Kitchenette

If you want urban farmhouse food, Kitchenette is the place. Gingham, pink, flowers, cookies and cupcakes - there, you are surrounded by all of those things. That's about as farmhouse as you can get in the middle of the city.

Ryan and I had a recent Sunday brunch there, sitting on bar stools at the counter and staring directly at the frosted layer cakes at eye level display. I had a fantastic omelet with turkey, pepper jack and apples, along with a delicious biscuit smothered in pink strawberry butter. The most adorable brunch you have ever eaten. The brunch menu is overwhelmingly packed with homey-sounding things like mixed-berry pancakes and cottage breakfast (scrambled eggs with bacon and cheddar and dill onion toast). Soups are great, and sandwiches are always overstuffed and flavorful. You will leave with a Belly-ette.

There are two locations, one downtown in TriBeCa and one in Morningside Heights, so whenever I'm feeling indulgent and leisurely, I take my lunch there and bring a cookie back to work.

Kitchenette Uptown
1272 Amsterdam Ave (between 122nd and 123rd Sts)
Morningside Heights, New York
212-531-7600

Kitchenette
156 Chambers St. (and Greenwich St)
TriBeCa, New York
212-267-6740

Brazil and Cupcakes

Now that the weather is getting better, we're moving into hunting and gathering mode in the West Village. I'm not looking for berries, but in that neighborhood you're often looking for the "great restaurant" of which you are "pretty sure" of the location. It's like a fun food challenge.

Emilia was pretty sure she knew where the great Delicia Brazil was, one nice Friday evening. Sebastian and I followed our friend and her intuition through the streets until she found the tiny, basement level bungalow-esque Brazilian restaurant...somewhere around there.

We sat right down at prime time and had a GREAT meal. It was a long wait for the food. But if you are with good people and willing to drink caipirinhas while drawing with crayons on the paper tablecloth, then all is worth it. We were also entertained and paying very close attention to a table full of stunningly attractive Latin American men across the room. We found one for each of us without much trouble.

Our appetizer came by the time the real hunger set in. Pao De Quiejo - if you like bread and cheese married in one fluffy roll, this is perfect. For the main plate, I had Camarao Na Moranga - shrimp, onions, tomatoes, red pepper in coconut cream sauce over baked butternut squash. Oh, it was divine. They have other traditional Brazilian stews, and a prix fix that includes appetizer, main dish, and dessert.

On our way out of the West Village we stopped for midnight cupcakes at Magnolia Bakery, which in cupcake-craze land is famously one of the first places to really showcase the treat in NYC. According to my cupcake research, I find there are several other places in the city that are perhaps an outgrowth of the Magnolia genius. So, I will keep eating them. And I'm happy to forage in the West Village any time.


Delicia Brazil
311 W 11th St (between Greenwich and Washington Sts)
West Village, NY
212-242-2002

Magnolia Bakery
401 Bleeker St (and W 11th St)
West Village, NY
212-462-2572

Katie's Farewell Stromboli

Why must we say farewell to Katie?? It's horrible to keep saying good-bye to dear friends that have been leaving New York this year, seemingly in droves. And of course, they are some of my greatest food friends. Katie and I have shared much conversation, antipasti and after-work vino at Max Cafe in Morningside Heights and amazing lunchtime sandwiches at at Fresh Cafe (reviews forthcoming!)

The only good thing about friends leaving is that everyone gets together to share talk and eats. For Katie's down south send-off, Trish made some addictively good strombolis. They are very easy to make, and easier to keep eating ... I had one piece too many and definitely felt like a Stromboli during the train ride home.

Trish's Stromboli

What you need:

pre-made dough (Trader Joe's has a great herby one)
Sauce
Cheese
Fillings (we had some veggie and some carnie)

Spread out and flatten dough, arrange sauce, cheese and filling on half the dough, length-wise. Flip other half over the filled side, press and seal. Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes, or until golden browned and crispy on top.

My favorite had scallops, zuchinni and sweet peppers. Mmm. As you can see, we ate two entire trays of the delicious stuff.

Although I could have easily rolled tummy-first back to Brooklyn, for dessert I had one of the best cupcakes in the land - buttery soft cake and fluffily pink buttercream frosting. Erin brought a big box from sugar Sweet sunshine, a bakery on the Lower East Side that I cannot wait to visit. Their website alone puts me in a cakey state of mind.

Farewell, Katie...please come back and eat with me soon...

sugar Sweet sunshine
126 Rivington St. (between Essex and Norfolk)
New York, NY
212-995-1960
www.sugarsweetsunshine.com