the village tart for me is all about the sweet stuff. and while i cannot go there nearly every day, like these lucky girls, i will be stopping by whenever i’m in the neighborhood for a quick snack. i am still dreaming of this strawberry rhubarb almond frangipane. this might be my perfect combination of rich, tart fruit with a slightly sweet, dense vanilla type cake and all that sweetness was cut perfectly with the creme fraiche. i had to have this twice, and each time it was super. on one visit, we did branch out with a cupcake, which was fine, and some very delicious, compact chocolate banana bread too.
i’m not the only one who seems to think the sweets at the village tart are better than the savory items, though there have been some mixed reviews (and boy has this place been reviewed). we’ve tried the baked eggs, and the scallion quiche, which while the quiche had the most luxurious, creamy innards, its crust surprisingly was chewy, and much too heavy for that airy innards. i do love pichet ong, the “mastermind” behind this spot — i even have his cookbook though the recipes are a bit daunting — so i’ll be watching whatever, he does. and i do like the space, a little like a spacious, light-filled french cafe (cute marble tables, walls filled with vintage mirrors) and definitely will keep coming back to the village tart to an afternoon pick-me-up. the village tart, 86 kenmare street at mulberry street, manhattan, new york, .
with two small and darling kids and one lovely husband who all occasionally need some amount of tending to as well as a full-time job, this blog is an excuse for me to explore the streets of new york, with a focus on brooklyn -- my home -- and manhattan, for those great little finds that seem to appear randomly on all sorts of blocks around new york but are sometimes hidden from plain view. i gravitate toward small, beautiful, independent places with interesting things, fantastic and friendly service and mostly affordable stuff (or at least an excellent value) and food that is extremely tasty, reasonable and in a great space -- though taste will trump design every time. to help put all these ideas in one place, i also will provide a series of new york mini-guides. in each of these, i will highlight something fun to do and then give some food, shop and doing suggestions nearby. these mini-guides, soon to be accompanied by mini-maps, will help to fill an afternoon -- where to pick up a snack, what shops to check out nearby and is there a really sweet little park along the way for a much needed rest. and i am always looking for ideas -- so if you have any suggestions for where to eat and shop or what to do please let me know. . you can also follow me on twitter at cherrypatter.
and for those of you more interested in the photos, i have absolutely no photography training and while i have been picking up a few tidbits here and there, mostly i think the credit for the photos goes to my lovely camera. it is a canon rebel xti, and the lens i use most of the time is the 50 mm 1:1:8. i also have a 75-300mm 1:4-5.6 for longer views.
Excited that modern Chinese takeout spot (whatever that really means) might have a soft opening tomorrow in Gowanus next to fav 4&20 bbirds