Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
isn't overly sweet. With its friendly, nostal-
gic ambience, Billy's offers all sorts of clas-
sic American baked goods, including
pecan pie and pineapple-upside-down
cake. On the ever-more-hip Lower East
Side,
Sugar Sweet Sunshine
(126 Riving-
ton St.;
&
212/995-1960;
www.sugar
sweetsunshine.com), launched by two
Buttercup defectors, strives for a cheery
junk-shop look; cake quality is superior
here (devotees claim their vanilla and
pumpkin-spice flavors outdo Magnolia's).
On the Upper East Side (but in the unsnooty
Yorkville section), cozy
Two Little Red
Hens
(1652 2nd Ave.;
&
212/452-0476;
www.twolittleredhens.com) sells stun-
ningly frosted cupcakes and a wide range
of muffins and other cakes.
Crumbs Bake Shop
(321 Amsterdam
Ave.;
&
212/712-9800;
also at 1371 3rd
Ave., 43 W. 42nd St., 37 E. 8th St., 87 Bea-
ver St.; www.crumbsbakeshop.com) rides
the giant cupcake bandwagon as well, but
in a coffee-shop setting where you can
linger; several of their tasty cupcakes
come topped with fun add-ons like crushed
Oreos or M&M's. You can avoid the Mag-
nolia lines and still get authentic southern-
style cupcakes if you head up to Harlem
and
Make My Cake
(121 St. Nicholas
Ave.;
&
212/932-0833
). And out in the
low-rent hipster-chic wilds of Red Hook,
Brooklyn, check out
Baked
(359 Van Brunt
St.;
&
718/222-0345
), which serves wick-
edly rich cupcakes in a thrift-shopish Boho
hangout.
(
John F. Kennedy International (15
miles/24km); Newark Liberty International
(16 miles/27km); LaGuardia (8 miles/
13km).
L
$$$
Carlton Hotel on Madison
Avenue,
88 Madison Ave. (
&
212/532-
4100;
www.carltonhotelny.com). $$
Washington Square Hotel,
103 Waverly
Place (
&
800/222-0418
or 212/777-9515;
www.washingtonsquarehotel.com).
The Baker's Best
479
Apple Pie Bakery Café
Yesterday's Desserts from Tomorrow's Top Chefs
Hyde Park, New York
For most of us, this is the closest we'll ever
get to studying at the Culinary Institute of
America, alma mater of such notable
American chefs as Todd English, Charlie
Palmer, Larry Forgione, Alfred Portale,
John Besh, and Anthony Bourdain (it's no
coincidence that most of the winners of TV
reality shows like
Top Chef, Iron Chef,
and
Hell's Kitchen
have CIA degrees). But even
if you don't harbor a secret fantasy to don
a toque and sauté with the pros, this lovely
little cafe in the Hudson Valley just north of
Poughkeepsie is a delicious primer on the
Great American Dessert.
The CIA's New York campus operates
four other public restaurants at its upstate
New York campus—the St. Andrew's Café
(Hudson Valley locavore specialties), Ris-
torante Caterina de' Medici (upscale Ital-
ian), the Escoffier Restaurant (classic
French), and American Bounty Restaurant
(new American)—but the Apple Pie Bak-
ery Café is the most casual, and the only
one you don't need advance reservations
for. It's set in the imposing Georgian red-
brick Roth Hall—the central building on
campus, a former Jesuit seminary over-
looking the Hudson River. Inside the cafe is
all brick walls, rustic tiles, country murals,
and tall wood-trimmed windows. The full
lunch menu includes sandwiches, soups,
salads, and pizzas; CIA baking students
provide the whole spectrum of breads,
from ciabattas and foccaccia to hoagie
