On a tear in New York City

It was a gluttonous return to New York, that’s for sure. Lucky for me and my ass, it was also brief. Sadly, for my psyche, it was not oh-my-god gluttony.

But I tried.

There was the red velvet cupcake from Amy’s Bread. So moist (and pretty, dontcha think?), the cake crumbled into pieces beneath the light and sweet whipped buttercream. Good but messy.

And put to shame by Sugar Sweet Sunshine’s “sassy” version. Why so sassy? The red velvet cake was topped with chocolate almond buttercream frosting.


And if you’ve ever had, say, the Ooey Gooey cupcake from Sugar Sweet Sunshine you know sass = heaven.

Speaking of sassy, I watched the froster at Billy’s top off the little morsels of cake with vanilla buttercream.

But I didn’t succumb to a cupcake there. Two new treats caught the eyes of Amee and me. The cookie sandwich…

Beautiful in theory, but just not the right balance of cookie to cream. Nor was the vanilla cream thick or distinctive enough to heed the call of satisfaction.

The peanut butter chocolate bar, on the other hand, did.

Weighing in at about eight ounces, the layers of chocolate cookie crust, dark chocolate and peanut butter were sinful and hit the spot.

There were, of course, the chocolate chunk banana bread at Arlo & Esme and Clinton Street Baking Co’s banana chocolate chip muffin.


That was a power breakfast if I ever had one.

And the cherry scone, olive oil muffin, pain au chocolat and glazed croissant from Maialino.

Yep. I put all four of those down in one sitting. There’s no shame in that.

I boycotted Momofuku Milk Bar. Not because I wanted to. God knows, I live for their cornflake marshmallow chocolate chip cookies. But can you imagine how much cellophane they go through daily to individually wrap every cookie and dessert?? Totally unnecessary and gross.

But since I love a good cookie, and had to walk by this sign every day on my way into my apartment, I finally succumbed to trying Milk & Cookies at their espresso bar inside Kiehl’s.

I wanted to try the S’mores cookie. What’s not to love about chocolate and marshmallow and graham crackers, all inside a single cookie, right?

But the barista said it was a “kid’s cookie”; he didn’t recommend it. Instead, he lobbied for the chocolate chip, the peanut butter chocolate chip or snickerdoodle.

So I got the peanut butter chocolate chip: a nicely chewy texture, gritty with butter and sugar and punctuated with peanuts and chocolate chips. Another good, not great, grade. Sigh.

But happily, there was one spot in the city that made my heart twitter and my knees shake. Stay tuned.

I heart NY, too

I don’t know which is cuter: this darling mobile truck named Pearl, or the driver named Max.

Yet another mobile concept, this one feels really fresh and fun. Amee and I were too stuffed from lunch at Balthazar and dessert from Baked by Melissa, so we didn’t sample the ice cream and candy treats from around the world.


But everything about Hearts Challenger is too cute to pass up a second time.

Mon dieu, les croissants

Nothing like breakfast with the girls to fire up the sweet tooth. After an incredible Friday night dinner at Little Giant, Amee, Jules and I were in no position to show restraint. So we decided to skip our go-to City Bakery and get some croissants in the Willage.

Amee and Jules had never been to Patisserie Claude before so I was a little nervous for their verdict. Predictably, there were no complaints. These croissants kick ass.

The plain croissants are buttery, flakey, light and chewy. Beautiful.

The pain au chocolat is also a beautiful creation of flakey pastry layers. Except it's also pumped through with chocolate. And when you get there in the morning, it's still warm and melty from the oven. Just look at that photo. Delicious.

187 West 4th Street near Sixth Ave
212.255.5911

Warmly, waffles

Wafels & Dinges is nice sidewalk fare. But it’s an irrefutable pleasure to walk into a café and be smacked in the face with the smell of warm Belgian waffles.

When Amee suggested that Julie and I meet her at Petit Abeille for brunch, I knew I could count on my two dear friends to help me get my daily sweet fix. We split a classic liege waffle.

So dense and springy, the texture was lovely and saturated with a sweet vanilla flavor. The syrup on the side was totally unnecessary, with crunchy bits of granular sugar inside, and a soft shake of confectioner’s sugar on top.

44 West 17th between 5th & 6th Aves
212.727.2989

Back at Batch

There is a powerful magnetic force at Batch. Any time I am in the Willage, it pulls. And the closer I am to 10th Street, the stronger the force, the weaker my resistance, and I end up standing out front, staring in the window like a sad puppy in the rain. The place renders me pathetic.

This weekend I duped a couple friends into going with me so I could sample more cupcake flavors. (I can even post their photo since they won't be reading this.)

As much as I wanted the strawberry rhubarb cupcake that I fell for a couple months back, I went with the chocolate green tea. AJ demonstrated her loyalty to banana cake by ordering a banana cupcake. And Ben got the carrot salted caramel, which made me happy because there are few things better.

Pichet's cake is always perfectly moist, and the frosting is generously and gorgeously spread on without overpowering the cake. I will say I prefer the cupcakes at room temp, so give yours some warm-up time after emerging from the refrigerated display case. And eat a chocolate chip cookie while you wait.

150B West 10th Street
212.929.0250

Sweet Freak Smackdown: Buttercup v. Billy's

Is there anyone out there who isn’t over Magnolia? Thought so.

Though the original West Village bakery deserves props for being the first to sell the quaintness of old fashioned, sugary-sweet, precious as a princess cupcakes that send you into orbit, the backlash is no less deserved. Snarky employees, SATC tour-whores, and ridiculously long lines will kill anyone’s appetite.

So never mind Magnolia’s cupcakes. What of Buttercup and Billy’s, spawned by a founding partner and ex-employee, respectively?



Here, two very discerning palates pit the cupcakes, cake to cake, frosting to frosting.

Buttercup
• Looks: Very pretty. The frosting is domed like a beehive, dotted with colored sprinkles.
• Cake: J: "I knew without tasting that I wouldn't like this. It's too dense." Dry, too.
• Frosting: The frosting is okay. A: "It's sort of chemical-y tasting."

Billy's
• Looks: A little messy, guys. Squat and flat. The frost job looks rushed.
• Cake: On the dry side, but good. A: "The cake tastes real — like it's made with real ingredients."
• Frosting: Creamy, buttery and light. J: "Their frosting kicks ass."

Verdict
Billy's, by a long shot! The Buttercup creations are dense and dry, lacking discernable flavors. Billy's light and creamy frosting, on the other hand, elevates the whole cupcake to a sublimely sugary treat.