Who would have thought that a beer store would produce one of the best ice cream sandwiches we have ever eaten? We wandered into Bierkraft to see what beers were available on draft (to fill our growler).

Instead, we ended up debating over Bierkraft's own delicious ice cream sandwiches: brownie with vanilla chocolate crunch gelato filling, pecan blondie with dolce de leche gelato, brownie with peanut butter gelato, cherry blondie with dark chocolate gelato.

All of the sandwiches are made with il laboratorio del gelato and the brownies and blondies are made with organic and gourmet ingredients (including beer!). We chose the cherry blondie with dark chocolate gelato, which was very large (and only $4.95). It wasn't overly sweet, had great texture, and the gelato was wonderful. It's a great treat to share on a summer's day.

We recently had a couple of bottles of the 2007 Alamos Malbec Seleccion (Bodega Catena, Mendoza region of Argentina). This wine is one of our favourite everyday reds.

The regular Alamos Malbec is usually $15-$16 per bottle in NYC. We were excited to see the Seleccion version at Zachys (in Scarsdale, NY), so we bought a case. (We also ended up getting a great deal, paying about $12.50/bottle).

We love trying new craft beers, so we were eager to check out Rattle n Hum. It's a relatively new bar in midtown that features craft beers from over 40 taps and 4 casks. Rattle n Hum also offers growlers to take the beer home with you.

This is a beer lover's dream. The selection is ever-changing and the menus feature ratings by Beer Advocate. Some of their recent selections on tap and in cask have included brews from Stone, Allagash, Sixpoint and Bear Republic along with a great selection of big bottles.

We love outdoor get-togethers and sharing great wines with
friends and family wherever we go. But we always face the dilemma of either serving a fine bottle in cheap plastic cups or sacrificing Waterford glasses for the greater good.

Govino glasses are a perfect solution to our entertaining needs. We tried them out this weekend after reading about them in a wine magazine. At only $2.99 each (or a 4-pack at $11.95), they are an inexpensive way to showcase our favourite wines without worrying about broken glass.

The glasses feature a dent on the side for your thumb so you can easily carry them. They are also lightweight, yet durable.

New Yorkers are proud of their hot dogs. From dirty-water dogs outside Yankee Stadium to Gray's Papaya, there are a myriad of choices found in the city.

Another well-known mecca of hot dogs is Crif Dogs, found on the Lower East Side. Locals and tourists alike trek down here for what many consider are the best hot dogs in New York.

We recently wandered around Park Slope in Brooklyn and happened upon a local wine shop, Red, White & Bubbly. Since we had the 2001 Cichin at Esca in Hell's Kitchen, a bottle of the 2000 Ada Nada Cichin Barbaresco ($35) caught our eye.

The colour of the wine was a dark garnet. There was some menthol on the nose when we first poured it. We should have opened the wine a few hours earlier.

When we poured the wine, there were few bits of sediment in it and the wine was still juicy and fresh. After letting the wine open up for a while, it became light and elegant with a little iodine and leather on the nose, very faint oak and cherry, light acidity, fleshy tannins and a slight menthol and drying finish. For $35, this was not bad for a Barbaresco with some age on it since most newer 2004 and 2005 Barbaresco's start in the $30 to $40 range and are not ready to drink yet.

It's the long weekend - so of course our thoughts turn to road trips and summer treats.

We recently went out to Princeton, NJ to visit friends, soak in the Ivy League neighbourhood, and enjoy some of the best ice cream we ever had.

The Financial District has never been a go-to culinary destination. But there are some random gems to be found. Veronica's Kitchen happens to be one of them.

As we approach, we can smell the delicious soul food. We got there by 12:45 pm and managed to be only fifth in line. We've been told that waits can exceed 20 mins at times - so our 6 mins wait wasn't too bad at all.

The best part of living in New York is that on any random day, you never know what can happen. Last weekend, we were blessed with one of those rare "don't have anything to do" days and happily walked out our door to find another street fair.
So we wandered along Amsterdam Ave. from W 86th down to W 73rd street and checked out the local offerings.