Reality Check

Ever wonder what becomes of the winners of those reality show competitions? My friend Anita decided to check out Top Chef Season One winner Harold Dieterle's new restaurant, Perilla, on Jones Street in the West Village, last night for dinner.

Read all about it here.

Burgers & Cupcakes

So I finally checked out the new place in my neighborhood that everyone's talking about, Burgers & Cupcakes. Now when I say everyone's talking about it, I mostly mean flying off the handle about the "giant, spinning, flood-lit cupcake" on the eatery's canopy (I'm pretty sure it was a leftover prop from Lily Tomlin's "Incredible Shrinking Woman," back in 1981). James Wagner reports that the rather funny eyesore is coming down within 30 days due to permit violations, in no small part due to his efforts ("I call it a victory for the public's common right to the streets. It represents official recognition that there are limits to what a business operating for profit can seize from the people, even if some individual members think a particular encroachment is cute.")

But getting back to the food itself, I was kind of surprised when I got inside to find that it was essentially a '50s diner kind of joint. (I don't recall Rizzo, Sandy and Frenchie eating cupcakes back in the day.) Besides said burgers and cupcakes, fries, egg creams and a few other fun things are on the menu. (The "avacado" topping was a little distressing, I might add.) The burger was big and very tasty (warning: I ordered mine medium and it was essentially raw ground beef on a great roll, but really good raw ground beef!). The fries were that soggy-with-the-skin-left-on-them type that some people really love (they're not my favorite, but they were OK). Even though I was stuffed, I felt obligated to have a cupcake afterward (Michael had joined me by then and agreed to "help me out"). We got the vanilla with chocolate frosting variety and with the first two bites I was horrified. I'm not sure if it's their use of "all butter" and I'm used to vegetable shortening (all butter sure sounds better) or if the cupcakes just suck, but it was not at all what I was expecting (and by expecting I mean tasting good). By the third and fourth bite it did start to grow on me, but I'm not sure I will be trying again to talk myself into liking more empty calories (give me Hostess or give me death!).

All in all, it's a cute place (minus the giant cupcake!) and knowing what to order now, I'd go back.