Works by
Stephen Bruce
(Restaurant Host, Writer)

• The Serendipity Cookbook: The Best from New York's Incredible Dessert Emporium (1994) with Calvin Holt and Pat Miller

• Sweet Serendipity: Delightful Desserts and Devilish Dish (2004) with Brett Bara and Liz Steger, Photographer
  Marilyn Monroe's favorite was Miss Milton's Lovely Fudge Pie, and she'd eat it wearing nothing but Chanel No. 5 and a raincoat. Andy Warhol always savored the Lemon Icebox Pie, stealing bites while he watched and sketched other diners through cutout holes in a newspaper he held upside-down in front of his face. Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis came for the frozen hot chocolate and brought JohnJohn and Caroline, who now brings her children.
  
  Where did all these luminaries and many more devour these sinful treats? At Serendipity 3, New York's legendary dessert restaurant and boutique. The restaurant's history is as rich as its desserts, and this book, commemorating its fiftieth anniversary, lets you indulge in both.
  
  Founded in 1953, before the concept of theme restaurants even existed, Serendipity was one of the first restaurants in the country to turn dining into a theatrical experience, to create an ambiance as fun as the food that was served. Located near Bloomingdale's in one of New York's toniest East Side neighborhoods, Serendipity fills two floors of a historic townhouse. Decked out with original Tiffany lamps, black-and-white floors, fabulous Victorian oversized posters, and idiosyncratic adornments such as a huge clock and metal horse, the restaurant takes you down the rabbit hole into a fairytale world.
  
  The desserts, represented by seventy-five recipes in this book, make everyone feel like a kid again. Many evoke the comfort of grandmother's kitchen, but many also have a creative, irreverent kick to them. Since many are based on heirloom recipes from one of the founders' families, all the recipes are easily achieved at home and can make fun projects for the whole family.
  Among the recipes included:

Cheesecake Vesuvius
Strawberry Fields Sundae
Chocolate Chip Pizza
Chocolate Blackout Cake
Lemon Rain Drops
Frozen Tutti Frutti

• Serendipity Sundaes: Ice Cream Constructions and Frozen Concoctions (2006) with Sarah Key and Liz Steger, Photographer

See also:

• Stephen Bruce appears as himself (host of Serendipity Restaurant) in:

  • The Life & Times of Andy Warhol - Superstar (1991), Directed by Chuck Workman with Jean Michel Basquiat and Joan Agajanian Quinn
    DVD  VHS
    A look at the life, work, and impact of Andy Warhol (1928-1987), pop icon and artist, from his childhood in Pittsburgh to his death after a botched surgery. Warhol coined the word "superstar," became one, and changed the way the culture looks at and understands celebrity. After studying at Carnegie Tech, he goes to New York to be a commercial artist. By 1960, Warhol, Lichtenstein, and Rosenquist are inventing pop art. Warhol starts "The Factory," his workshop where he paints and makes movies. His is a cafe society of late nights and parties. His family, friends, an agent, a curator, gallery owners, actors, the co-founder of "Interview," and others tell stories and assess his art.

  • Serendipity (2001), Directed by Peter Chelsom with John Cusack and Kate Beckinsal
    DVD  VHS
    Jonathan Trager and Sara Thomas met while shopping for gloves in New York. Though buying for their respective lovers, the magic was right and a night of Christmas shopping turned into romance. Jon wanted to explore things further but Sara wasn't sure their love was meant to be. They decided to test fate by splitting up and seeing if destiny brought them back together... Many years later, having lost each other that night, both are engaged to be married. Still, neither can shake the need to give fate one last chance to reunite them. Jon enlists the help of his best man to track down the girl he can't forget starting at the store where they met. Sara asks her new age musician fiance for a break before the wedding and, with her best friend in tow, flies from California to New York hoping destiny will bring her soulmate back. Near-misses and classic Shakespearean confusion bring the two close to meeting a number of times but fate will have the final word on whether it was meant to be.