Camari Mick is sweetening the pot for dessert lovers in New York City. As the Executive Pastry Chef at The Musket Room, a MICHELIN Starred contemporary American restaurant in Nolita, and a partner at Raf’s, a French- and Italian-inspired bakery and restaurant, diners at both establishments know to save room for the last course.
The Pennsylvania-born chef cut her teeth in some of the most esteemed kitchens in the U.S., including Le Bernardin and Eleven Madison Park. Today, she combines her rigorous training with daily inspiration and her Jamaican-American heritage, adding personal touches like Jamaican rum and developing inventive dishes such as goat tres leches with jerk ice cream.
When Mick isn’t creating sweet masterpieces or earning accolades—such as Food & Wine Best New Chef 2024, a spot on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 Food and Drink Changemaker list, or being a James Beard Award Outstanding Pastry Chef Semifinalist—she loves to sing loudly and unapologetically.
Here, the dessert doyenne sings from the rooftops about her favorite New York spots.
After long hours in the kitchen, where’s your go-to spot for a late-night bite?
I don’t stay for a full service, but after work I go to Tue Thai. They have $6 mojitos and their food is unmatched. Thai Diner is really good, but I’ve eaten my way through Tue Thai's whole menu and their soft shell crab is so good.
Where do you take friends and family for a special dinner?
If [I'm going out with] a large group of people, I love to take them to Shukette because you can share a bunch of skewers. If it’s a little bit more intimate, maybe it’s my mommy, who's a very light eater, I would take her to La Vara. The rice dish, rossejat, is the best thing in the world. It has a squid ink aioli that's so good. Mom would definitely dive into the suckling pig there. Oh, and their croquetas, too—ham and cheese.
Where do you source your favorite kitchen tools, spices, and specialty ingredients?
For kitchen tools I cannot find anywhere else, I go to JB Prince. For kitchen spices and overall ingredients, it’s either Kalustyan’s or SOS Chef. If one doesn’t have it, the other does.
As a professional chef, it's essential to stay on top of the latest cookbooks. Are there any bookstores you love?
Kitchen Arts & Letters has everything you could ever want as a pastry chef. What’s great about Kitchen Arts & Letters is they’ll let you sit in there and read the book. They don’t disturb you. It’s the perfect book store for introverts. The last thing I bought was a croissant book as I was testing out their version of an almond croissant, and they used marzipan instead of an almond cream.
What is one of your go-to spots for dinner?
I would probably go somewhere in my neighborhood, Harlem. Fumo has a great happy hour with spritzes for. They have a pizza oven and I just love the classic Margherita. It’s one of those pizzas you cannot get to go. You have to get it fresh from the oven. I’ve ordered pizza from them to my apartment and it’s just not the same.
New York is a pizza lover's paradise. Do any standout slices come to mind?
My favorite slice is in Greenpoint. It's Paulie Gee’s. They have this vegan square slice, the Vidalia, and it is so good. They have video games in the back and orange booths, and it reminds me of being in a bowling alley.
When the concrete jungle gets overwhelming, where do you find some green space?
When I bike to work during the summer, I take Riverside Drive down from Harlem and usually listen to a podcast. On the west side, between the 40s and 50s, there's an underpass and you go along the piers. It’s such a beautiful space and so relaxing to ride right along them. You see kids playing and people using a volleyball court which isn't crowded at all.
Where does New York's rising pastry star go to satisfy her sweet tooth?
I go to Avrilililly's, also in Harlem. It’s a Black-owned ice cream shop but they also have cakes, cookies, etc. They do such great cake work, I’m having her [owner Avril Lekic] make my birthday cake this year. She does such a great job.
Or, Harlem Shake. It’s so good! I love it. It’s very consistent, very delicious. Their shakes are amazing. I get the vegan jerk with fries on top and always get a chocolate malt shake—the 50s vibe. You can even order liquor.
Diners love Chef Camari Mick's parsnip with gooseberry, rum, creme fraiche. (© Nitzan Keynan)
What are your favorite hotels in the city?
Ace Hotel Brooklyn strives for affordability, but even the smallest rooms have floor-to-ceiling windows, Smeg fridges, Tivoli radios, and some feature either Music Hall turntables or acoustic guitars by the legendary New York luthier D’Angelico. The furnishings are a unique mix of custom and vintage pieces.
Rooms at the Wythe Hotel are comfortable, spacious by New York standards, and perfectly suited to the setting and clientele. Poured concrete floors, floor-to-ceiling windows, distressed brick walls and subway-tiled bathrooms strike just the right note. There’s a lot of pleasure to be found in the fixtures, the finishes, and the bath products.
The Pendry, in Hudson Yards on Midtown's west side, hints at its Californian origins in the décor. There's a calming softness to the design and materials with echoes of the West Coast’s golden sunlight throughout. There’s also a sparse simplicity to the rooms and suites that makes them feel even more generously sized than they already are.
Address book:
The Musket Room
265 Elizabeth St, New York, NY 10012
Tue Thai
3 Greenwich Ave, New York, NY 10014
Thai Diner
186 Mott St, New York, NY 10012
La Vara
268 Clinton St, Brooklyn, NY 11201
J. B. Prince Company
36 E 31st St 6th floor, New York, NY 10016
Kalustyan’s
123 Lexington Ave, New York, NY 10016
SOS Chef
104 Avenue B, New York, NY 10009
Kitchen Arts & Letters
1435 Lexington Ave, New York, NY 10128
Fumo
1600 Amsterdam Ave, New York, NY 10031
Paulie Gee's
60 Greenpoint Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11222
Avrilililly's
1610 Amsterdam Ave, New York, NY 10031
Harlem Shake
100 W 124th St, New York, NY 10027
Ace Hotel Brooklyn
252 Schermerhorn St, Brooklyn, NY 11217
Arlo NoMad's
11 E 31st St, New York, NY 10016
Wythe Hotel
80 Wythe Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11249
The Pendry Midtown West
438 W 33rd St, New York, NY 10001
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Hero image: The Musket Room chef Camari Mick ( ©Clay Williams)
