When I was 15 a dear friend (you can read her here) took me to a magical place in New York City. It was a blur, a magical blur. We went to a small restaurant, or perhaps shop? It seemed to be a bit of both, cramped in a space that could barely be sufficient for either. There was random, marvelous things for sale; the decoration was a mix of everything and everywhere, Tiffany lamps, a huge lopsided clock which reminded me of Alice in Wonderland – when I saw that clock I just knew I was going to fall in love with that tiny restaurant/shop forever.

Many years after my first encounter with Serendipity, I moved to New York. Never really planning to go back, yet somehow ending up there I began to visit Serendipity on the regular. I would go whenever I had an errand to run, I would go whenever anyone was in town, I would go when someone wanted dessert (Frrrozen Hot Chocolate, that is all) .

I left New York a couple of years ago, but this past weekend I visited NY with my husband (whom I will always be in love with as well) and on our third day there it dawned on me that we hadn’t been to Serendipity. We crossed all over town so he could try the Frrozen Hot Chocolate and so that I could share with him a place I love.

Before we left my husband went to the restroom and for some reason I can’t remember I had a short conversation with a lovely man who was sitting at a two person table eating an enormous piece of cake with a smile and a twinkle in his eye. I thought he was Stephen Bruce, the owner and one of three original founders, he has been known to visit often but I had never before seen him there. When my husband came back I whispered to him that I thought that man was the owner. He promptly shoved a recipe book in my hand (I had been looking at them when he showed up) and said “ask him to sign it for you”. I don’t like to bother people when they’re eating, especially if they seem to be enjoying a cake the size of a small dog, but it was serendipity, and the worse that could happen was it was not in fact Stephen Bruce. I went up to him and asked if he could sign my book , it was him, and he did so with a smile.

How serendipitous that I would find Stephen there on the last time I was visiting that wonderful place in a while (no NY trips planned for us in the near future – but you never know).

More good news, I can now make Frrozen Hot Chocolate and huge cakes to go with them.