100 live cockroaches. YUCK!!!!!!!

A spokesperson, Joe Calderone, from Serendipity released the following written statement: "It is unfortunate that published reports have exaggerated the situation and may be leading to certain misperceptions. That being said, we are taking this matter VERY seriously. Certain conditions have been pointed out which require correcting and we are working quickly to be in 100 percent compliance with the Health Department's suggestions. We will reopen as soon as possible."

Of course I am completely grossed out by the thought of roaches and mice. A coworker was trying to tell me that this really is not that uncommon and that the place will be so much safer after having to go through this ordeal. While I understand his logic, I am still not sure if I can get over mouse droppings, flies and roaches. I can just see myself staring down at my Frrrozen Hot Chocolate and wondering if that was really chocolate shavings I was looking at.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Just think of all those calories you will miss and you won't miss the frozen chocolate or the mouse droppings. :) Scrabble
Good to see you are posting again:)

Anonymous said...

NEITHER of you are fans of cake??? When did this get decided? Why wasn't I informed? I must take care to choose my friends more carefully. How can I trust someone with a vendetta against CAKE fer cryin' out loud???

Husband in NYC said...

Well, I love making cake - but when I eat desserts, I prefer 1) cheesecake; 2) ice cream; 3) pies; 4) cookies; or 5) chocolate. If those aren't available, I will make do with cake. Wife's love is ice cream.

Anonymous said...

Wow. Cake and I are good, good friends. As a matter of fact, I read a blog competely dedicated to cake! Whenever I make cake, I have to be careful to make just enough for everyone to have some with NO leftovers. I've been known to eat entire cakes in my sleep.

And cheesecake is just one of those things... when it's good, it's REALLY good, and when it's bad, it's REALLY bad.

Husband in NYC said...

That's very true about cheesecake. To celebrate my passage of the Bar Exam, Wife got a celebratory cheesecake that was the absolute finest thing I have ever eaten in my life. Wow - it was that good. Instead of eating it all in one sitting, I only ate 1/2 inch slivers at a time so I could stretch the goodness out for two weeks. I meant to write a blog entry dedicated to that glorious cheesecake (honestly, I didn't know food could be that good).

However, some cheesecake is just horrible. This past week I had a piece of some sort of coffee cheesecake; the concept sounded great, but it was aweful.

Anonymous said...

Mouse droppings and all...I'd like to put in a request to go here. In fact, most of your food adventures sound very enticing.

Husband in NYC said...

After all this time, we still haven't gone there. We were actually talking about it last night. We'll have to make sure Wife knowns of your request so she can add it to the spreadsheet.