Sex & Candy

That Sara of NYCNomNom got invited to attend a party at NYC's Museum of Sex, and she invited me! It was billed as a night of firefighters, decadent desserts, and possibly something else, but I was already in at that point!

I arrived shortly after the event began, and I noticed it wasn't half as full as I thought it would be. Free chocolate AND NYC firefighters? This place should be filled to capacity! Oh well, it made it all the easier to get to the truffles.

Hello, deliciousness! Those are red velvet cake truffles on the left and spiced chai truffles on the right. The red velvet were moist and decadent and quite wonderful, but they were immediately out-awesomed by the spiced chai.

The ladies of Mimi Truffle made these addicting bites of dessert heaven, and while they mostly do catering and special orders, oh man, I think they could build an empire just on the chai truffles.

On the adjoining table was a mini-cupcake tower from Sugar Sweet Sunshine Bakery. These chocolate cupcakes had wasabi-cream cheese icing and crushed wasabi peas on top. This was good, but not as amazing as I'd hoped. I like the burn from wasabi, but I know not everyone does. I would have liked a little more heat and a little more sweet, but these were still well made. The cake was perfect--light, airy, and not at all heavy.

We also sampled the chocolate explosion or bomb (I couldn't read the sign that well--handwritten on an index card and tough to decipher)--chocolate mousse, chocolate cake, and chocolate whipped cream. I liked this way more than Sara did. Was it an explosion of flavors? No, but it was a whole messa chocolatey goodness. YUMTASTIC.

Sandwiched between the truffles and the cupcakes was a display from Michael Allen desserts.

I enjoyed the texture of the macarons, though the ones billed as raspberry tasted a lot more like strawberry.

The cream cheese were a bit bland.

The raspberry truffles (the ones in white) were tasty, the chocolate were okay, but my oh my, the mini canelés, however, were custardy, burnt-sugary cylinders of confectionery triumph.

I wasn't expecting much from these so I didn't even really focus my camera too much on them, but they were perfection! These are not easy to make, and they did a stellar job of it!

There was no one directing this event, it seemed, no one greeting people and explaining what to do, so we pretty much just fended for ourselves. After milling about and enjoying some sweets, Sara & I headed down to the restroom to 'powder our noses.' I noticed Sara was taking longer than usual in the one-stall room, and hoped it wasn't from bad food! She came out with an impish grin and I soon saw the reason: you can write on the chalkboard in the bathroom. Which we both promptly did. You're welcome, Mom :)

Then we made our way carefully out of the dark bathroom and into the also dark, but much warmer, wine bar. Called , it features a lot of different add-ins, flavors, and whatnot that purportedly contribute to feelings of love (and other things ahem).

I'm pretty sure that's all bunk, but it's done in a spirit of fun.

Sara & I opted instead for a glass of their red wine (and I said no to the brownies!)

The wine was fine--nothing amazing, not terrible. I probably wouldn't bring a bottle home, but it was perfectly suited for sitting in the cafe and catching up with a friend.

Overall, the event seemed a bit disorganized--all that finger food and no plates?!?--it could have used more order and a clear leader, but we still had a great time. NYC Firefighters and there WASN'T a line out the door? Notice how there are no photos of firefighters!?! How can this be! They should have had a photo staging area! It would have been good press for everyone! However, it was a unique and tasty way to spend a random Thursday night, that's for sure!

Museum of Sex
233 Fifth Avenue
NY NY 10016
(212) 689-6337