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Robert Abrams
Food Reviews and Recipes
Citizens of Chelsea
United States
New York City
New York
New York, NY

Bliss Bar from Ocka Treats - a vegetable dessert with a hint of sweet and a hint of tart

by Robert Abrams
October 11, 2018
Citizens of Chelsea
401 West 25th Street
(NW corner of 25th street and 9th Avenue)
New York, NY 10001
646-649-3079
The Bliss Bar from Ocka Treats, a new desserts company, is a flat rectangle that is a little smaller than the palm of my hand, a little less thick than my pinkie finger, which is to say an ample size for a dessert, without being too large.

This bar is green, with much white from the shredded coconut. The coconut flavor is apparent. There is also a vegetable flavor I can't quite place. A hint of sweet. A hint of tart.

The texture is denser than one might expect for a dessert, but since the Bliss Bar is gluten-free, this is expected (it is also vegan). If you eat it with consideration, rather than just chew and swallow, it starts with a texture almost like an energy bar or a granola bar (but definitely more continuous and less granular than a typical granola bar). And then the Bliss Bar seems to spread over the tongue to release its flavor. The best I can come up with is that the texture is transdimensional, slowly shifting from three to two to one to none.

The Bliss Bar could be dessert, but it also could be a slightly indulgent snack of moderate substance, since it is not as sweet as a conventional dessert. In the USA, fruits are generally considered desserts by the courts (see tomatoes), so if the Bliss Bar is a vegetable dessert, it may be illegal.

If you want to be considerate, you could eat one Bliss Bar. If you are in the mood to subvert the dominant paradigm, buy two, eat one, and give one to a friend to try. Or three, since by the time you get to your friend, you may want another one for yourself, and food is meant to be shared, not eaten alone.

I went out of my way to try Ocka Treats' Bliss Bar at a cafe/restaurant called Citizens of Chelsea. In a driving rain. I am glad I did.

Citizens of Chelsea's staff were very friendly, and their food was good too. Belgian waffle, scrambled eggs, smashed potatoes. Hot chocolate because it was raining. It was after 5 pm, I hadn't eaten since breakfast and I was hungry. I will leave describing all of the waffle and everything else to another day.
Bliss Bar from Ocka Treats.<br>I was hungry. I broke my own rule about always photographing food before eating it. The full, uneaten Bliss Bar is about 1.5 to twice as big as shown in this picture.

Bliss Bar from Ocka Treats.
I was hungry. I broke my own rule about always photographing food before eating it. The full, uneaten Bliss Bar is about 1.5 to twice as big as shown in this picture.

Photo © & courtesy of Robert Abrams


Belgian waffle (the dense, chewy kind) with berries, dragonfruit panna cotta, hazelnut crumble, cacao nibs and maple syrup

Belgian waffle (the dense, chewy kind) with berries, dragonfruit panna cotta, hazelnut crumble, cacao nibs and maple syrup

Photo © & courtesy of Robert Abrams


Crispy smashed potatoes and scrambled eggs

Crispy smashed potatoes and scrambled eggs

Photo © & courtesy of Robert Abrams


Hot chocolate

Hot chocolate

Photo © & courtesy of Robert Abrams

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