Triple Pastry Wednesday at Magnolia Bakery

Wednesday is officially my least favorite day, because I have a three-hour lecture with no breaks and an overly tough professor. And for lectures over two hours, I think I deserve one pastry per hour in class. It's just common sense.

I had to get Magnolia Bakery's famous banana pudding. The custard itself is so creamy and rich, and not overly sweet. And there's chunks of cake it in, which is always nice. The slices of banana are okay, but I thought they were kind of mushy and had an odd, spongey texture. I would order this again, but I would prefer the bananas to just be pureed into the custard.

Magnolia Bakery is the only place I buy cupcakes from, because you can get buttercream instead of cream cheese frosting, which is gross. Their red velvet cupcake is so moist and fluffy, and the buttercream is so light. Honestly, I don't really know what red velvet cake is supposed to taste like, but I just love eating something that's so unnaturally red.

Fall means pumpkin pie! I got a small one--six inches, which I feel is still quite large, especially since I refuse to share. I like this quite a lot; most pumpkin pies are overly cinnamony and sweet, but this tastes very mild and creamy. The crust is also quite nice and flaky.

I really love everything at Magnolia Bakery--just make sure you go at a random time to avoid long lines. I can't wait for next Wednesday to get three of something else...

Magnolia Bakery
Various locations
http://www.magnoliabakery.com/

Minetta Tavern

I've been waiting for the longest time to try one of Minetta Tavern's famous burgers. It was incredibly hard to get a reservation here; I called two weeks ahead, and all they had left was 5:30pm and 10:30pm. If you want to eat here, be determined and plan early.

My first course was the scallop risotto--it's a daily special, so ask if they have it. It's a lemon risotto with pea puree and a giant scallop on top. The scallop was just amazing. Really nice sear, semi-translucent center, and so juicy. It was just incredible. The risotto itself was so nice; it was rich, but with the lemon, it wasn't cloying. I find that a lot of risottos are so heavily laden with cheese and cream, that you get full really fast--I tend to feel a little sick, too. However, this risotto was exactly what it should be--an appetizer; it made you want to eat more. My problem with this dish was the tangle of raw leaves and vines; I had to dig through them to find my food.

My main course was the famous Black Label Burger: dry-aged beef with caramelized onions. The effect of dry aging is that the meat becomes very tender, but at the same time it develops a gamey flavor. It's hard to describe gaminess, but it's a kind of deepness; it's in game meats like venison. Anyway, the burger is really good; it's simple, but the point of it is to enjoy the quality beef. It also comes with fries. I'm never particularly thrilled with any restaurant's fries, but these were really good. So crispy, and so non-greasy.

For dessert, we got chocolate souffle to share. I've found that hardly any restaurants make proper souffles anymore; usually they'll call it a "fallen souffle" just to sound chic and like they know what they're doing, and end up giving you a flourless chocolate cake, because they don't know how to make a souffle. I feel like Minetta Tavern's version falls somewhere in the middle. The top of it, and the crusty edges, are so nice and light and not overly sweet. But once you get inside the ramekin, the souffle is way too dense and moist, and the chocolate flavor is so overwhelming. I choked a little on the powdered sugar, too.

Minetta Tavern has some great food; the burger is definitely great, as is the scallop risotto. I'm iffy about the dessert, though. I'm not sure if it's quite worth the money, because it is quite a lot ($70 for the risotto, burger, half the souffle, tax, and 20% tip). I would recommend coming here for a special occasion with someone who is excessively generous and loves you very much.

Minetta Tavern
113 MacDougal St., at Minetta Lane
http://www.minettatavernny.com/