Sugar Sweet Sunshine: My Home a Few Blocks Away From Home

I feel homesick today

but a different type of homesick

for my second home

which definitely is not Vassar,

but the cozy, warm, decadent heaven

of Sugar Sweet Sunshine

nestled on Rivington Street,

it feels just like home, with the sweet smells

of thick buttercream frosting,

sugar cookies, and chocolate

this was my after school spot

a great place to sink into an old floral print arm chair

and listen to people's cupcake orders, envious after consuming 2 cupcakes

instead of reading Wuthering Heights & the like

the floral print wallpaper, and odd array of furniture

make it pleasantly kitschy

this is really my happy place

I even took my Vassar interviewer there

and I had her at pumpkin cupcake

a delish concoction of pumpkin cake topped with

luscious cream cheese frosting & walnuts

that hurts my heart when I think about it,

for it has been so long since I've had the sweet tastes of home

I've been around the cupcake block,

Magnolia's, Crumb's, Butter Lane, Babycakes

and nothing compares

you can go to Magnolia's if you want a long obnoxious line,

Sex & the City fans, a dense, dry, cupcake with hard icing

and a huge tummy ache afterwards

Crumbs if you want massive, bland tasting cake with fun toppings,

Butter Lane for boring & pricey, and Babycakes for oh so sad vegan creations

Sugar Sweet Sunshine tops them all

oh, did I mention the Zagat says this is the best cupcake place in the city?

thats news to me, but the Zagat is holy and therefore is always right

a dollar fifty for a piece of utopia? they got that, and much more

like banana pudding, with Nilla wafers, and cookies in glass jars

but the winner of all noms is the pistachio cupcake

this little baby is the best, and I've never encountered anyone

who doesn't fall fast in love with this creation

topped with Satin Buttercream (the Moose) and crushed pistachio nuts

nom nom nom little green cake

the other best is the classic Sunshine

vanilla cake, with vanilla buttercream

in pretty colors like hot pink & seafoam (my favorites)

its so sweet, it feels like a hug & a kiss from your first crush (I swear)

what's even better than eating the cupcake itself

is the aftermath

they are so moist that cake sticks to the cupcake liners

and my personal favorite part of the whole experience

is hopefully and wistfully scraping the cake bits off the liner

to get that last, divine taste of harmonious delight

just 31 days till I get home

away from Vassar, and into the warm embrace of a Sugar Sweet Sunshine cupcake.

eat your heart out, this is food porn.

The Humble Beginnings of an Aspiring Food Critic

I never had an Easy Bake Oven

and what girl didn't want one?

I pined over those bite sized chocolate cakes

sprinkled with glittering pink sugar,

dreamed of frosting 

my own cookies and 

mixing my own brownies

even before that in pre-K,

I hung out by the plastic lavender and

baby pink, and cream kitchen set 

that was missing various tiny metal pots and pans

but still had a few plastic food items

the standard fruits and maybe a carton of eggs

I would spend my play time there

pretending to whip up omelets, drinking pretend milk, 

and gossiping with my friends,

you know, the normal business

of a 4 year old on the Lower East Side

I hated the school lunch, they served me liver once

who gives liver to a 4 year old?, I felt like a puppy

being forced to eat a can of chow

so the little kitchen was always a 

better alternative to

the miniature lunch tables

when I got older my dreams of 

cooking never left me

I spent a lot of time at my grandma's house,

complete with plastic covered fabric couches, 

a collection of stuffed animals from 

various rip-off Coney Island games,

a menagerie of Technicolor bulldogs, 

goofy lions, and teddy bears,

a crazy old chihuahua named Snoopy,

and no cable,

no Hey Arnold, or Rocko's Modern Life, or Real Monsters for me

nope, I settled down with the Food Network

watching Emeril Lagasse do his thing

I sat down in front of the TV with my Play-doh and followed his recipes

making tacos and seafood with the various colors I had

shaping reds and greens and blues

being careful not to mix the colors and essentially taint them forever

I would roll out little balls of pretend pizza dough

that would leave the sweet memorable scent 

on my hands and under my finger nails

which totally beats out the Easy Bake Oven 

now I watch Iron Chef, and Chopped not pretending to be a chef

but to pretending to be a food critic, skilled and versed in describing the 

multifaceted tastes of food

I'm pretty obsessed 

what a great life it would be 

to sit around saying things like "oh yes, this tastes a bit gamey", 

and "that really adds a kick of flavor", "this presentation is very rustic"

or "the hint of lemon adds a depth of flavor and brings out the saffron"

you know, great stuff like that

I'd travel around tasting bits of every country & culture while taking notes

on flavor, and plating design

make-believe never gets old

but hey, who knows, maybe one day I can work for the Zagat

dreams may not always come true

but I still love the smell of Play Doh.

MAX, my Italian love

Long time no blog eh?

I've been soaking up my last days of being home

in the wonderful city,

trying to distract myself from the fate that awaits me in Poughkeepsie

long nights in the library reading while half asleep,

shopping being limited to 3 hours on the weekend after enduring a 

sweaty, obnoxious shuttle ride 

vending machines with Swedish Fish but no Sour Patch Kids 

(which should constitute a crime)

gross clumps of hair in the shower drain

frigid toilet seats that give me a surprisingly unpleasant jolt in the mornings

(people just love to leave the bathroom windows open)

but amongst those other nightmares that bring me

oodles of gloom

is the watered down pasta sauce that sadly coats the 

spaghetti, penne and all other things Italian

You know what I realized in college?

how much I love spaghetti, it was always one of those things I took for granted

never realizing the joy that those noodles could bring to my heart 

when slurped and enjoyed with plenty of thick, tasty sauce

spaghetti is so simple, so classic, so key to life honestly

that the college dining experience can 

massacre something so simply delicious

is beyond me, it is an utter shame

so as I enjoyed my first plate of spaghetti and meatless meatballs

I was elated, transported to another world of pizza and mama's pasta sauce

but that wasn't enough for me, I love my mother, but she is not Italian

I need some of nonna's cooking to satisfy my Italian cravings

the cravings my roommate knows much about

because instead of counting sheep at night, we talk about food until we are drowsy

best cure for restlessness, ever

anyway, the only way to satisfy, and possibly perpetuate 

[perpetuate is such a Vassar word, ew]

my craving for Italian was to visit the best Italian restaurant I know

MAX, on 4th and Avenue B, otherwise known as heaven

which the Zagat gave a 22 for  food, 15 for decor, and 16 for service

boo! I say to the 22 & 15!

for the dark rustic ambiance of the place takes me to another world

as does the food, after ordering Caprese & 

homemade gnocchi with tomato sauce, basil & mozzarella

I was set, ready for some sweet Italian loving

loving that I definitely cannot find at Vassar

the fresh mozzarella, tomato & basil were out of this world

and made me wish I was Italian for a few seconds...maybe a few minutes

so that I could have a fresh, moist little lump of mozzarella inhabiting my fridge at all times

then, the gnocchi came and I was instantly transported to a world of Vespas & gelato

a deep bowl of tiny potato love pockets in thick sauce, 

& cheese that was so melty and stretchy

I'm salivating just reliving the experience

those gnocchi made the gnocchi at Vassar look like fat maggots swimming in dirty red water

that sounds really gross actually...

anyhow, I love the Jersey Shore and everything

but the true Italian essence was in New York City, sitting in my bowl drowning in cheese.

This is exactly what I would look like if I was Italian, it's just uncanny.

A Delicious Epiphany

I wish that this picture were larger, 

and maybe gold plated, 

or at least have shiny silver pages and 

lettering like my copy does

because basically: this is my bible.

yes I said it, my bible.

I discovered its magic one lonely day working at a sad boutique

a typical day at a boutique: you know, no customers to buy a 94 dollar sweater for a new born,  no fun, internet browsing, watching episodes of 48 Hours Mystery

anyways...

that fateful day I stumbled upon the Zagat Survey

it was laying behind some pink post-its and 

dried out highlighters

and it changed my life,

really it did

I'm upset those office supplies hid its

greatness from me for so long

and now I am a true food aficionado.