Eat, Play, Run

New York: Magnolia Bakery

I'm not sure if they were first on the scene, but Magnolia Bakery was definitely at the forefront of the cupcake craze that hit New York about four years ago... a craze that seems to be hitting Seattle now. It's not unusual to see lines formed around the block for cupcakes at Magnolia.

But, smartly, I've noticed they continue to add other baked good to their menu, and from my unofficial tally over the last two nights, it seems evenly split on whether people order cupcakes or something else. Something being slices of cake, mini pies, cheesecake, brownies, banana pudding, lemon bars, etc.

Honestly, I always preferred the cupcakes at Buttercup Bakery and could never really understand the Magnolia hype. But, there's a Magnolia about four blocks from my hotel, so I walked up the street and ordered cupcakes last night and a white chocolate brownie tonight. The cupcakes were fine. The brownie probably a little better, but being a white chocolate frosting, it was a little too sweet. Unfortunately, they were out of the plain brownies.

New York: Bar Artisanal

While in New York, my friend Laura scored us a reservation at Bar Artisanal, a new French Bistro-styled restaurant from Chef Brennan. Physically, the restaurant is in a really cool Tribeca space (click image to enlarge).

The food here is all top notch. Known for their cheeses, we actually dove straight into small plates and the main courses.

Our amuse bouche was grilled cheese bites. Yep, these are just quarters of a grilled cheese sandwich. Perfectly cooked, though, using three cheeses, these little bad boys had me wishing we would've ordered more.

For an appetizer we had Blue Prawns, served simply with garlic, olive oil and hot pepper. This is easily something I could make, will make. So simple, yet so full of flavor. Definitely on the spicy side. If you're adverse to hot foods, this may be too much for you. 

Next, we had an arugula salad, served with burrata cheese and caponata. I'm not sure I had ever had caponata, and I honestly didn't know what I was eating. At it's root, it's eggplant and olives. Though I don't especially like olives, I found it to be really good. 

OK, onto the main dishes. Laura ordered the hamburger and fries. I'll start with the fries. They're modeled after McDonald's fries, and they pull them off splendidly. Let's face it, McDonald's fries are the best in the world. These aren't that good, but they're pretty damn close. The burger itself was exquisite! Greasy, sloppy goodness. If I ever return here, I have to say, I'll probably order one for myself. Truly, one of the best burgers I've had in NYC.

I had the steak tartar. I don't order steak tartar often, but this is the best I've ever had. The only issue I had with it is that I wish there was more of it. The serving was about the size of a standard hamburger patty.

Finally, we each ordered desserts. Laura went with the cheese panna cotta, which is served with roasted rhubarb and strawberries. I love the texture of panna cotta and this one didn't let me down. It's ultra smooth. The roasted fruit was also interesting (in a good way), though the rhubarb was a bit tart for my taste.

The other dessert we had was truly great. It was a chocolate mousse. But not just any chocolate mousse. It was chocolate mousse, with a thin layer of hazelnut crunch and coffee granita, topped with chocolate foam. What made this dessert so special was the light, smoothness of the mousse and foam combined with the crunch of the hazelnut and course texture of the granita. This dessert is a chocolate lovers dream. Even if you don't eat at Bar Artisanal, you need to go to the bar and order this dessert.

Food Fight: Yummy House vs. Beard Papa's

Until recently, I always associated cream puffs, rightly or wrongly, with French food. You know, eclairs. I loved them. Shouldn't speak in the past tense... I still love them. Chocolate eclairs are one of my favorite desserts of all time.

But cream puffs are also popular amongst Japanese and Chinese food diners. Beard Papa's is cream puff shop that started in Osaka, Japan and grew into a worldwide phenomenon. I had first come across Beard Papa's in New York. I can't tell you how excited I was when I saw there was one here in the International District, located in Uwajimaya.

But Beard Papa's isn't the only cream puff in the ID. Yummy House Bakery, with two locations, a stand-alone shop and a counter about 20 feet from Beard Papa's in Uwajimaya, also makes a mean cream puff.

So, let me introduce a new feature: Food Fight, where I'll compare similar foods  from different shops/restaurants, and choose a winner.

Here we have a battle of cream puffs and they'll be judged in two categories: Pastry and Filling.

1. Pastry: Yummy House tastes fine, but it's a little heavy and soggy. Whereas Beard Papa's is light and crisp.
2. Custard filling: Again, Yummy House is fine, not overly sweet with a nice consistency. But, Beard Papa's is lighter, and while not overly sweet, seems to pack more flavor.

Well, this one is a first round knock-our for Beard Papa's (right, in the above photo.) Beard Papa's topped Yummy House in both categories. It's not that Yummy House is bad, but Beard Papa's is just really good!

See how I suffer for you? I ate two cream puffs in one night. By the way, you'll never see me doing a Food Fight on peas or spinach. But more desserts? Absolutely!