www.Mappetite.com
Thursday, August 26th, 2010
Frosting reaches new heights with overly broad swirls at the Cupcake STOP. Sorry guys but these refrigerated cakes are worrisome reminders of how far we’ve gone with the over abundance of nostalgia of cupcake bakes. Nothing you’d want to melt in your mouth here – dry cake and way too much frosting. And, about that frosting, maybe you were inspired in that truck – these visuals are more reminiscent of a curbside find rather than a delectable after school treat. Cupcake STOP, mobile trucks on city streets or fixed for display at the Limelight Market Place, 19th Street & 6th Avenue.
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Friday, July 23rd, 2010
Sam Sifton of the New York Times has got his ABCs right. He may have hammered the Hamptons angle hard but he was on target – the crowd at ABC KITCHEN was as much the materialistically clad Hamptons gathering as the East End’s Nick & Toni’s draws on a weekend summer night. Don’t let that stop you though – the food is too darn good and the restaurant, a white ton sur ton industrial-meets-rural design aesthetic, is exceptionally pretty.
I love that the restauranteur Jean Georges Vongerichten has gone green. The locally sourced ingredients along with the jumble of vintage mix-and-match flatware were right up my eco-sustainable alley. This cutesy idea was all the more heartfelt when my theatrical barman placed down my setting with a fork from my Mother’s pattern – a difficult find even on replacements.com. She died almost two years ago and It was a welcome sign of the meal that was yet to be…..
An appetizer of hazelnut crusted soft shell crab distinguished itself wonderfully on a bed of tangy dressed salad of spring watercress, young cucumbers and pickled ramps. I purposely kept the fork on my bread plate and it stayed with me through the main course of arctic char adorned with sweet garlic crumbs and accompanied with the welcome bite of fresh broccoli rabe.
It was a delicious meal and, by way of that fork comforting and reassuring. Now, if only there was a way to soften the frenzied energy of the materialistically clad clientele forcing themselves upon the hostesses and overflowing into the bar area. ABC KITCHEN 35 E. 18th St., at Broadway; 212-475-5829
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Thursday, June 24th, 2010
Another one for the Italians. Flavorful scoops of artisanal ice creams and sorbets of ingredients sourced from organic and sustainable centric purveyors. A cool and refreshing repast when its impossible to beat the heat in city streets. I glom for GROM and so will you. 233 Bleecker Street (Carmine St); 1796 Broadway (58th Street); 2165 Broadway (76th Street). Daily 11 a.m. to 12 p.m.
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Tuesday, June 15th, 2010
June 1st rolled around and three restaurants along or not far from Greenwich Avenue went bust. While we’ve gotten use to the empty Dayo space at 12th and the more recent Bruxelles at 13th now add the following to the list:
The ill-fated Philipe Chow (what the #$@#$ were they thinking with this slicker-than-need-be French-edged Chinese (which, was sort of good) on that service-minded strip of Sixth Avenue anyway?):
The less than mediocre and pedestrian Arte Pasta (freeing up four retail storefronts put the odds in our favor of something more inventive and satisfying opening); and,
The culinary hopeful but doomed (no restaurant survives in that 10th Street locale) Bistro Blanc (which, started as Bar Blanc, morphed to Bistro and now is just one big empty blanc!).
Something new is astir at the Cafe Bruxelles space at 13th and we’re happy with the catering spot from the folks at the Little Owl opening at 93 Greenwich Avenue by 12th (if it is a meals-to-go counter spot they may have a home run on their hands).
We got a chuckle for the change of the old (and dirty) Chinese restaurant (what was it’s name? – Sichuan Greenwich maybe?) which now a new Asian bistro called IN2010 – bad bad bad -is basically the same restaurant with cheap furniture a la a modern motif. Capital ICK on the upholstered furniture – gross in any food setting. A couple of doors down it’s the sub par and juvenile eats of Sweetie Pie. Best to walk easterly for a slew of plausible, if not necessarily destination, chow spots along Greenwich Avenue. Visit www.mappetite.com for an expanded neighborhood list.
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Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010
The gritty grid on the Southern border of the Tenderloin at the Civic Center just got a bit sweeter with a WAFFLE MANIA (gosh we wish they had could come up with a better name) storefront. The classic Belgian staple of chewy and crunchy sugared toasts moves from its vehicular outpost to bricks and mortar stability. 
Not sure how it will play out among the seedier residents of the area but it’s a welcome incursion to the otherwise lackluster easy eats of the area. WAFFLE MANIA, 1020 Market St, at Golden Gate; Civic Center; 415.558.9560.
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