This is Rice to Riches at 37 Spring Street. Click here for more photos. This is a story which will surprise you in many ways. First, there’s that “only in New York” aspect – where could you expect to run a successful business selling exclusively gourmet rice pudding? In fact, the owner, Peter Moceo Jr., had difficulty renting – ”landlords refused to rent to me, because they didn’t see how I could pay the rent selling rice pudding.”

This shop was started in 2003 by Moceo, who grew up in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. Inspired by the gelaterias on a trip to Italy, he has created a place with an immaculate decor and meticulous attention to detail: a large window shaped like a grain of rice, several flat screen monitors playing pudding animations, curved walls, illuminated plastic orange and white tables, custom reusable containers (including their own spoons) and a beautiful pudding display & serving counter.

And then, of course, there is the rice pudding itself – superb and highly rated. Jemal Edwards, once a pastry chef at Montrachet and Nobu, has created 18 flavors of the pudding in the custom basement kitchen, a place that Moceo spent a year putting together. The biggest surprise? The owner, a resident of Trump Tower, was arrested in 2005 for running a $21 million sports gambling ring, one of the country’s largest. Only in New York…

The farmers’ markets of NYC are old news to residents. Established by the city in 1976, this program provides a marketplace for over 160 farmers from around the region. There are 45 of these markets in the five boroughs – 250,000 people shop weekly (read the facts at the official site). Over 100 restaurant chefs shop there also. The Greenmarket at Union Square is the most well-known and operates Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday.

For many of us, this is one of the truly wonderful developments in NYC – the ability to have the fresh goods from hundreds of producers from around the region trucked to our doorstep. Even if you do not cook much, just to walk through is always a pleasure for New Yorkers or visitors, and you can grab a snack or beverage while there. The selection and quality exceeds what could be gotten in most rural or suburban areas – not a typical expectation for a city dweller. Fresh fruits and vegetables, cheese, fish, breads, pastries, herbs, honey, maple syrup, preserves, eggs, dairy products, meats and poultry, wines, plants, flowers…

It was over 80 degrees (Farenheit) today, which means the Mr. Softee ice cream trucks were out, even in Manhattan, in full force. You can get their soft ice cream in a cone, or other brands, such as ice cream on a stick, popsicles, ice cream sandwiches, and something called “the rocket.” The tiny colored candy sprinkles always look very enticing.

They have a distinctive song they play to attract customers (hear it on their site), which some people associate with the sounds of summer and which drives other people crazy with its repetitiveness. If they park outside your apartment window and blast it for awhile, you might become one of those crazed people. Some have even tried to pass legislation against it. So you see that we have our traditions, which some might associate with the small town or suburb, here in the metropolitan center.