New flavors, hot, cold, sweet at City Bakery, Momofuku Milk Bar.

 City Bakery's Hot Chocolate Festival calendar is now fully up and running. New changes this year include four flavors on opening day, (starting at midnight?) and new additions Hot Chocolate A-Go-Go, Happy, ChocoVivo - this? - and Hot Chocolate By The Numbers. (We're personally excited for the return of Earl Grey.) Still no mention of an essay contest or opening night festivities. One thing we should point out, at least one flavor may be available already. Last month before an event next door at the Wired store, we had a quick dinner at City Bakery's counter bar and asked whether we could get a Beer Hot Chocolate with the stout on tap. None of us on either side seemed sure of the exact ratio so we were presented with a mug of hot chocolate and a shot of beer, (pictured above,) to stir in ourself. Your luck may vary.

A more recent discovery was Sunday morning at Momofuku. Not totally satisfied with the free continental breakfast at the Cooper Square Hotel, we worked up our appetite anew shopping the closing of Love Saves The Day then walked over to Milk Bar for heartier fare and chased our pork buns with four new flavors of soft serve: Root Beer, Orange Julius, Graham Cracker and Chocolate Malt, the latter pair offered as a twist, although they were kind enough to split the first cup half and half as well. And how fortunate since the OJ and Root Beer seemed to better complement one another, light, nostalgic and effervescent. The Chocolate Malt works and was necessary to cut the Graham Cracker which was too thick but well resembled such a cookie dissolving in your mouth. There are two new cakes on their way too, it seems the menu board over the baking station features coming attractions: Key Lime Cake and Pancake Cake.