BY STEPHANIE AMY COLLAZO
Review of Just Sweet Dessert House
83 Third Avenue, (Corner of 3rd Ave and 12th Street)
East Village – NYC
212-388-1380 http://justsweetnyc.com
Just Sweet had its grand opening July 16th, and as one of the 50+ dining options on Third Avenue it is sticking out for all the wrong reasons.
A few weeks prior to the grand opening of Just Sweet I passed by the store and quickly wrote down the name and location, positive that only something good can come of a place with such a name. After a friend notified me of his visit to the dessert only restaurant I quickly made plans to go there a week after the opening.
Bubble Tea at Just Sweet
When you arrive to the restaurant you can’t help but become excited by the bright colors and promising menu rife with numerous Asian-inspired desserts.
There are crepes with green tea ice cream, shaved ice topped with fruit, ice cream sundaes, tong shui (a sweet soup), bubble tea, sweet sticky rice and an array of special dessert drinks.
Mango Sticky Rice
On my visit I ordered the mango sticky rice ($5), toast with condensed milk ($3) and taro milk tea with lychee jelly ($4). While my companions ordered the chocolate castle sundae ($7) and strawberry delight shaved ice ($5.50).
Strawberry Delight Shaved Ice
Chocolate Castle Sundae
The waitress was quick to take our order but the kitchen was slow to deliver. It took over 10 minutes for the kitchen to produce my taro milk tea, it was delicious nonetheless, but a beverage shouldn’t take as long as the meal to be delivered.
Along side my long awaited bubble tea was the mango sticky rice. Mango slices and a white sauce, which I’m unfamiliar with, topped the sticky rice. The dish was beautifully presented in a clear square bowl. As soon as I took my first bite my expectations plummeted, though it looked beautiful it was terribly bland, the only thing sweet about it was the slightly mushy mango.
Next was the toast with condensed milk, which I waited over twenty minutes for only to be notified that they were out of bread.
After being terribly disappointed with my own order I went ahead and tried my friend’s desserts. The Strawberry delight, which was shaved iced, topped with strawberry syrup, strawberry slices, mixed jelly and a scoop of ice cream that cost a dollar extra, was actually really good. The flavors and textures mixed really well making their shaved ice the perfect summer treat.
The chocolate sundae was nothing special, chocolate ice cream with chocolate syrup, crushed oreos, cornflakes, and banana. It was good and the cornflakes added a nice crunch but for at $7 I’d say go to the super market buy all of the ingredients and make these at home.
Although the service was terrible I will probably return to Just Sweet for the shaved ice, in hopes of an improvement in service.
