another one bites the dust

since this is the current state of affairs in my kitchen...
i'll just tell you about some of the yummy things i ate this w-end! the hubby and i decided to take a little drive down to princeton...they have the cutest little town! it reminds me a lot of wellesley...quaint square filled with pretty things catering to the not-college crowd. the town also happens to have a fairly decent number of good eats though - something wellesley sorely lacked. i mourned the loss of alden merrell after my first year (while it wasn't great eats, they definitely satisfied my sweet tooth!)

i tried to convince the hubby that we needed to leave the city by 8AM...sadly it wasn't happening. by the time we made it to the little chef, it was almost 5PM and they were sold out of practically everything!! a couple of sad napoleons stared at us from behind the glass...we managed to score a tiny treat - a cassis something or other.


this is what it looked like after surviving a two hour trip back to the city...(we made a few stops along the way.) thank goodness it tasted WAY better than it looked!! the cassis was tart but not overpowering and the chocolate mousse on the bottom was silky, soft and heavenly. the hubby and i were sharing the dessert after dinner but i think at one point i told him to stop eating...=D

the little chef
8 south tulane street
princeton, nj 08540
note: try to get there early enough to try the croissants!

more than meets the eye...

i went hunting for a reasonable tailor where it wouldn't cost me $25 for an original hem and thanks to yelp, i stumbled across nelson (who i recommend with some reservations). holler if you want to hear them...but he also happens to be located down the street from this sweet little bakery (which is a nice pick-me-up after making the trek to see nelson).after dropping off my jeans to be hemmed, this is what came home with me.

bob - yellow cake with chocolate almond buttercream
pistachio - pistachio cake with "The Moose"
lemon - lemon cake with lemon buttercream
sassy red velvet - red velvet cake with chocolate almond buttercreami loved the cake part of each cupcake...pure deliciousness - soft, tender crumb with good flavors. but the icing? ugh, the icing was HORRID. i could taste the almond extract in the chocolate buttercream and it was so pronounced that it added nothing good to the flavor at all. the lemon buttercream also had a strong metallic tang and left a not-so-pleasant aftertaste. thankfully on the other hand, "The Moose" is quite yummy...a soft whipped mess.for $1.50 a cupcake, these are some of the cheaper cupcakes available in the city and the cafe is really cute, furnished with a random mixture of comfy vintagey-looking finds. the staff has always been courteous and helpful and while the cupcakes may not look like much, there is more than meets the eye. (just scrape off the icing or get "The Moose.")

the BEST bread

confession: it didn't come out of my oven. but once i tell you of its buttery goodness, you'll forgive me. (ok, maybe your hips won't but who gave them a vote in this anyways??)

one of my most favorite places has to be mitsuwa. imho, the best ramen in the NYC region is inside these doors. mmm...just thinking about it makes me salivate!!

inside mitsuwa, there is a small bakery stand that has a sign that says "limit 2 boloniya per person." and every time i've gone, there is another sign right next to the first that says "sold out," which only meant i had to try this boloniya thing. well this past saturday, i lucked out when two of my friends managed to snag the last two loaves in the bakery...SCORE!! (shout out to C&D...you guys rock!)

o m g...i undid the twistie tie and almost collapsed when the smell hit me. gawd, butter, egg, butter, a touch of carmelized sugar, butter...the smell was just incredible.
and the taste? let's just say there's a reason why the "sold out" sign is semi-permanently on display. (fyi, boloniya is only made on the weekends.)