Red Velvet at Sunburst

I have had a serious craving for cupcakes lately- Red Velvet in particular.

I was so excited on Friday when I ran across the new cupcake truck and got one of their mini red velvets.

Unfortunately it was quite dry and not very tasty.

So today I decided to try and find on that would satisfy my craving.

I stopped by Sunburst Espresso bar for a coffee and saw that they had these delicious looking cupcakes right up front and they were only $2.75. Score!



I took one home and dug in.

If your a frosting person this cake is for you. The frosting really outweighed the cake.

I mean look at that cake to frosting ratio.



At first I liked this cupcake. The cake was very moist and the frosting had a slightly sour flavor.

However after a couple bites this just became way too much.

The frosting was so sweet it became almost sickening and I started to get a stomach ache almost immediately.

Mr. T split this with me and if he hadn't there would be now way for me to finish it. It was simply too much.

Unfortunately the sunburst cupcake didn't do it for me. It certainly satisfied my craving but in a bad way. I don't want anything sweet for a LONG time after this!

I have yet to find one anywhere near as good as my mini guy from Lassen and Hennigs.

Too bad they are way out in Brooklyn

Crocodile Lounge

When you live in the city, you get used to paying a lot of money every time you step out the door.

Oh sure- there’s some free stuff. The rotating sample at the tasting counter of Trader Joe's, the jam sticks and apple slices at the Green Market, the bread samples at Dean and Deluca, etc.

But those things won’t fill you up. That’s not sustenance!

This is sustenance- Pizza.



This is what you get free every single time you buy a beer at Crocodile Lounge.

We’ve been coming to this place ever since they opened their Manhattan location years ago and I have to say it just keeps getting better.

They always have a decent selection of beer on tap-


my Raspberry Hefeweizen

-and a great selection of games in the back from Skee Ball to Buck Hunter.

Okay I’ll admit the pizza isn’t the best- the crust it too dry and the base has no taste- but the cheese and sauce are pretty good. Once you load that baby up with some oregano, garlic and parmesan cheese…it’s quite a tasty treat!

Plus they have a nice little patio out back to chill and enjoy some rays of sun.

If you’re purely looking for the best pizza in the city then walk across the street to Artichoke.

If you’re looking to chill with some beers and enjoy the night- head to Crocodile Lounge.

It’s nice to get a little something free in the city.

Sheepshead Bay Chocolate

I was walking around in Sheepshead Bay the other afternoon looking for something tasty to have with my sad excuse for a lunch.

I had decided to pack some ham and cheese that morning in a rush and the idea of eating only a couple slabs of ham was depressing.

I decided to do what I always do when I’m here for work and pick up some Russian chocolates.



They always have such pretty wrapping.

I love getting chocolates here because I never know what will be inside since I can’t read Russian.

This was looking a little bit sketchy at first.



But then I opened it up and what flowed out was absolutely scrumptious!!!

See all that milk chocolate goodness surrounded by a crispy rice coating.



And look at the inside- an almond!!

It was a like a Roche but better! Yum!!

The second candy unfortunately wasn’t very good. It actually tasted like pure vodka inside so I threw it out right away.

It’s never a good idea to smell like vodka at work!

That was my first encounter however with the Russian Roche and I have to say it absolutely rocked.

Back Forty

Mr. T and I spent our day off Friday watching some baseball and bumming around the East Village a bit.

I was surprised how many new places have opened up on Avenue A. So many new bars! With great drink deals.

We tried out a new one place next door to Drop Off Service and enjoyed some $3 Radeberger’s and then went to an old favorite Boxcar Lounge for their two for one deal.

We decided to grab some food around that area before we headed home so we walked over to Back Forty to see if there was a wait.

Luckily a spot had just opened up in the back so we were seated right away outside in the backyard.

The backyard had about six or seven large tables and reminded me of the backyard of Alchemy out in Park Slope.

We decided to start by splitting the Salt Cod Hush Puppies.



When we ordered these the waitress said they were out of the hush puppies but had the fritters…I’m not sure what the difference between fritters and hush puppies really is so we thought that was a little odd but whatever.

The fritters were piping hot and extremely crunchy.

I loved the jalapeno cheese sauce they came with but I didn’t really get that much of a salt cod taste for some reason. It seemed a bit masked by the breading but they were still quite good.

For my main I went for the Grass Fed Burger with Rosemary Fries.



Back Forty bills itself as a burger joint at its core so I had high expectations for this meal.

The burger was pretty thick and had a nice earthy flavor but nothing else really stood out about it.

I mean it was tasty but I think I’ve had better burgers elsewhere.

Also it came pretty undercooked. I had asked for medium rare but the inside was almost raw. Mr. T was afraid to try a bite because it looked so raw.

Mr. T ordered the Grilled Portuguese Chorizo with Clams.



The Chorizo had a nice snappy outside and a spicy hot inside.

I didn’t try the clams or beans but Mr. T wasn’t exactly thrilled with the dish.

It was kind of boring. He didn’t feel satisfied when he finished because there wasn’t very much to the dish.

It needed another component- some pasta, bread something to tie everything together.

So overall we probably won’t be running back to Back Forty any time soon for their food.

The drink list however was great. They had a couple wines from North Folk and a bunch of great local beers.

I tried out the Captain Lawrence Pale Ale and Mr. T got a Brooklyn Brewery Cuvee.

I heard they have a happy hour from 6-8 every day where beers are half off. That might be worth coming back for.

Back Forty Website

Happy 4th of July Weekend!

I hope everyone did something a little festive this year.

I took myself out for a drink at the Crow's Nest which is located on the rooftop of the Water Club.

I decided to go all out and order the Banana Pina Colada.



This drink was so delicious!! It was worth every empty calorie it contained and more.

It was such a nice day to sit otsde and look at the water.



What a great spot.

I felt like I was on vacation and it was only 20 minute walk from my apartment!

God I love NYC. Happy 4th!