Take Me to Junior's

Junior's was founded when the Dodgers were in Brooklyn and Harry S. Truman was President. It was also the year I was born and I have a definite soft spot for one of the great homes of New York Style Cheesecake. The original Junior's is on Flatbush Avenue in downtown Brooklyn, but I am more apt to stop in for coffee and a black and white cookie at the Grand Central Station location. It's also a top choice when I am with visitors in the Times Square area.

Plain and less plain, and all delicious. 

I am a fan of the fruit topped cheesecake, but I have a hard time choosing between cherry and pineapple. Luckily I see the cheesecake in the back of the case with cherry, blueberry and pineapple topping.  

My beloved black and white cookies, one of the world's truly great desserts. 

I took the pictures here and at Financier on the same day and somehow managed not to order anything. It was a great temptation, but I am determined to do this series of posts without gaining five extra pounds. I've got to be able to wear the same clothes in May as I did in March when I started and it's a challenge. I'm doing okay so far, but there are nineteen more days to go.  

Today is beautiful. It felt like the first day of summer in the middle of April and I loved it. I made an excursion to Greenwich Village for the photos for "L," and it was lovely. 

 As always, thanks for stopping by and visiting. Don't be shy and please leave a comment and let me know what is your favorite cookie. 

Enjoy the weekend!

We All Scream for Ice Cream...

...But not as much as I used to. 

When I was growing up ice cream was a big treat. My mother would buy a package of Neapolitan -- chocolate, vanilla and strawberry -- to keep in the freezer or serve at parties. I bought treats from the Good Humor truck in the summer or lemon ice in little cups at the beach. An excursion on summer nights was a car ride to Guida's Dairy in New Britain for ice cream cones. My father and I got pistachio, my grandmother got cherry vanilla and my mother, vanilla. Howard Johnson's twenty-eight flavors was a dream. 

When I first thought about "I" I was sure I was going to write about one of my favorite foods, ice cream. But the more I thought about it I realized I didn't have an ice cream place in mind. I knew of an old-fashioned soda fountain in Queens and a delicious place in Brooklyn, but I didn't go out for ice cream. There are national chains, but I rarely stopped at them. The world of ice cream had gone from the chocolate, vanilla and strawberry of my youth to every flavor and kind of icy treat at the grocery. I could find organic, sorbet, gelato and premium exotic flavors just around the corner. 

It once took a trip to Italy to eat gelato. Now it just takes a trip to the grocery store. 

I still love ice cream and I still enjoy a hot fudge sundae. When I am visiting in New England the menu frequently includes a trip to Friendly's or Peterson's in West Hartford. I do have an indulgence in New York City that is close to ice cream, but it's not ice cream and it's another letter later in the alphabet. 

What's your favorite ice cream treat?

I wrote yesterday that "I" was going to be a world cuisine and I was going to write about Indian food, a favorite of mine. I'm still going to give a tip of my blogging hat to the Indian restaurants of the Upper West Side, especially one of my favorites, Sapphire. The food is delicious and well priced. It's very close to Lincoln Center, which is not a well-priced restaurant neighborhood, which makes Sapphire more of a find. 

The interior of Sapphire and the street scene on Broadway

I hope you've enjoyed our trip to the grocery and to Sapphire. Tomorrow for "J" we're going to visit a classic New York bakery. It's going to be a very sweet trip. 

Today was an errand day. The bank, the drugstore and the library. But it's entirely different than the short and cold days of the winter. I am so happy to be outside and walking in the neighborhood. I'm also taking a lot of pictures. I've been pondering "K" and in the midst of my errands I found an answer just a block away. 

Thanks for visiting and taking the Buttercup Culinary Tour with me. Take good care and wishes for a glorious spring Friday!

An Ode to the Humble Hot Dog

Some of my favorite memories growing up are backyard cookouts at the beach. The food was generally pretty simple, hot dogs and hamburgers with potato salad and cole slaw. Dessert was s'mores or popsicles. The extended family was all together and we kids had the run of the beach. It was as close to heaven as life gets on earth.

But those halcyon summer days are gone -- as are many of the people I spent them with -- and I've learned that such days are rare and fleeting. I've had the good fortune to spend time on the deck of my friends' Long Island house more recently and will again at their just-about-restored Breezy Point house this summer. We'll still eat hamburgers and hot dogs and cole slaw and potato salad. Lucky for this hot dog and beach fan.

When I started to think about "H" both hot dogs and hamburgers came to mind. I actually eat hamburgers more than hot dogs, but I am a big hot dog fan, and this post is a salute to one of the most humble, yet beloved foods I know, the iconic hot dog.

I believe that a hot dog needs a grill -- my only exception is at baseball games -- and one spot that meets this qualification is Gray's Papaya, a hot dog restaurant on the corner of West 72nd Street and Amsterdam Avenue. I stopped by this morning to take pictures and the aroma of the dogs almost enticed me to order one at 11:00 in the morning. I resisted, but it was a great temptation.

My favorite hot dog restaurant 

You can also buy coffee and muffins, but the centerpiece is the hot dogs. 

The containers on the left have the legendary fruit drinks that include bananas, pineapple and coconut. 

There's only a counter by the window to sit at, and it's not a leisurely spot, but I'm pretty sure there's no more festive decor anywhere in New York City. 

Dear Citizens of Buttercupland, do you favor the humble hot dog or the hamburger? Ketchup or mustard? I'll take a grilled hot dog with mustard and relish and I will be very happy.

After my photo shoot at Gray's Papaya I met up with my friend Anita for lunch. We spent some time discussing the menu for Passover, which starts next Monday night. And yes, there will be a post to talk about some of the foods of the holiday. Tomorrow we're going to visit another world cuisine. 

I hope you're enjoying our Blogging from A to Z Challenge culinary adventures. Thanks, as ever, for visiting and take good care. 

Food of the Gods

The first time I remember having Greek food was exactly forty-four years ago. It was spring break of my sophomore year in college and I was visiting a friend whose family was of Greek origin and lived in the New York City suburbs. Her name was Aphrodite and between walking the streets of Manhattan and seeing "Hair," we went to a very plain restaurant on West 47th St. to eat dinner. The decor was vinyl, linoleum and a steam table. I think our meal cost about three dollars, which is inexpensive now, but it represented almost three hours of pasting book plates in the college library. It would be the first of many trips to eat lamb, mousaka and baklava. The restaurant is long gone, but I'd happily paste a thousand more book plates and pockets for another first taste of baklava.

I can't go back forty years, but I can walk three blocks to Anthi's. In the interest of truth in journalism, I have yet to order from Anthi's. I have walked by at least fifty times, and keep thinking I'll stop there soon. I think soon needs to be sooner than later. From the first taste of mousaka and baklava I came to like Greek cuisine very much and to have, as the review describes Anthi's, "a humble, hidden gem" so close and not to sample their food is just wrong.

  Yes, it's another Buttercup selfie. They had me at premium Greek yogurt. 

Baklava on the second shelf, surrounded by assorted desserts.  

My favorite spot for eating Greek food in a restaurant is Astoria, Queens. Astoria has a large Greek population and has terrific restaurants. I don't have a favorite restaurant. I've eaten in several places and had very good meals. I especially like visiting Astoria in the summer. There are a number of sidewalk cafes and with a cup of coffee and a piece of baklava it's the closest to going to Athens, but only a subway ride away. 

Thanks so much for the feedback I've gotten on this series so far. I'm having the best time writing the posts for the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. and I am delighted to learn I'm encouraging visits to New York. If you do plan a trip to New York City, please don't be shy about looking me up. I'd love to do a little food sampling around the city with my blog buddies.  

I'm still working on my decluttering project and spent time today cleaning one of my kitchen cupboards and doing a review of the refrigerator. I have a very average sized refrigerator, but it's amazing how many things can get pushed to the back of the shelves. I think I use up what I buy, but there were more than a handful of things I'd completely forgotten about. I'm going to work very hard at not wasting food. 

As always, thanks for visiting and please stop by for "H" tomorrow. It's humble, but beloved, and I think we'll have a lot of fun.

Try a Financier or Two!

I remember 2002 as a sad year, especially for Lower Manhattan. There were many streets that were still closed and as grateful as I was for the presence of the National Guard, it was disconcerting to see soldiers with weapons as I entered and left my work building. As long time readers know I worked six blocks south of the World Trade Center site. We were back in the office ten days after September 11, but it seemed nothing would ever be right again, especially on the streets of Lower Manhattan.

Stone Street -- Financier is on the left side of the street, just outside the photo. 

It took tremendous vision to open a patisserie on those sad streets. But in 2002, Financier opened. It was a small place on a cobblestone street, Stone Street,

that then had several restaurants. Now there are a dozen restaurants and it is one of the liveliest streets in Manhattan. But not in 2002. I sometimes ate in one of the restaurants on the block or stopped for a drink with friends after work and there were nights we were the only people there.

Financier is in the financial district, and it also takes its name from the French almond pastry, also called a Financier. It has remarkable pastries and delicious coffee. There are now a number of branches throughout the city and I generally frequent the one in Grand Central Station, where these pictures were taken.

Whether you choose a simple danish...

 ...or one of the rich and extraordinary gateaux, it is a treat.

There are any number of fabulous shops with baked goods in New York City and we will visit several more before the end of Buttercup's Culinary Tour. But Financier holds a very special place in my affections.  

Tomorrow we return to the Upper West Side for a very different cuisine, but one I think you will equally enjoy. Dear visitors to New York, it's going to be difficult to choose the places we will indulge, but won't it be fun!

Yesterday I had an wonderful treat and saw a stage production of "I Remember Mama."  Wonderful staging in a church gym and a fabulous cast, including Barbara Barrie. There were ten actresses who were at least sixty years old playing all of the parts. If you remember the movie or television show, "Mama" with Peggy Wood, this is the play that they were based on. It could have been overly sentimental, but instead it was touching and lovely. New Yorkers, it's a limited run and so worth seeing. 

  There were eight -- or so -- dining room tables and the action of the play took place at different tables. The audience sat on the sidelines of the gym. Very different than the usual play, but very engaging. 

I hope you enjoyed our delicious visit to Financier as part of our Blogging from A to Z Challenge. I know I did. Thanks for visiting and please don't be shy about letting me know you were here. I love to hear from visitors. Take good care and have a beautiful April day. 

El Paraiso

Just a block down the street from The Donut Pub, is El Paraiso, one of the remaining Cuban-Chinese restaurants in Manhattan. When I first moved to New York City in 1975 there were lots of restaurants that mixed Cuban and Chinese cuisines, but now they are becoming rarities. Changing tastes and exploding real estate prices have made them a fading tradition. These are not hip restaurants with "fusion" cooking, but rather generally plain storefronts where you can order Spanish food and Chinese food. Their origin goes back to the Chinese laborers who were brought to Cuba in the 1850's. After the Cuban Revolution in 1959 New York became the destination for many of these immigrants who opened restaurants.  There are still several Cuban-Chinese restaurants nearer to my apartment. Visitors to New York interested in the Buttercup Culinary Tour, we'll choose one on the Upper West Side. I'm leaning to La Caridad 78.

There is a very close runner-up for "E." Very close! I had originally settled on Egg in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Egg was the focus of one of my first posts five years ago and the memory lingers on. It is one of the all-time best breakfast places in all of New York City. The biscuits are extraordinary and if I close my eyes I'm sitting in Ma Dockery's kitchen in Sevier County, Tennessee and not hipster Williamsburg. I thought of making a quick trip to Egg to get some newer pictures, but time ran out for me. I will be making a trip soon and promise a review and new pictures.

I am delighted to complete the first week of the Blogging from A to Z Challenge.  I've met some great bloggers, visited blog buddies of long-standing and read terrific posts, and that's all within the first five days. Excited to see where the rest of the Challenge takes me.

Tomorrow I take a break from the Challenge and get my energy back for a deliciously sweet "F" on Monday. I am going to do a quick Pink Saturday post a little later. Love my Pink Saturday buddies and hate to miss the fun there.

It's a springy Saturday and I enjoyed a nice walk and grocery shopping. Dinner later with a friend in the neighborhood and then catching up with the New York Times. Most of the Sunday paper arrives on Saturday to give the readers a head start.

As always, thanks for visiting. Take good care and come back soon!