New York is my favorite city in the world, so instead of jetting around in public transportation or taxis, I like to walk around so that I can immediately explore anything that looks interesting. I loosely base my routes around bakeries and stores that I want to check out. When I have a whole day off, I actually like aiming for places that are far away from each other, b/c it gives me exercise and a chance for my palate and stomach to relax between tastings.

So, today, as I often do, I started off with a cupcake in mind…

Buttercup Bake Shop, at 2nd Ave & 51 St. Cupcakes are everywhere in NY, and I’m determined to track down the best one. I don’t have a “control cupcake” — it doesn’t matter to me whether it’s vanilla cake/icing or chocolate cake/icing because I theoretically like all those combinations. I just want a delicious, moist cake with flavorful icing (with conf sugar buttercream — not Italian, Swiss, or French buttercream, b/c I just don’t like ‘em). The most common letdown is a dry cake… like this one, unfortunately. The icing didn’t taste very chocolate-y, either, so the whole result was pretty bland. Too bad. My cupcake search continues.

Banana Pudding. I have a sentimental spot for banana pudding — the Magnolia Bakery version was my big discovery of 1999, and I made it countless times after I moved back to Chicago for college (it was probably the first and only dessert that I made for years); it now also reminds me of the entremet cake that I made in culinary school.

Buttercup is owned by an ex-partner of Magnolia, so it made sense that this was here. This version was very thick — the pudding component itself, but it was also packed with Nilla Wafers and banana slices. Texturally, it was too much for me, like a traffic jam in a cup. I wished that the pudding was a little fluffier and that it had more room to breathe amongst the cookies and bananas. The flavor was nice, though (infused with banana, with hints of sweetened condensed milk and vanilla).

Then, on to Fauchon, at Park & 57th St, whose hot pinkness can be seen from blocks away. They only had a few pastries out at about 10:45, so I got these two petit fours and walked to the plaza in front of FAO Schwartz, at 5th Ave & 58th St, to eat them.

The Pistachio Eclair was pretty bland (tasted of… sugar) and oddly dry yet chewy. Maybe it was old.

The Key Lime Tart had an initial creamy flash of lime that dissipated into an eggy taste; the lime almost, but never quite took off. I think that the construction is really interesting, though — it looked like that sphere was formed by joining two hemispheres of molded curd. I think it would have been even better if it had been on a crust that really showed off its roundness, rather than this slightly larger round one — the curd was off-centered and looked like it was in baggy clothes when it should have been svelte. It would be good to try to smooth the seam a little more, too.

I’ve had these caramels before, and they’re rich, chewy, and flavorful; I could only wish that they included their salted caramels in the box, too. I didn’t have any today, though, b/c yes, Chad, they’re for you.

Then through Central Park and this gazebo to get to the southwest corner of the park…

And to Bouchon Bakery in the Time Warner Center at Columbus Circle. I’ve been there a couple times and will write a full post about it later, but here’s a grape tart that I had there today as a preview…

And then I walked up the Upper West Side on Broadway. I wandered around Fairway, at 74th St, a bustling gourmet grocery market with an especially fabulous outdoor produce display.

Then I happened upon Beard Papa Sweets Cafe, at 76th St, which I vaguely remembered reading about — there are a few of these Japanese chain stores around NY and they’re known for their cream puffs, so I got an Earl Grey Milk Tea one (the other choice was vanilla)…

Light and crispy (very admirable on such a humid day as today), with a smooth pastry cream inside that not only had a balanced sweet Earl Grey flavor, but also had a hint of a lemon tang. And it’s just me, but I don’t like the way that conf sugar and choux pastry taste together, though, so that was my only issue with this.

And then found myself in front of H & H Bagels, and got a just-perfectly-chewy sesame bagel, which was the closest thing that I had to a lunch…

And then to the wonderful Zabar’s. After browsing the grocery section, I spent a lot of time upstairs, inspecting and collecting baking paraphernalia, like tart tins, a food mill, magi-cake strips, silicone cake pan liners, a triple sifter, and some miscellaneous, which I squeezed into my backpack before pointing myself back downtown.

I noticed Ottomanelli Bros, at Amsterdam & 78th St, and was excited b/c I was at a dinner party last night where I was served an amazing New York strip steak from Ottomanelli. But I’ve since found out that that steak came from Ottomanelli Brothers at York & 82nd St. There’s also an Ottomanelli Meat Market in the West Village. I can’t tell if they’re related.

And then I just walked a lot — down to NY Cake & Baking Distribution, at 26th St & 5th Ave. They have everything that people who enjoy decorating cakes would need, and I was interested to see that they have gelatin sheets, acetate, and glucose for sale.

And then into the 18 miles of books lining the shelves of The Strand, at Broadway & 12th St. A while later, I came outside with Cakes by Maida Heatter and The King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion — b/c soon I’ll be back in Napa and eager to bake on my own.
Then I read for a while before dinner at Sapa, at 6th Ave & 24th St. I got a ride home, and I admit that was fine with me at that point. I’ll post about the actual meal later.

Chic restaurants are great and all, but the endless variety of delivered foods also has a place as one of the more fabulous things about cities. On this Saturday night, it made staying at home to nurse a lingering blister on my heel and a resultant burgeoning limp seem almost luxuriously fun. I’ve been walking the 5-10 miles that I cover in New York everyday and standing for however long at my externship, so all I wanted to do for dinner was shuffle to my front door and be greeted by a glorious bearer of sushi before falling back onto the couch.

And I didn’t even have to make a phone call — I ordered online efficiently through Menu Pages. Despite the odd name, Tony’s Sushi came through with a delightful meal starring perfectly fresh sushi — and large portions.

Sushi Dinner Bento Box (with 6 pieces of sushi, an Alaska Roll, shrimp shumai, miso soup, salad). For quite a while, this will be what I crave when I crave sushi.  The shumai were light and good.

Age Tofu, gently fried. It had a delicate, crispy crust and silky interior, but I wasn’t into the strong fermented flavor. So, I drowned it with an accompanying sauce, and it was fine.

I’ve read quite a bit about Momofuku’s New York-style take on a ramen shop, and I was very happy with what I had. After a few dud food experiences elsewhere, it was one of those meals that made me relax into the vibrant flavors of the dishes and remember how good food can taste… in a comfort food sort of way.

Momofuku, by the way, means lucky peach.

Steamed Buns with Shiitake Mushrooms. At first I thought that the mushrooms looked a bit anemic without the sauce (which was only spread on the middle of the buns), but as I ate them, I appreciated that they weren’t all gunked up with sauce b/c it would have been monotonous. I also liked the sprightly cucumber, and how the bun wasn’t so thick as to smother the filling, as so often is the case. It was awkward to eat, though… Multiple mushroom slices don’t generally like to cleanly break for one bite.

Momofuku Ramen with Berkshire Pork Combo and Poached Egg. Loved the two porks - earthy, fibrous-but-chopstick-yielding pork belly and sweeter shredded pork shoulder — as well as the mountains of everything else, even though the noodles were a tad soft. I could have spent an afternoon lingering over the the gently steaming bowl.

Buddakan is big. It’s 16,000 square feet and seats 325 people for food and drinks. I tried to take pictures of the main dining room to capture its immensity, but this one from the the New York Times review does it much better justice. We sat in the “library” off to the side, which was more intimate but no less stylish, with glowing book spines lining the walls.

I don’t usually trust places like this — such size makes me think of noise and the mediocrity of mass food service… and such an emphasis on style makes me think of lounges and clubs with tepid food and watered down drinks. And then there’s that whiff of gimmickry about the whole thing…

But the modern Asian food at Buddakan was great, often fantastic. And sure, it was loud, but it felt more fun than obnoxious. And the service was friendly and thoughtful. I may sound shocked and I may open my eyes a little wider than normal if I were to tell you this out loud, but I highly recommend Buddakan.

Btw, the building used to be a Nabisco cookie factory, so a visit to Buddakan means a visit to the place where the Oreo was invented. Somehow I was charmed by learning the quaint heritage of such a brashly modern place.

Shaken Chili Beef Tartare with Tapioca and Shaved Shallots. A revelation. Tuna tartare has become so trite, and so returning to a classic tartare with beef and incorporating tapioca and shallots seems brilliant to me. It was so silky and full of flavor. The spicy sauce on the side of the plate wasn’t even necessary to bolster the flavor for me, but I liked the occasional crispy contrast of the chip and its black sesames.

Boneless Spare Ribs with Chinese Mustard. Again, the sauce wasn’t even necessary. The ribs were so tender and juicy, with a just sweet and spicy enough glaze.

Crab Fried Rice with Wok Scrambled Egg. I loved how the herbs on top added a dash of vitality into this already fresh dish — the crab was delicious and plentiful amongst perfect rice, and the eggs added just the right degree silkiness and background flavor.

Mao Poe Tofu with Minced Pork and Red Chili. The NYT review calls this “the most crazily addictive thing I’ve tasted in months.” I wanted to find it crazily addictive, too, but mine hit much sweeter notes than the spicy fieriness that Bruni experienced. The tofu was incredibly silky, and the dish was still fine, with the pork asserting itself most, but I was expecting more.

Cantonese Steamed Sole with Ginger Scallion Oil. I love it when steamed dishes are so full of flavor. And the sole was so tender.

Crying Chocolate with Malted White Chocolate Ganache, Coffee Ice Cream, Milk Caramel. Excellent. That little chocolate tart that oozed the warm dark chocolate and white chocolate ganaches seemed like a clever play on chocolate lava cake, and the coffee ice cream was a worthy ally — creamy and just sweet enough. Those dots of chocolate seemed a bit unnecessary, but I guess it’s for style and supports the name.

White Peach Sorbet and Blackberry-Lime Sorbet with Thai Basil Gelee, Spicy Ginger Seltzer, Basil Chip. I tasted the gelee first, and found it off-putting, but after a bites of sorbets, I went back to it, and found it utterly wonderful and refreshing. I really liked how the sorbets were full of ripe fruit on their own, but as time passed and they melted into the seltzer, the dish turned into a kind of flavored soda in a bowl; it reminded me of those drinks in France, where you pour syrups into water a little at a time. I also respect how this rather light dessert has so many wonderful flavors and textures. Interestingly, even though it was “the sorbet dish” it was listed first on the menu.

Drinkwise, it was hit or miss. The Charm with passion fruit liqueur, apple, fresh berries, and prosecco was downright astringent; I can understand the concern of serving overly sweet cocktails, but this was ridiculously unsweet and rather undrinkable. Meanwhile, the Heat with tequila, cointreau, and chilied cucumbers was very sour and quite sweet and barely spicy. I had better luck with a Harushika “Tokimeki” (Heart Aflutter) — a sparkling Junmai — that started out like a sweet wine, until you felt the bubbles, and then tasted the sake. It was different and good.

And their mac & cheese croquet was wickedly good — piping hot, full of pungent cheese flavor, just creamy enough inside, and perfectly crispy on the outside.

I have to try their donuts and spam musubi… With a mac & cheese croquet on the side.

And they’re open 24 hours a day, in the East Village. Sweet, sweet Bamn!