Reunited And It Feels (and tastes) So Good

Being back in New York City sure does feel good! The past few days have been filled with all sorts of reunions: from meeting up with old friends, to eating my most beloved cupcakes. This celebration of sorts began on Thursday night with dinner at Caracas--an arepas bar on East 7th Street. My friend Elana and I were in love withthe place before we even stepped inside. The joint is a quaint, hole in the wall donned in sexy red paint, with kitschy Spanish paintings on the walls. The tables are packed closely together, but it only adds to the intimate, energetic vibe of the place. Our waitress was so sweet and she had such a beautiful accent. We both started with a glass of Tinto de Verana--a sparkling wine cocktail, similar to sangria. Very refreshing and fun-tasting.
Elana and I have always been big on sharing food when dining out. In Europe, we would each order a seperate entree, and then switch plates halfway through the meal so that we could try as much food as possible. (In a recent issue of Bon Appetit, Andrew Knowlton chastised those who switch plates in a restaurant. I have to agree that it can be a little obnoxious and rude to eat off someone else's plate in a nice restaurant, but I think it is totally appropriate at casual places or when trying new cuisines). So being that this was both our first arepas experince, it was the perfect occasion to share and taste as much as possible!
We first split La del Gato (quayenes cheese, sweet fried plantains, and avocado) and De Pabellon (shredded beef, black beans, white salty cheese, and fried plantains). Both were delicious, but the La del Gato was definitely my favorite--the cheese was soft and milky, similar to mozzarella; avocado tastes good on just about anything; and I go CRAZY for fried plantains whenever I see them on a menu. Next up was the De Pollo (grilled chicken, carmelized onions, and cheddar cheese) and La Jardinera (sundried tomatoes, grilled eggplant, carmelized onions, and guaynese cheese). De Pollo was good, but definitely the least exciting of the four arepas we tried. La Jardinera was deeee-lish! The warm, sweet sundried tomatoes melted the cheese so that it dripped off my chin, but it was well worth the mess! And the arepa itself--made of corn flour, but more cakey than a tortilla--was such a delight! Moist and slighty sweet, they made the perfect encasing for all the yummy goodness inside.
Elana and I planned to go to Caracas not only because we wanted to try arepas, but also because of its prime location: 2 doors down from Butter Lane. Butter Lane was one of the stops on my cupcake list I didn't get to try last summer, so my anticipation for these cupcakes had been building up for over year. Something unique about Butter Lane is that you get to customize your own cupcake. There are 3 several different cake flavors (that night it was chocolate, vanilla, and banana) and several frostings from which you can choose to make your own cupcake combination. I went for vanilla cake and maple pecan frosting, and I really cannot express how HEAVENLY it was!! The frosting was so luscious and smooth, with the perfect amount of maple flavor and sweetness. The cake was equally delicious--moist, light, and flavorful. Some cupcakes can lack on the cake part, relying heavily on the frosting to carry the taste. Vanilla cake can sometimes taste more like sugary air than actual vanilla flavor; but this cake was so good, it could have stood on it's own. While in Butter Lane, Elana noticed a sign that offered a free "frosting shot" if you become a fan of Butter Lane on Facebook. So we of course whipped out our Blackberries to friend Butter Lane while still in the bakery to get out free frosting. Being a huge fan of all things pumpkin flavored, I chose the pumpkin frosting. What a treat! Again, light, creamy, sweet, and pumpkin-y without being too overpowering or sugary. For me, an indicator to a great cupcake is when the cake is so light and the frosting so fluffy that you don't even feel like you're eating something unhealthy. Butter Lane's cupcakes had the perfect balance of sweetness and lightness that I could have eaten 10 and still not felt full.
Elana made the bold claim that Butter Lane's cupcakes are a smidge better than Sugar Sweet Sunshine's--my all-time favorite cupcakes. It was hard for me to agree, being such a loyal cupcake eater and not having had a Sugar Sweet cupcake in over year. But there is only one way to find out: return to Sugar Sweet Sunshine and have a cupcake! And now that I'm reunited with some of my favorite things--New York, friends, and food--that will not be a problem!