Butter Lane Cupcakes

SO MANY CHOICES?????

Key Lime, The Elvis, Vanilla Vanilla


SUPER DELICIOUS!!!!!!!!!!


Let's start with the name of this cupcake place BUTTER LANE! There is the word butter in the title but funny enough it was named after a real street not because some really sharp marketing person came up with a perfect name. I heard about this new spot in the East Village (7th st. between 1st ave. & avenue A) from my friend Lisa's fiance Eric who was doing a radio piece on the new venture. Originally, I thought it was all custom like Cookies & Milk but then realized it is more like one of those paint your own pottery places with the set pieces that you can add color & life to.

Butter Lane is this cute country type place with 3 different flavor cakes to choose from (vanilla, chocolate, banana) and roughly 12 different frostings to choose from. The best and perhaps most dangerous part of the whole thing is that you are allowed to try every single flavor of frosting before choosing. People who know me well know that the more choices I have the more complicated choosing becomes for me because ultimately, I am always searching for the perfect tasting bite. Intellectually I know that the bite won't be my first or last chance to taste something but just as the saying goes, "you only have 1 chance to make a first impression" which is what my taste buds think. That first bite has a big impact on my sense memory and is perhaps "too" important to me but foodies will understand.

Besides the custom choices, there seems to be a daily special. I chose "The Elvis" which was very moist banana cake with peanut butter icing and a mini marshmallow on top. Of course Sonya and I went together and we wanted to try more than 1 for comparison sake (HA HA HA) so the other choices were key lime and vanilla vanilla (Sonya's litmus test for cupcakes). The results were overall great but my favorite was the Elvis since the cake ws the moistest and the combo of banana with peanut butter is such a classic. The first bite was so great, it caused me to make the funniest face which when replicated for the photo looked like I was drunk so we just deleted the picture.

Of course our visit was made all the more special by the entertaining staff. I have been back and the cake was not as fresh (dry) as the first time but it was the end of the night. I will of course have many more opportunities to eat the BUTTER LANE cupcakes, the one I am looking forward to the most will be as the wedding cakes for my friends Lisa & Eric.

Cupcakes the original "DIRTY" food from Sweet Revenge

SWEET REVENGE

I have to start this post with a little bit of background on how I started calling myself "THE DIRTY DIETITIAN." One day my friend Amie (also a dietitian) and I went to a bakery on the lower east side called Sugar Sweet Sunshine. http://www.sugarsweetsunshine.com/ Amie had met one of the owners previously and asked her if she remembered her. When the owner replied that yes she did remember her, Amie introduced me and said Heidi is also a dietitian but we are "dirty dietitians" because we like to eat cupcakes. Those of you out there who are not dietitians may not fully understand what the general public expects of dietitians. For the most part people assume that dietitians are perfect people when it comes to the foods we eat. The truth is that yes we are quite knowledgeable about the science behind healthy eating but we are also human and have a craving for something "bad" every now and again. My personal philosophy is that there are no bad foods in general, it really boils down to how often you eat the "bad" food and how the food was manufactured (what are the core ingredients) and by whom.

This post is about my great experience eating cupcakes at Sweet Revenge but I have to give a shout out to Sugar Sweet Sunshine (SSS) for also making great classic cupcakes that are still only sold for $1.50 each. I guess that SSS really deserves it own post but I am feeling a bit lazy at the moment so they will just have to wait.

Sweet Revenge, is pretty new to the cupcake scene which explains why my friend Sonya had not heard of it. I consider Sonya to be a cupcake expert and she is also my friend who likes to go on cupcake adventures with me. Sonya is not a dietitian which helps me see the adventure from a more fun, pure place of just straight up enjoyment. I came across the LIST of the top 100 must eat foods in NYC which was published in Time Out New York. Of course I printed a copy of the list for me and one for Sonya which was proudly displayed on my bulletin board at work becuase that is where I spend most of my time (sadly).

Upon entering Sweet Revenge on a Friday night, I felt like I was at a cafe in Europe (I have never been to Europe) because there was a bar and tables. The menu was impressive offering multiple flavors of cupcakes with both wine and beer pairings. They also have a few savory offerings that also looked great but we went straight for the sweet. The "list" suggested the Crimson and Creme cupcake made of red velvet cake with raspberries baked inside and cream cheese frosting.

Crimson and Creme Cupcake

Sonya and I were both super excited at how yummy the cupcakes looked and sounded from their descriptions. We knew there would be other opportunities to eat them again so we decided on 3 flavors to split since we had just gone to the gym (chuckle chuckle). The price was a bit more than the average price ($3.25-$3.50) however the size was also a lot bigger. It was a given that our #1 choice was the Crimson and Creme cupcake. Sonya's gold standard when it comes to sampling cupcakes from different places is to try the vanilla cake with the vanilla frosting which was our #2 choice. Sweet Revenge calls their vanilla/vanilla the Pure cupcake which is a mix of Mexican vanilla cake topped with vanilla buttercream. Our #3 choice was the Sweet Revenge cupcake which was peanut butter cake with a drop of chocolate ganache in the center topped with peanut butter buttercream.

Sweet Revenge Cupcake The taste test results were not the same as the number order that we decided to try them. My favorite was the Crimson and Creme cupcake. It did not taste as light as a traditional red velvet cupcake (the cake part was a bit more dense or "cakey" if that is a word) but the addition of raspberry and the amazing cream cheese frosting brought the overall taste to new heights.

My second favorite was surprisingly the Sweet Revenge cupcake. I usually prefer vanilla or lighter tastes when it comes to my dessert choices. Although the description sounded great the taste was a bit flat or generic vanilla. I think Sonya agreed with me that the Pure cupcake was not up to snuff. The peanut butter flavor came through strong but at the same time subtle as the frosting was a whipped sweet peanut butter flavor. The cake was nice in it's texture but don't expect a large amount of chocolate ganache.

I wouldn't get a repeat of the Pure cupcake as it was too plain for me. I like more complex, layered flavors. Living in NYC there is so much DIRTY WORK to be done. My next adventure is going to be Butter Lane.

Pure Cupcake

A flavor explosion thanks to BRUSSEL SPROUTS from Alta

So I was walking home from work recently on 10th st. heading East from 6th Ave. (one of my favorite blocks because of the Brownstones) and I poked my nose in to a what looked like a tiny restaurant Alta which simply had a tapas menu with mostly Mediterranean looking dishes and a nice looking wine list. As I continued my walk I thought that this would be a perfect place for my friend Debbie and I to grab a drink and maybe a snack after work.

Once I got home, I had to do my research and see if this place was considered any good by my trusty Zagat (thanks Paul). According to Zagat it was a mix of Meditarranean influences with a great wine selection. The review said if you go there that one must try the "Crispy Brussel Sprouts." Now the way I feel about food and restaurant reviews no matter where they come from is similar to how I feel about movie reviews which is to say that even if the review is not so stellar and I am slightly interested, then I am going no matter what. So it was to be that Debbie and I were meeting at Alta for post work happiness.

Debbie snagged us 2 seats at the bar which was perfect because this is where all of the good people watching is but on the other hand we had some interesting commentary from our neighbor, more on that later. The first order of business for me was to order the crispy brussel sprouts which according to the menu came with fuji apples, crème fraiche and pistachio nuts. Being the dietitian I still had to think of calories (I know they are crispy) so I asked the bar tender to nix the crème fraiche which is equivalent to sour cream. We also ordered a plate of bacon wrapped dates.

The brussel sprouts arrived and I was very happy because for a small plate, the portion was a very generous bowl. I did not ask how they were prepared but my sense is that they roasted the brussel sprouts until the edges were slightly black and crispy enough to make some of the leaves come off which added to the depth of the texture. The fuji apples are sliced thin and in a slight cinammon sauce which is then incorporated with the brussel sprouts. The dish is topped with a bit of crushed pistachios that tasted great but from a color perspective boring to have green on green. The overall taste was amazing (a true flavor explosion) and just the right amount of bitter/savory/salty and slight sweetness which happens to be one of my favorite flavor combos think salted caramels. The bacon wrapped olives were ok (hello bacon is goood) but they paled in comparison to the brussel sprouts.

At this point, I was feeling good after having 1 glass of white wine and half a bowl of yummy brussel sprouts along with 3 bites of bacon wrapped stuff. Debbie and I had not planned on eating a full meal but we both agreed that we could go for another nibble of something. Debbie said that she would gladly have more brussel sprouts but that she would leave the choice up to me (I never did ask her if it is because food means so much to me that I have a hard time deciding which I know to some of my friends it can be seen as a problem). Naturally, I tortured the bartender to get his opinion on what we should order next. His suggestion was the pulled pork empanadas which sounded good but I asked him if it was a "FLAVOR EXPLOSION" like the brussel sprouts which he replied no it is not but they are good. The bartender naturally suggested we get both so we said ok but then as he started to walk away we yelled after him to just put the order in for the empanadas and forget about the 2nd order of brussel sprouts which he nodded ok.

Fast forward to a bit later when the bartender came over and dropped the empanadas and another bowl of brussel sprouts in front of us. We were surprised and said didn't you hear us we only wanted the empanadas? The bartender was so sweet and said "don't worry I will take it off the check for you guys, once we drop a plate down it is down and we can't take it back to the kitchen so enjoy it." Enjoy it we did and felt nice and satisfied. At this point I was thinking that the taste of the brussel sprouts was still good the second time around until a little while later the bartender just dropped off ANOTHER (#3) bowl of BRUSSEL SPROUTS and these fried goat cheese balls that were sitting in some lavender infused honey. Debbie laughed and said this is an embaresment of riches, where did these come from but the bartender only shrugged his shoulders and topped of our wine glasses also without asking.



We were not going to ask too many questions so we decided to eat the food and give the bartender a large tip, perhaps that was his strategy. I did not really enjoy the 3rd bowl of brussel sprouts the same way I enjoyed the first but I am sure most people would not even eat a 2nd bowl. The goat cheese balls were good but how can you really mess up fried cheese.

Now I promised to add the interesting commentary from our neighbor who was sitting to Debbie's right which was one seat closer to the door. When people came in or out, the door opened and gave us a cold blast so this guy thinking he was funny or witty or something said to Debbie "the downside of working out and having no body fat is that I get cold easily" to which I said to myself that perhaps he should eat more often. What a ridiculous comment.

The end of the evening approached so I went to use the ladies room before my journey home and discovered that the restaurant was much bigger than I originally thought. It is very big and nice to sit if you have a group. I am sure most people are in shock at the fact that I ate 1 1/2 bowls of brussel sprouts but on the up side I managed to get all of my vegeatble serving in one sitting. As the American Dietetic Association catch phrase goes for fruits & vegetables "MORE Matters"

The brussel sprouts are highly recommended by me but just keep in mind that sometimes more is not always better especially when you are dealing with roughage.

I walked home full, happy, and pretty darn fast.