"serendipity 3" news and stories

New York City's Serendipity 3 restaurant has a history of doing stunts to make the Guinness World Records. They've scored twice before -- with the World's Most Expensive Ice Cream Sundae and the World's Largest Hot Chocolate -- and on Friday, they did it again with the World's Most Expensive Hot Dog, which will sell for $69.

So how do you get a hot dog to cost nearly 70 bucks? First, you start with a regular Serendipity 3 foot-long beef hot dog, which already sells for $8.50 -- a little more than your average street dog in New York (and a lot tastier, I'll admit). Then you use the tried and true pre-recession stunt of chefs around the world: Add foie gras, then add truffles, repeat as necessary until the price tag explodes. (The other surefire fancifier -- caviar -- would taste a little gross on a hot dog, though Serendipity 3 puts it on a burger.)

To be more specific, this particular "Haute Dog" (as it's being marketed) is grilled in white truffle oil and is served on a chewy pretzel-bread bun (sort of like a cross between a soft pretzel and a baguette) that's toasted with white truffle butter. It's topped with foie gras pâté with black truffles. Condiments (served on the side) include Dijon mustard with black truffles, caramelized Vidalia onions and ketchup made with heirloom tomatoes (more like a tart tomato relish).

I tasted the dog this morning (breakfast of champions), and I've gotta admit, it was darn tasty. My notes, after the jump.

First there was the $14,500 dessert that was created by the Fortress Sri Lanka. Now Serendipity 3, home of the world famous Frrrozen Hot Chocolate, has decided to up the ante considerably with the creation of a $25,000 dessert. They announced the addition of the Frrrozen Haute Chocolate to their menu yesterday. The Guinness Book of World Records was quick to step in and declare it the most expensive dessert in the world.

The dessert is a combination of frozen cocoa and milk that that has five grams of 24-carat gold blended in. It gets topped with whipped cream, gold and a La Madeline au Truffe. It gets served in a goblet that is crowned with diamond and gold. Even the spoon is made from gold. For those of you who might be interested (!) know that the dessert must be ordered at least two weeks in advance, as everything is made to order (including that gold spoon).

[via Serious Eats]

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A new magazine dedicated to chocolate, Chocolate Zoom, has put out a list of the top five ice cream shops in New York City - something that New Yorkers might be interested in, given the fact that this has been quite a hot summer there. Not that we need an excuse to eat good ice cream, but when it's hot sometimes you need the extra incentive of knowing that you're going for the best, rather than just setting for whatever frozen novelties are offered at the corner market.

In no particular order, the top five are:

• Serendipity 3
• Chinatown Ice Cream Factory
• Ronnybrook Farm Dairy
• Uncle Louie G's
• Il Laboratorio de Gelato

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