A Walking Tour of E. 7th St.

I like to see New York as my own personal food carnival, popping in for phenomenal snacks to munch on while walking to the next destination. The block of 7th St. from 1st Ave to Ave A is filled with lots of shops with quick eats that are conducive to the munch-and-continue-on lifestyle. Here's a little walking tour of the East Village block.

Start at Porchetta. Enter, inhale the smell of porky bliss. Order the porchetta sandwich (obviously). Eat it on the bench outside. The pork, roasted with savory herbs, is served on a ciabatta roll, with the porous holes great for catching and hugging the greasy fat of the meat. The best part of the sandwich is the super crispy skin, adding a little crunch to the otherwise soft and tender meaty sandwich. If you have someone (or a few someones) to share it with, get the roasted potatoes with burnt ends.

Take a deep breath. Cross the street and get a lobster roll at Luke's. I believe that their lobster roll is the best in the city all year-round, but in the summertime, when lobster meat from Maine is ridiculously cheap, you get a lot more bang for your buck. Cool lobster claws seasoned with a hint of tarragon, served on a warm roll with a shallow base of mayo. A summertime staple.

Head next door to Caracas. If you've had enough meat for the evening, a vegetarian arepa will do you well. Maybe La Del Gato, with guayanes cheese, fried sweet plantains and avocado slices. Or perhaps La Mulata with grilled white cheese, jalapenos, black beans, red peppers and plantains. Stringy cheese on a sweet corn base holds so much appeal to me.


Now, take a break before dessert. Walk around the block. Get a drink and settle in the back garden at DBA.


Ready to get back at it? If you're still full, you can grab a light People's Pops right at the corner of 7th. I've only tried the peach mint pop, which I wasn't crazy about, so I'd recommend pressing on. Head to the opposite side of 7th, closer to Ave A. Hop into Butter Lane and grab a cupcake for the line at Big Gay Ice Cream Shop. The line will look long, but it'll go fast. Get the Salty Pimp, vanilla soft serve on a cone with a drizzle of caramel-like dulce de leche, a few shakes of salt, and the whole thing dipped in chocolate. You'll have to eat it fast as the ice cream leaks out of the chocolate dip pretty quickly on hot evenings, but you're up for the challenge, right?

Next week, maybe a walking tour of East 8th St. is in order...

Porchetta

110 E 7th St


Luke's Lobster
93 E. 7th St

Caracas Arepa Bar
93 1/2 E. 7th St.

People's Pops
118  First Ave

Big Gay Ice Cream Shop
125 E. 7th St.

Weekend Treats

Cupcakes from Sprinkles (I prefer the black and white, though this dark chocolate one's prettier).

And the New Orleans iced coffee from Blue Bottle with stout coffee cake. 

Cupcakes, Donuts & Gelato

Sweet things I like:

The Pain Perdu (french toast) from Le Gamin on Franklin Street in Greenpoint.

 The macarons from Cookie Road practically next door. They're fun to stack.

Cupcakes with extra sprinkles from (where else) Sprinkles. And who else is excited about their experimental cupcake ATM in LA?

And, speaking of cupcakes, did you know they offered wine pairings for your cupcake choice at Sweet Revenge? This one (from mid-summer) came with something sweet and bubbly.

Love Gelato.

And those irresistible coconut cream donuts from the Donut Plant. Will cause major blood sugar spike.

Pretty Cupcakes!

I think Crumbs is tastier, but Magnolia definitely wins in the looks department.

Chasing Cupcakes

New Yorkers love moving targets. The fact that gourmet trucks are always so popular is proof of this. You feel a sense of pride when you finally locate that elusive banh mi cart, you feel lucky when the falafel cart regularly parks along your commute. And when the cupcake truck graces you with its presence, maybe you dash down the street like a little kid that heard the faint ringing of the ice cream truck.

The Cupcake Stop truck finds a new home each and every day, and fans can track its location on Twitter. Last week the truck happened to be a few blocks away from the office, so I went out and got a red velvet one. The cupcakes were much smaller and far less sweet than Crumbs, which was a welcome surprise after a big lunch. They bake them fresh every morning and you can tell, the cupcakes were way moister than any cupcake I've ever gotten from Buttercup.

Here's hoping the Cupcake Stop truck and I cross paths again someday.

A Morsel from Crumbs

One day after work last week Rob and I took a walk across 42nd Street to get cupcakes on a coworker's recommendation. I had never heard of Crumbs and was excited to learn there were good cupcakes a short walk away, as I've always trekked it up to 50th Street for Buttercup when the mood struck (and believe me, the sweet tooth mood strikes quite often).



Crumbs is a tiny place I have probably walked by tons of times without ever noticing it. But it certainly has a faithful following, as the line was out the door when we got there a little before 6. Since we were unfamiliar with the flavors and they weren't posted anywhere, I had to stretch and crane to see as many cupcakes as I could so I could order without holding anyone up. Should I get my go-to red velvet cupcake? Or should I try something more traditional with a chocolatey edge? It also didn't help that the signs identifying each kind were angled towards the ground. I still don't understand how I was the only one crouching down at that point. These Crumbs customers must really know their stuff.



Finally, I decided on the Reeses cupcake because it had the best top design (see on the bottom left on the pic below). Since there are no tables or chairs or even a stool area here, we had to pack our cupcake to go and try to forget about it until we got home. No easy feat.



Fortunately, it was worth the wait. The cupcake was so tall I had to take sideways bites to keep it from toppling over, but I'm not complaining. The most surprising thing I thought as I took my first bite: this isn't too sweet. Cupcakes are always guilty of carrying far too much sugar and these seemed to be just right. Even the frosting was flavorful, and I was bracing myself for the headachey sugar rush. Definitely a pleasant surprise. I'll be back to try another flavor to neutralize a long headachey day at work.