Abraço lives up to the hype!

I have a real love/hate relationship with food media. On the one hand, I can't get enough of it. On the other hand, I'm always so disappointed when a place that the food establishment loves turns out to be sub par, which happens all too often. Luckily, Abraço lived up to all of my (very high) expectations.

Finding myself with time to kill in the East Village this morning, I walked over to 7th Street and 1st Avenue. Abraço, for those of you who don't know, is more of a storefront than a cafe. There are no seats, just a kitchen, a counter, and a table outside that you can saddle up to. After much deliberation I ordered a cappuccino (no decaf espresso, to my chagrin), an almond rose cookie, and one of their famed brined olive shortbread cookies. All to go.

Sitting on the stoop of a brownstone on East 7th, enjoying my goodies and the street scape made for a wonderful New York morning. The almond rose cookie was just shy of tasting like perfume - a common complaint I have with rose flavored things - and had a wonderful crunchy texture from the almonds. The olive shortbread may have altered my eating habits permanently. I'm usually a forager. I pick out the morsels in a cookie and leave the cookie part. That's a mistake here. The olives alone are too salty. But in combination with the sweet, flaky cookie, it's really something special.

The coffee too was eye-opening. And only because I usually order decaf. It's strong but not bitter or overpowering with perfectly smooth, not airy foamed milk. They're purists. You won't find Splenda or skim, but you won't miss it either.

If only every day could start like this.

Don't Believe the Hype Vol.1

I really don't understand why so many people are all jazzed up about Artichoke. You can barely find a food blog these days without some mention of the place, citing either how delicious and unique it is or, conversely, comparing it to the scores of imitation shops popping up across the city. Well let me be the first to tell you, Artichoke is a huge disappointment. After dragging my friends to wait in line for twenty minutes late on a Saturday night, I was expecting a slice like I'd never tasted. Instead, I was left with a heavy weight in my stomach and the realization that either we'd come on an off-night or that most food writers value kitsch over taste.

For those of you who haven't been, Artichoke is a pizza place on East 14th Street between 1st and 2nd. They serve pizza, stuffed artichokes, and beer. Don't ask for water, they won't give it to you. Don't expect to sit, there are no seats. And don't go expecting fast food. It took us twenty minutes to order and another ten to wait for our food.

After a quick walk to Union Square so that we could sit and eat, the crust on both varieties of pizza (Margarita and artichoke, we passed up crab) were tough and doughy, not to mention tasteless. The toppings, however, were plenty tasty. If you consider salt a taste. Or grease. The slices were both so heavy that none of us could finish them, not a good sign in this crowd.

Next time you're on 14th Street looking for a bite, avoid Artichoke. You'll have better luck at Chickpea - shorter lines and the advantage of not leaving feeling like you've just eaten a six pack of Play-Doh.