Butter Lane: Putting the Butter Back in Buttercream

It's Spring Dinner Party part 3, and today we're talking dessert. Luckily, I wasn't in charge of dessert this time, since I was busy cooking up other things, like hearty beef brisket. And after my mom explained her desire to test out Butter Lane Bakery, Kimmi and I decided it was a no-brainer...Dessert from Butter Lane it would be! A sweet little bakery in the East Village, Butter Lane prides itself on being the cupcake for adults. It solidifies its adult status as a Butter Lane cupcake is made with pure ingredients, like real butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla bean and real cocoa and the end result is nothing short of heavenly. Oh, and yes, that is in fact popcorn on the caramel cupcake....say it with me...'mmmmm'.

With mouth-watering flavors like banana, espresso, caramel, classic vanilla bean, chocolate and more, you pretty much can't go wrong at Butter Lane. The cake is airy and a bit crumbly (nothing like the decandently fudgy Irish Car Bomb cupcakes), the frosting is smooth and buttery. So buttery in fact, that they really put the butter back in buttercream. When faced with a super sugary laden Magnolia Bakery cupcake, it feels as though I'm just eating straight sugar. But not the Butter Lane frosting. In perhaps a real tribute to its name, the frosting is actually refreshingly buttery (ever think you'd hear the words refreshing & butter together?) with a hint of sweetness...and it's silky smooth to boot. No individual sugar granules here, and I'm not complaining. I mean, really, see those little vanilla bean specs? Yum!
And the sweet packaging is really just the icing on the cake, so to speak. It's reminiscent of my recent penchant for basic craft paper wrapping with twine to tie it all together (the exact way that I wrapped birthday gifts for this very evening). With a simple black stamp of Butter Lane gracing the packaging, it doesn't get more rustic, organic, and classic than this.

So that's Butter Lane. And while Magnolia got me through my NYU years, I guess Butter Lane really is for grown ups. What do you think? Have you tried Butter Lane? Do you like a super sugary buttercream, or more of a silky smooth kind?

Psst...can't get enough cupcake love? Check out Baked by Melissa, Key Lime in the Coconut Cupcakes, Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes, Soutine, and Baba Booey's Peanutastic Cupcakes...

Restaurant Roundup: Skinner's Loft

Last weekend, Shaun and I ditched our plans of heading into Manhattan and instead opted for some exploring in Jersey City. Since we rarely venture into the JC outside of our small neighborhood, it was really a treat. The place? Skinner's Loft, a small two story bar and restaurant featuring exposed brick and stained glass. With eclectic dishware and pillows, it kind of felt like dining in an Anthropologie catalog-esque bar. The menu featured an array of American-style dishes with a special Small Plates menu. Well, they must've known I was coming. After all, small plates are the perfect solution for a sampler (read: one who isn't content with one big meal, but must have small bites of lots of different things), such as myself. And oh did we sample.

Dinner started out with some brioche bread and olive oil for dipping. Served on super sweet Alice in Wonderland toile bread plates, it was impossible not to enjoy.

Post bread, we ordered a handful of mouth-watering eats, albeit extremely unhealthy. Filet Mignon sliders with the most delectable shoestring fries I've ever laid eyes on...

Creamy macaroni and cheese, the single-handed culprit who made me fall asleep earlier than planned (causing an unfortunate snoozefest during a viewing of Inglorious Basterds) that night...

House cured olives...the only thing missing were the marcona almonds...See those white things? Yeah, that's whole cloves of roasted garlic, not almonds as I had hoped...

And the surprise star, cheese dip with potatoes and apples...

The small plates made Skinner's just my kind of place. A table full of eats to sample? Okay by me...But what I really want to know is, how do you like to eat? Do you like a huge plate full of the goods? Do you like to sample? Are you an appetizer-only eater?

Restaurant Roundup: Bobby's Burger Palace

As I mentioned in It's a Date, Shaun and I spent Valentine's Day 2009 at Shake Shack. Call it our love for a juicy burger or our utter refusal to get into the whole Valentine's Day price fixing, but I was excited to turn this fast food date into a Vday tradition of sorts. After all, there is something romantic about a laid back, comfortable Saturday night, isn't there?

This year, when Shaun suggested branching out from the Shack and trekking out to another upscale fast food join, Bobby's Burger Palace in Paramus, I jumped at the offer. The brainchild of Bobby Flay, Food Network personality and founder of Mesa Grill, Bobby's Burger Palace features high-end cheap-o burgers at their best. Though the name does leave a bit to be desired (I mean, really...Palace?), the food was worth the trek out to North Jersey. (Oh, and did you know there's a Nordstrom Rack out there? I didn't either...) Anyhow, a way more civilized set up than Shake Shack's Upper West Side location, BBP boasted burgers that sounded, and ultimately tasted, nothing short of divine.

For the night o'food, we decided to get a few different menu items and split 'em down the middle in an effort to maximize food tasting (for research purposes, of course). And since we were sharing, Shaun graciously gave in to my request for 'medium' burgers, as opposed to 'medium rare'. Love ya honey. First up, the burgers. Though apparently Bobby has trademarked the whole potato chips on burger routine as his signature burger fare (the Crunch Burger, if you will), we decided to play it a little less than traditional, since, let's face it, we can put potato chips on our own burgers, after all. Instead we went with the Dallas Burger...
and the Buffalo Style Burger
Each was mighty fine in its own right. Though I could have tolerated more hot sauce on the Buffalo Burger, it boasted a creamy blue cheese sauce with actual crumbles mixed in. It didn't overpower the burger, which is really the way it should be. Have you ever seen a burger look so delectable? The Dallas Burger, on the other hand, was full of sweet and smokey flavor due to a combination of barbecue sauce and coleslaw. It's all about the sweet and savory with this one, and it really shined as a drastic contract to the Buffalo Burger. Oh, and I should mention the sides; fries...
and onion rings... The Pluses: Unlike Shake Shack, with its anxiety-driven table scouting, BBP had a server actually seat guests as orders were frying away. Like I said, much more civilized.
The burgers were wonderfully cooked and full of flavor. And for a satisfying dinner under $25? It was inexpensive, to boot. Ok, with the high fat factor in this meal, I wouldn't recommend it for regular eating. It's a specialty place and should be treated as such.

The Not-so-much factor: Ok, I know that the universe doesn't revolve around Manhattan, but when it comes to Bobby Flay's burgers...I just think it should. The fact that this place is part of a mall in Bergen county just doesn't sit well with me. I need easier access...and by easier access, I mean somewhere I don't have to drive to. After all, one step inside this place and it screams "Less expensively decorated Mesa Grill..." But I suppose I should follow my own advice, above...

The Bottom Line: A super burger joint with one seriously low price. Ok, you have to drive out to Jersey to get it, but it's worth it.