The rugelach review, and some $20 wine 🥐
No, there’s no rugelach emoji.
Hello and welcome back to Five Things I Ate! This week, apparently my diet is wine and cookies. Check out past posts here, and please follow my Instagram @fivethingsiate.
No Es Pituko Chardonnay at West Side Wine
481 Columbus Ave, New York, NY 10024
I am about one handful of warm cat-vomit* away from losing it, but by god I have made it to the end of an incredibly mentally, physically, spiritually and emotionally gruelling week.* As a treat, I went to my favorite local wine shop and bought three bottles of $20 wine (no, not for all at once), a small fun splurge for publishing a story. So far, my favorite is this natural, funky Chardonnay, “No Es Pituko,” which apparently is Chilean slang for “it’s not fancy.” This wine isn’t fancy -- I got it for $16, even at Upper West Side prices -- but it’s fun, which is so, so much better than fancy in all aspects of life, especially right now. I don’t drink white wine enough to be able to describe it using keywords you might recognize, but the stuff I like to drink is very not-sweet, kind of tart, and in this case, unfiltered and funky. It goes very well with pasta, which is all I eat these days.
* Day 1 of pet-parenting: Puts on gloves to wipe up cat vomit from afar. Day 3: Just vomit directly into Mommy’s hand, little one, so it doesn’t get on the carpet.
Raisin rugelach at Zabar’s
2245 Broadway, New York, NY 10024
The rugelach at Zabar’s comes in two flavors: Chocolate and raisin. Although one of them sounds much more attractive than the other, it’s actually the raisin that I prefer. These aren’t the dried up raisins you might stick in your oatmeal; they’re tiny and sweet and intensely flavored, the perfect contrast to the rich cream-cheese dough. As a weekend treat, I like to walk to Zabar’s in the morning and buy two of each kind, and drink them with blackcurrant black tea that you can buy in the coffee section.
Raspberry rugelach at Orwashers Bakery
308 E 78th St, New York, NY 10075
Orwasher’s shows up third in Grub Street's list of “The Absolute Best Rugelach in New York,” and since it’s just a few blocks away from my apartment, I had to make a pit stop on my rugelach tour. Me being me, I bought one in every flavor (apricot, raspberry, raspberry coated in chocolate), “for science.” They’re flaky and rich, and the flavor of the pecans really shine through. Biting into one is a palmier-like experience, with a buttery shatter. *That being said,* I actually prefer Zabar’s version much more, especially with a cup of hot tea or coffee. Maybe my tastes are too unrefined for Grub Street (which has a pretty strong takedown of Zabar’s in-house cookies), but when I want a morning rugelach I find comfort in something a little denser and less fancy.
Raspberry cream puff at Le Barachou
449 Amsterdam Avenue, New York, NY 10024
POV: It’s Friday. I am sitting in a pile of dirty laundry on the sofa*, eating a fancy cream puff, an absolutely perfect cream puff with a craquelin hat and the lightest pink raspberry whipped cream and a surprise jam center, while listening to "Walking back to Georgia," drinking a glass of cold white wine, and celebrating making it through the week, working on myself, (and publishing a damn story!) with my favorite date: Myself (and cats, so I'm in arm's reach of cuddles). End scene.
*Lol sorry.
Steak dinner at Le Relais de Venise L'Entrecôte
590 Lexington Ave, New York, NY 10022
I was really charmed by my meal at Le Relais, even though it’s a restaurant in Midtown East (the most soulless of all areas) and I was 35 minutes late to dinner, a fact that was inevitable as the rising of the sun each day, yet nevertheless brought me great shame. What I am saying is that even if you show up so late that the restaurant is about to close and the temperature outside has dipped far beyond what is enjoyable for outdoor dining, and the person sitting across from you is feeling similarly icy, you can still leave feeling warm and cozy eating here. There’s only one thing on the menu -- a steak frites meal set that includes a salad -- and it’s 30 dollars, which is a steal for steak. You can have it done rare, medium, or well-done -- no half-sizes available here -- and it’s covered in some kind of rich gravy. My favorite parts of the meal were the salad, romaine leaves covered in mustard dressing and walnuts, and the fries, which are great dipped in the sauce. Sure, you could have more options anywhere else, but during these uncertain times, don’t we all want to be told what exactly to order?
For God’s sake take some time for self-care this weekend,
Soph