Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
cream and chocolate), and, of course, a
variety of hand-pulled strudels. If the
dense, rich sweetness of Hungarian pastry
is not to your taste, try the ice creams,
which are also superb. The adjacent shop
sells some of these treats as well as some
wonderful handmade chocolates, like Ger-
beaud's trademark
konyakos meggy,
a
dark chocolate candy surrounding a
cognac-soaked sour cherry.
During the Communist years, when the
government discouraged coffeehouses,
seen as potential hotbeds of dissent, Café
Gerbeaud had begun to look rundown and
shabby. But in the late 1990s it finally
received a much-needed floor-to-ceiling
renovation. Now every crystal chandelier,
gilt-framed mirror, and marble-topped
table in the opulent high-ceilinged interior
gleams like new. Of course, inside isn't
where you want to sit; if the weather's
fine, try for one of the umbrella tables in
the outdoor cafe, where the people-
watching is best.
Vörösmarty Ter 7 (
&
36/1/429-9000;
www.gerbeaud.hu).
(
Budapest (22km/13 miles).
L
$$ Hotel Erzsébet,
V. Károlyi
Mihály u. 11-15, Budapest (
&
36/1/889-
3700;
www.danubiusgroup.com). $$
Hotel
Papillon,
II. Rózsahegy u. 3/b (
&
36/1/212-
4750
).
The Baker's Best
478
NYC: New York Cupcakes
Sex & the City Cupcake Wars
New York, New York
Blame
Sex and the City
for spilling the
beans—Carrie and the girls were always
raving about the sinfully rich red-velvet
cupcakes at Greenwich Village's southern-
style Magnolia Bakery (never mind that
none of them looked like they
ever
indulged in baked goods). Soon enough,
long lines perpetually snaked out that
homey little bakery's door—so much for
well-kept secrets.
The good news is that the
Magnolia
Bakery
(401 Bleecker St.;
&
212/462-
2572;
www.magnoliacupcakes.com; now
also at 200 Columbus Ave.) isn't Manhat-
tan's only cupcake source, not by a long
shot. In fact, well before Magnolia arrived,
you could get fine moist cupcakes topped
with incredible butter-cream flowers at
the endearingly shabby
Cupcake Café
(545 9th Ave.;
&
212/268-9975
) on West
Midtown's grungy Ninth Avenue (Cupcake
Café now also has a branch in chic Chel-
sea, at 18 W. 18th St.;
&
212/465-1530
).
But from 1999 on, in the wake of the
Magnolia Bakery's runaway success, rene-
gade Magnolia bakers set up rival shops all
around town, offering the same oversized
home-style cupcakes crowned with huge
dollops of frosting, made from quality but-
ter and sugar and flour. No preservatives
needed—these cupcakes are meant to be
ordered to-go and gorged on
now
.
First came the trim
Buttercup Bake
Shop
(2nd Ave.;
&
212/350-4144;
now
also at 141 W. 72nd St.), launched by Mag-
nolia cofounder Jennifer Appel in a Mid-
town location convenient for lunch-hour
indulgence (not to mention office-party
catering). Buttercup's cupcakes empha-
size frosting over cake, its glass cases full
of dazzling whipped-pastel confections; a
large window in the back of the shop lets
you watch the bakers at work. A couple of
years later, amid the art galleries of Chel-
sea, another Magnolia alumnus opened
the retro-1940s-look
Billy's Bakery
(184
9th Ave.;
&
212/647-9956
), serving moist,
buttery cupcakes slathered with icing that
