Children's
Events
Blooming Babies, American Girls, and a Three Little Pigs White Christmas.
Santas
in Town
Where to bring the kids (or the pooch) to see St. Nick.
What
to Give Everyone
Picks for the artsy aunt, 5-year-old, dad and more. Plus, one-stop
shopping maps.
Holiday
Recipes
The city’s top chefs dreamed up the recipes. The city’s
finest sommeliers chose the wines.
Pie
Time
Here are nine of the best, whipped cream not included.
Rockefeller
Center Restaurants
If you’re daring (or foolhardy) enough to brave the gawkers and
visit the Rockefeller Center tree, you’ll need to refuel soon
after.
Nog-nog-noggin'
on Heaven's Door Egg nog can be truly divine. It can also be vile.
Here are the best and worst of the brands sold near you.
BY MATT DOBKIN
Even hardcore egg nog enthusiasts will admit that too much of a
good thing is, well, a nauseating thing. So heed our warning and
don't sample eight different nogs all in one day. That said,
it's holiday time, and we'd argue that there's no more festive egg-based
beverage out there to celebrate with. If you don't feel like making
your own, here are our picks of the best and worst store-bought
nog. Note: All egg nogs listed below improve when spiked.
Ratings are on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being egg nog bliss.
BRAND
SOLD
AT
THE
LOWDOWN
RATING
Chipwich
Most
supermarkets
Their
ice cream sandwiches may seem like an '80s relic, but Chipwich's
seasonal nog is superb: like French vanilla ice cream in a cup.
Just the right thickness, with flecks of nutmeg. Very sweet,
but not artificial-tasting.
9
Ronnybrook
Farms
Jefferson
Market, Balducci's, Whole Foods, many supermarkets
The
hands-down champ: extremely thick and frothy, just-right off-white
coloration, flavor that's sweet but not too. All-natural, and
it indeed tastes absolutely farm fresh. Only available for two
months of the year, but sold everywhere during that period.
More expensive than the other brands ($7.99 at Balducci's!),
but worth it.
10
Derle
Farms
Jefferson
Market
The carton has an appealing late-'70s retro font, but that's
sadly where this brand's charms end. Overly syrupy, artificial
-- scarcely tastes like egg nog at all, more like super-sweetened
milk. Smells like plastic.
1
Axelrod
Many
supermarkets
There
are thicker brands out there, but for the most part Axelrod
gets the consistency right. Somewhat
milky, extremely sweet, with caramel and butterscotch accents.
Like drinking liquid candy -- but tasty nonetheless.
7
Borden
Key
Food and other supermarkets
Comes
in an attractive, old-school can that gives the impression that
what's inside is the real deal. The
product itself is not so impressive: runny, eggy, no froth to
speak of. Has a rice-pudding flavor. Package boasts recipes
for egg nog pound cake and French toast, and the light consistency
seems like it would indeed work better in a recipe than drunk
straight.
5
Organic
Valley
Whole
Foods
Perhaps
because it's organic, this nog tasted the least artificial of
the brands sampled. Less sweet, quite thick, redolent of nutmeg.
But the flavor is lackluster. Perhaps
it'd taste better with some of the hormones, antibiotics and
pesticides it so proudly eschews...
5
Horizon
Low-Fat Organic
Whole Foods
Another all-natural
brand, but unlike Organic Valley, Horizon tastes utterly synthetic.
An alarming yellow color, it's like liquid custard, or vanilla
pudding before it's set. Tart on the tongue and smells somewhat
like paint. Better with the fat?
2
Parmalat Farmland Dairies
Garden
of Eden, many supermarkets
Farmland Dairies doesn't do anything fancy with their nog, and
that's a good thing. Not overly sweet, palpably nutmeg-y. Good,
familiar aroma -- what egg nog ought to smell like. Tastes
as if it might already be faintly spiked (though it isn't).
A reliable brand, though lacking any remarkable characteristic
to knock it out of the ballpark.
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