BUTTER LANE UPDATE!

Ted Allen has named Butter Lane as one of the best things he ever ate on "The Best Thing I Ever Ate: The Classics". Congrats to my favorite cupcake place! Also, for those of you who were wondering (probably, no one) I am two stars away from a free cupcake on my cupcake card.

SMAC SMAC SMAC SMAC SMAC (EVRRYBODYYYYY!)

Reason #90,786 why I love New York: A restaurant dedicated to mac & cheese. S'MAC doesn't just try to reconstruct Kraft's Blue Box, S'MAC will set you on a mac and cheese voyage. Of course, I ordered the sampler and, thanks to help from my sister, was able to eat it all. No noodle was left unturned. S'MAC s creations are served in the skillet in which they're baked.. pretty sweet if you ask me. Here is a list and break down of the S'MAC Sampler:

• All-American: American and cheddar cheeses combine to woo your taste buds.
• 4 Cheese: Cheddar, muenster, gruyere and pecorino cheeses help save the world in this yummy dish.
• Cheeseburger: I could have done without this sample. It kind of tasted like what I'd imagine Hamburger Helper would taste. Kudos for trying.
• La Mancha: ARRIBA! MUCHO GRACIAS! TACO! BURRITO! TRES! Yes, I realize I just put a bunch of random Spanish words together. Whatever, I didn't grow up watching Dora the Explorer. I just wanted to express my love for this mac and cheese. Manchego cheese, fennel, and onions = delicioso
• Cajun: The combination of cheddar cheese, pepper jack cheese, andouille sausage, green pepper, onions, celery, and whatever else is in this mac and cheese caused me to wish I was down by the bayou playing the harmonica while petting a gator.
• Napoletana: Imagine Mr. Pizza knocked up Miss Mac&Cheese. This is their lovable, but slightly mismatched bastard child. Fresh Mozzarella, tomatoes, garlic, and basil, without tasting like regular pasta... my sister raved about this mac, but I thought it too garlicky.
• Alpine: BACON and GRUYERE! The mac and cheese is cheating, and I like it. It is not possible to combine bacon and gruyere and create something unpalatable.
• Parisienne: This S'MAC creation is slightly ingenious: brie, figs, shiitake mushrooms and, rosemary. If Chuck Norris made mac and cheese, this is the mac he would make. It's that awesome.

S'MAC
345 E 12th St btwn. 1st and 2nd
(212) 358-7912

and THIS little piggy likes to go in my belly

Now, some of you may have figured out from my previous posts that I'm having an intense love affair with pork. I cannot deny that I love all forms of the pig. But when I stumbled upon this pork sandwich, I was speechless. Dear Porchetta, thank you for taking my breath away. The Porchetta sandwich consists of perfectly seasoned pork with fennel, rosemary, sage, and a few other yummy herbs/spices on crispy, delicious Italian bread. While eating this sandwich, I bit on something unexpectedly hard ("please not a filling, I don't have dental!"), however, upon further taste I realized it was a crunchy piece of pork skin! PORK SKIN, PEOPLE! The Sicilian in me rejoiced - alas, a sandwich that struck my very core. Eating this sandwich had set free some sort of familial archetype. Carl Jung, would be proud.

AND for those who support our troops overseas, read this article: OPERATION PORCHETTA

Porchetta has good food and good people. Eating anything from there can make you happy. I'm serious. The Porchetta sandwich is nature's Paxil. Don't believe me? Try it yourself.

Porchetta

110 East 7th St. (btwn 1st and A)

(212) 777-2151