Gourmet Strawberry Shortcake

Behind the Burner interviewed a few Taste of Tribeca chefs. Here is a video of Craig Bero of Cosmopolitan Cafe making his popular strawberry shortcake.

Gourmet Strawberry Shortcake Recipe

Danny's Ices

Every parent hopes to give their child great memories and treats often have a special place in a child's heart. Here's a sweet, memory-making recommendation from one Tribeca parent:

I've heard they call it "prenatal marking"--in other words if you eat a lot of something while pregnant, your child develops a particular fondness for it. With my eldest, it was avocados. With my youngest, it's "Catch the Flava". Tribeca families know what I'm talking about. Nine years ago, hugely pregnant, I would pick up my 5 year old at Downtown Day Camp. We would always stop at the little cart on Chambers Street, otherwise known as Danny's Ices or "Coco Helado"...or "Catch the Flava". My daughter would work her way through the various "flavas", but I stayed true to the creamy, coconut and- almost from the day she was born- her younger sister has seldom wavered from it too. Danny Castro smiles at me every time she orders it. Judging from the line of kids that snakes its way down Chambers Street, the other flavors have fans: Rainbow will remind you of "Pixie Stix", "Mango" is smooth and tropical. Cherry is tart and intense. Sometimes he'll have specials like Tamarind or Strawberry/Kiwi--both worth getting.

Danny has a smile for everybody and treats each child like a special connoisseur. I suspect that 30 years from now, when the Tribeca kids have grown and meet up, one of the neighborhood institutions they'll reminisce about will be Danny and his ices. This afternoon,as we walked away, my daughter said, "I don't know what I'd do if Danny wasn't there. Something would really be missing from my life".

You can "catch" him on the northeast corner of Chambers and Greenwich--look for the green and white umbrella. On summer weekends, he sometimes moves to Soho at Prince and Broadway. He's in business from Spring through Fall, weather dependent. No phone, no reservations, just respect the line.

Locanda Verde Rocks

Locanda Verde seems to have all the elements in place for success- Robert De Niro, chef Andrew Carmellini, designer Ken Friedman... there's just so much to talk about! Click to see what Restaurant Girl has to say in NY Daily News.

Ice Cream at Duane Park

A happy (and full!) reader suggests two of the many reasons to enjoy Duane Park:

"Happy days are here again: the return of the ice-cream kiosks at Tribeca restaurants. One of our favorites is the street front closet (how did they carve out that space?) at Duane Park. They have the most unique flavors: things like grape or s'mores and wonderful creamy textures. Love the little blue dishes too. But there's no reason to stop there. We took the family into the restaurant the other Friday night. Three of us were convinced by the waiters recommendation of soft shell crabs. Like everyone else in NYC, I've been eating soft shell crabs for 20 years and over the years I guess they've gotten a bit tired of them as a seasonal treat. The ones at Duane Park reminded me why I loved them in the first place. These were so plump, juicy and bursting with briny flavor. I thought about them for days afterwards."

Burgers at Bar Artisanal

Burger lovers rejoice, someone understands you! At Bar Artisanal you will find a burger, Bloomberg.com says will be worth the price.

Billy's Bakery Open in Tribeca

Cupcake bake offs, cupcake blogs, cupcake mania! Billy's Bakery to open a location in Tribeca.

More Tribeca Love

All around cyberspace, first hand accounts of this year's Taste of Tribeca and its gastronomic delights are available for you to read. Did you taste everything they tasted? Did you catch all the sights and sounds? Here's another Tasty Read from Alex Eats World.