My latest obsession, and I have a frequent buyer card to prove it: frozen yogurt from Culture: An American Yogurt Company. Since it’s two blocks away from where I live (and I work at home) you know where you can find me a couple of days a week: taking a short break and enjoying the original yogurt with bananas and caramel.

The yogurt (they normally have 3-4 flavors, which change day-to-day) and their toppings are the best I’ve seen. And what makes this yogurt place stand out from their counterparts is the store is an actual certified dairy. The yogurt, which contains live cultures, is made on site, and they have lots of organic and high quality toppings: tupelo honey, homemade caramel, coconut shavings, fruit and even combination toppings like “parfait,” which includes granola, fruit and raw honey and “key lime pie,” which has key lime filling and crushed graham cracker. Call me boring, but the bananas and caramel are a winning combination.

For an end of the summer treat, forego the frozen yogurt chains for this charming and simple shop with topnotch ingredients.

Culture: An American Yogurt Place/331 5th Avenue between 3rd + 4th Streets in Park Slope/718-499-0207

My breakfast of late has included coffee from The Roasting Plant, toast from Bread Alone that I top with a luscious, creamy brie I recently discovered. (For good measure, I eat some fruit as well. : )

Brie Le Chatelain is made in Les Vosges mountains in eastern France from a traditional French recipe that was passed down from generations of cheese makers. The milk is from cows that roam free on grassy hills and aren’t injected with rBST. But of course the taste is what matters most, and this silky brie is earthy, mushroomy and has just the right tang to go with my morning toast.

Bon appetit!

Le Chatelain is available at several food stores in NYC, including Zabar’s and The Food Emporium, plus various stores around the country.

Even though my toddler still has a few years until she heads to school, I still get that “back-to-school” feeling at the end of each August. I’m actually looking forward to packing her lunches one day, and I know many parents are currently thinking about lunch options. Which is why I want to share this new product with busy parents out there (and of course others who love jelly).

The French company Bonne Maman, the maker of fine preserves and jellies (black currant & mandarin are two of my favorite flavors!), is now making grape jelly. Inspired by Americans’ love of grape jelly, the company decided to make a premium rendition using muscat grapes. Parents can now feel good about the jelly they pair with peanut butter for this classic kids’ sandwich, as Bonne Mama doesn’t use high fructose corn syrup, glucose or the preservatives found in many popular brands.

I buy Bonne Mama products at Fairway in Red Hook, Brooklyn. Look for it at your favorite grocery store or visit Bonne Maman to purchase.

I am going to say something I’ve already said here: I’m so glad I live near Di Palo’s Fine Foods. If ever I were to move, this is one place in the neighborhood that I would miss.

Take the case of this cheese. I was eyeing it and asked one of the very friendly owners (who are brothers) for a taste. Passionate about cheese, of course he obliged. And fortunately for me, it was a steamy hot day and the store wasn’t crowded as usual. The Toma Piemontese, a soft cow’s milk cheese from the Piedmont region of Italy, is so incredibly creamy and buttery I couldn’t resist buying some to take home. There’s nothing like having good cheese to nibble on throughout the day as I play with my daughter.

Toma Piemontese is flown in from Italy and is available at:

Di Palo’s Fine Foods/200 Grand St (at Elizabeth)/212-226-1033

And you can always go next door for a bottle of wine.

Just in time for this hot, humid weather, New York City is experiencing an artisanal popsicle craze, which you may have read about in the New York Times. They’re popping up at the Hester Street Fair and at Chelsea Market, but the best I’ve tasted are at popbar, a tiny store on Carmine Street., a fitting setting for an Italian import.

There aren’t just any ordinary popsicle. These are made of gelato, sorbet and frozen yogurt, and crafted in small batches of the finest ingredients. Pick one from the case or get one custom-dipped in chocolate and/or pistachios or coconut or nuts. And there are flavors for every taste: mixed berry, coconut, coffee, banana and many more. The banana dipped in chocolate was my choice, a good one at that, and I will be back for other flavors all summer long. For all you moms and nannies out there, popbar is pleasantly kid-friendly (toddler S loved the chocolate dipped in chocolate) and just a skip from Washington Square Park.

popbar/5 Carmine Street near 6th Avenue/212-255-4874

Visit their site for more information.

Here's my daughter at the Alice in Wonderland statue in Central Park

I am going enjoy a walk in the park with my family. But first I’d like breakfast at home. Find out in my latest Dean & Deluca article what kind of breakfast I would love to be served on Mother’s Day. It doesn’t require any cooking, just some shopping and assembling.

Read my Breakfast in Bed article in Dean & Deluca’s Gourmet Food Blog.

Have you ever walked into a bakery and were unable to decide what to order? Well you won’t have that problem at Steve’s Key Lime Pie.

It’s easy to admire someone who’s perfected one thing and then built a business out of it. Such is the case with Steve. His key lime pies, a perfect balance of tart and sweet, are absolutely amazing—and that is all he sells in his Red Hook “waterfront bakery” housed in an old factory along the Gowanus Bay. He uses real, fresh squeezed key limes (yes, it’s true, some bakers don’t), real butter (why use anything else?) in the Graham cracker crust—all fresh ingredients.

When you go to Steve’s, the only choice you have to make is: 4-inch tart, 8-inch pie or 10-inch pie. Ah, if decisions could often be that simple.

Visit Steve’s site for more information.

P.S. After getting your key lime pie, check out the garden center on the far end of the building—it’s like walking into a beautiful jungle.

Steve’s Authentic Key Lime Pie/204 Van Dyke St/Brooklyn/718-858-5333

To find your way to Key Lime Pie nirvana, this map is very helpful.

Have you heard of French pot-made ice cream? I hadn’t either until I was introduced to Graeter’s ice cream by a dear friend. French pot is a process of making ice cream only two gallons at a time in a French Pot Freezer, which makes ultra creamy ice cream.

I was wondering why I, an ice cream aficionado, hadn’t heard of Graeter’s and then realized it’s because Graeter’s is sold in Kentucky, Ohio, Texas, and I am in New York. But now they’re shipping their famous ice cream so we can all get a taste of their irresistible flavors. (And they’re shipping methods are very commendable; The ice cream arrives frozen.)

My favorite Graeter’s flavor is also their signature and best-seller: black raspberry chip. It tastes exactly like the fruit (which they get from Oregon farms), only sweeter, and the chocolate chips are made by one of the oldest chocolatiers and the inventor of milk chocolate, Peter’s Chocolates.

To order Graeter’s ice cream, visit their site.

There is a beautiful blue and brown box sitting on my dining room table, now empty. It once contained the most delectable chocolate covered cherries I’ve ever tasted. These aren’t those bulky tasteless cherries with waxy chocolate. No, these cherries are petite and delicate, (yet scrumptious enough that eating only one or two will easily satisfy). They’ve been luxuriously macerated in armagnac then dipped in dark chocolate. A perfect after dinner treat.

Made in a village in Bordeaux, the Mademoiselle de Margaux cherries are now available at Dean & Deluca. What a great gift.

Pichet Ong is on every food lover’s radar at the moment, with his East Village dessert bar Spot and Village Tart, where he’s the consulting pastry chef.

What dessert is Pichet Ong craving right now?
Where does he eat every week?
What are his five favorite ingredients?

Find out in my Q & A with him on Hauteliving.com