Archive for the 'Food' Category

Be like the Beckhams: eat cupcakes.  Sugar Sweet Sunshine is your best bet for your cupcake fix. Last week, The New York Post broke the news that the latest installment of Zagat rated Sugar Sweet Sunshine as the winner of its new Best Cupcake category.

My sister, who is obsessed with all things cupcakes, has long extolled the virtues of Sugar Sweet Sunshine, and I have to agree it takes the cake. She likes the Sunshine (yellow cake with vanilla buttercream) and I like the Ooey Gooey (Chocolate cake with chocolate almond buttercream) because not only is it yummy in my tummy but it’s also fun to say. Pumpkin (Pumpkin cake with cream cheese icing) seemed to be the crowd pleaser on our most recent indulgence, and we’ve noticed that the Red Velvet and Pistachio are also ordered a lot. Cupcakes are $1.50 each.  We don’t like the coffee, though, which is unfortunate.

Nestled in at 126 Rivington Street (between Essex & Norfolk), the store has a vintagey seventies vibe that is more chic than kitch. It doesn’t have a lot of seats, but there are a smattering of chairs and ottomans. There’s also art by local artists hanging on the wall.

One of the best things about Sugar Sweet Sunshine is that they’re open late. Here are their hours: Monday-Thursday, 8am-10pm, Friday 8am-11pm, Saturday 10am-11pm and Sunday 10am-7pm. Sugar Sweet Sunshine is a delicious alternative to the bar scene that’s so prevalent on the Lower East Side.

Happy birthday, S’mac!  The East Village eatery (Sarita’s Macaroni & Cheese, S’mac for short, is located at 345 East 12th Street, New York) that fancies up macaroni and cheese turns one today and is celebrating by offering its All-American nosh for just one dollar. 

For the record, an All-American is your standard mac and cheese—American and cheddar cheese on your choice of twisted elbow macaroni or whole-wheat pasta, with or without breadcrumbs.  The nosh is the smallest size, and usually goes for $4.25.  Skillets hang on the wall to help you figure out portion size, but a nosh is perfect if you plan on trying more than.  After all, why get your plain Jane macaroni and cheese at a place that specializes in more exotic blends?

Offering up a gooey array of macaroni and cheese skillets, S’mac is a turophile’s dream.  Among the cheeses that smother the pasta are American, brie, cheddar, goat cheese, gorgonzola, gruyere, manchego, mozzarella, muenster, parmesan, and pepper jack.  If you’re building your own, you can only choose from All American or 4 Cheese sauce so for a more distinctive cheese, go with one of the main macs or current specials.

You can view the complete menu here, smacnyc.com/what.html but the highlights include:

CHEESEBURGER: For the Hearty Meat Eater! Ground Beef done to perfection with onions, garlic and a hint of ketchup and mustard. Don’t forget the best part - a combination of American and Cheddar cheeses.

…

GRUYERE: A Swiss Mac that keeps you coming back for more. Gruyere coupled with its partner in crime, slab bacon. Hard to resist!

…

GARDEN (LITE): Don’t let the “Lite” fool you - this baby is as satisfying as any of the other MACs! Lite Cheddar, Parmesan, roasted cauliflower and portobello mushrooms, roasted garlic, broccoli and scallions.

They also have three specials:

MARSALA MAC: North American comfort food blended with Indian spices - exotic? mysterious? avant-garde? - you be the judge. This one is certainly not for the faint of heart!

BUFFALO CHICKEN MAC: Cheddar & American cheeses with boneless chicken pieces and buffalo wing sauce. We’ll even top it off with crumbled blue cheese if you’d like!

GINGER WASABI MAC: Goat Cheese blended with soy sauce, ginger, wasabi and scallions … who says East can’t meet West!

Be the first to know about the latest specials at S’mac by signing up for the mailing list: keepmeintheloop@smacnyc.com.

Not too daring, I got the 4 Cheese, made of muenster, American, gorgonzola, and cheddar.  It was good but not the crunchy baked goodness of Chat’n’Chew’s macaroni and cheese.  I also sampled the Marsala Mac, which kicked it up a notch with spicy Indian flavors.  I liked the concept of the Brie Mac, which is sprinkled with bits of roasted fig and shiitake mushrooms, but found brie to be a bit overwhelming for macaroni and cheese.  The Goat Cheese Mac was heavy on the spinach and light on the Kalamata olives, but was still very tasty.

As for atmosphere, it was very IKEA—cute and modern, but verging on rinky-dink.  In classic cafeteria style, you have to clean up for yourself, separating the skillets from the silverware and so forth.

Overall, it’s a fun place to take out-of-towners, who will like the gimmick of a restaurant that servers only one type of food since they’re probably used to only eating at huge chains like Chili’s and Applebees.  It’s also a good casual date.  I saw one couple sharing a large skillet instead of getting their own smaller ones.  Very cute.  If you go with a group of friends, I’d recommend each person getting something different and sharing, though.

Here are two fun bits of trivia to work into conversation when you go to S’mac:

Crayola has an orange-ish crayon called Macaroni and Cheese

Thomas Jefferson is rumored to have invented macaroni and cheese.

On April 7th the Lord smiled down upon the Earth for Ben & Jerry’s declared it Free Ice Cream Cone Day for all! I set out on a holy pilgrimage that day out of respect, religious fervor and a gluttony for sweets that stands unparalleled throughout the land. The following is a recap of that glorious ice creamtastic day.

Noon

3rd ave by 10th street

I head out to hit all the Ben & Jerry’s in Manhattan (Brooklyn scares me.) This first location has little to no line. I figure it’s because the pot smokin’ hippies of the east village don’t get their wake and bake munchies till later in the day.

I order a chocolate fudge brownie cone and donate $2 to the store’s pet charity: Breast Cancer Action Coalition. At long last I get to combine my twin loves of fudgy ice cream and boobies.

12:40pm

23rd street and 8th ave

After a ten minute wait I finally get my Half Baked cone. I don’t know what’s in it, but I love it. This store is collecting money for Break the Cycle: an aids awareness bike ride through NYC. I think it’s very cool that as the stores give out free cones they are also collecting for various local charities.

Next door to the shop is one of my favorite places on the planet. A bar called Trailer Park. I decide to stop in for some tater tots. Turns out this decision would almost be my undoing.

1:45pm

Macy’s Herald Square, 4th floor

Filled with tater tots, my stomach starts to churn as I head through the fourth floor of Macy’s to reach my next target. In order to get to the Ben & Jerry’s in Macy’s one has to walk through a football sized shoe department.

By the time I got to the counter all I could smell was old shoe, and my tounge was actually covered in a fine film that tasted of foot.

Fortunately, there was no line here and I dug into my Creme Brulee cone banishing the foot flavor from my tastebuds and replacing it with golden deliciousity.

2:15pm

Rockerfeller Center- underground

This was by far the longest wait of the day. I stood for 45 minutes with slack jawed cubicle zombies as they waited for a brief taste of happiness in their otherwise meaningless 9 to 5 lives.

I had the Cherry Garcia and felt altruistic as I donated to their pet charity: The St. Stanislaus Losta Church. It was also around this time I began to cramp up.

3:30pm

43rd street and 8th ave

I haven’t had a brain freeze all day, but I started getting milk blindness at about this point. My insides were soupy, my bowels were declaring a state of emergency and my arteries were begging me to quit. But dammit, my journalistic integrity wouldn’t allow it.

I brave a ten minute line and donate a few dollars to The Dwelling Place, a shelter for homeless women. Then another cone: Strawberry Cheese.

4:15pm

104th street and Broadway

The line here’s about twenty minutes, mostly because the local grade school just let out and the children are swarming. I yell at two little punks and a homeless man who all tried to cut in line ahead of me.

I get my last cone of the day: Sweet Cream and Cookies. This store isn’t collecting for charity, but they have a face painter. I ask her if she could make me look like Gene Simmons from Kiss. She gives me a dirty look. All in all a very successful day!

Plan For Next Year:

• Best Location: Macy’s- No line and they offer every flavor

• Worst Location: Roc Center- The line’s too long and the people are like depressed prisoners in a white collar hell

• Best Flavor: Creme Brulee (available exclusively at Macy’s)

• Worst Flavor: Foot (available exclusively at Macy’s)

All jokes aside, it’s a wonderful thing when companies use promotions like this to raise money and awareness for charities. It’s a lesson from which we can all learn.

OK, seriously, has anybody seen a Cadbury Cream Egg in Manhattan.

If so, please let me know. I can’t find them anywhere, and I’m not happy about it.

Hey, did you know that it’s Brooklyn’s restaurant week? That’s right, between now and April 11th is Dine-In Brooklyn (NSFW, because when you open that link Brooklyn Borough President, Marty Markowitz will yell at you about how excited he is about all the different kinds of food available).

So for the next week, you can get a three course meal for $20.06, or at some restaurants TWO people can have a three course meal for $20.06. What a deal.

Fans of 7-11 hot dogs, taquitos and coffee should rush over to the 42nd St location (between 8th and 9th).
After 3pm you have to pay again; so hurry, only 1 hour left. . .

It’s a little late, but I just found out it’s Cupcakes for a Cause Week (until Saturday). What this means is that you have the best reason ever to go out and buy as many cupcakes as you can shove in your mouth. A portion of each sale goes to CancerCare, a non-profit cancer support group. Look for the cupcakes with happy face ‘Bob’ on them at Magnolia, Sugar Sweet Sunshine or your favorite local bakery (check the website for participants).

Decided to check out Scenic last night, a bar/music venue located on Ave B between 2nd and 3rd. Based on the location, I thought it would be a complete scenester sort of place, but upon entering I was pleasantly surprised. Our waitress was sweet as pie, and the place had a mellow vibe. We were able to find a table right away at one of the comfortable red silk upholstery banquettes. Beautiful dark maroon curtains lined the wall and Chinese lanterns covered the ceiling fans. There was a recessed elevated DJ booth in the front and nice sized bar/dance floor downstairs. It’s the kindof place I would go if I wanted a night out with my friends that was more upbeat than coffee, but didn’t want to have to stand in a crowded bar all night. My favorite thing about Scenic was their $1.50 mini-cheeseburgers. They also have on the menu a 40oz. of Colt 45 for $7 (served in a brown paper bag!) A little much, but seriously, when was the last time you were in a bar and ordered a 40oz? Oh, never.

By the time we left, around midnight, it was getting more crowded by the minute. I imagine it gets even worse on the weekends, but if you’re looking for a cool place to grab a drink with snacks at 9pm on a weeknight, I highly recommend this place.