Choco Bolo

Choco Bolo
2058 Broadway (between 70th and 71st)

This new Upper West Side outpost of the shop previously named "The Best Chocolate Cake in the World", makes a new and much more demure promise of "Cake, Coffee and Conversation".

It's definitely a step in the right direction; the shop looks enticingly warm and elegant and the window display of cakes beckons you to step in for a comforting bite of chocolate-laden decadence.

Unable to resist the summoning of the pastries, I walked into Choco Bolo and proceeded to ask what every single pastry was, as there were no signs or descriptions. I settled on 2 of the pastel de nata (Portuguese egg custard pastry) and the house chocolate cake, which I believe was the self-proclaimed "Best Chocolate Cake in the World".

Being a new location with seemingly inexperienced staff, the woman who put together my order proceeded to drop my box of delicate pastries on the ground. She picked it up and triumphantly announced that it had fallen right side up, and handed it to me as I begrudgingly paid $11.66 for a box of damaged (albeit likely delicious) goods.

Notice in the picture above that the right side of the chocolate cake has a blurry chunk falling off the side. I felt as if I had captured that moment when an ice cap breaks off from its glacier and floats off to join its fellow broken pieces on the waves of the neglected sea. I was not particularly happy about my broken cake, as it actually had shattered from its impact with the ground because the cake is made not from your traditional spongy flour/butter/sugar/eggs combination but from light and crisp meringue, chocolate mousse and chocolate ganache. The cake is definitely a departure from your typical expectation of a "chocolate cake", which is why I believe there was such backlash on the previous name of the store. And I have to admit that I succumbed to the power of expectations, as my hope for warm, moist, soft chocolate cake was met with crunchy, achingly-sweet, chunks of chocolate meringue.

But, I will return to Choco Bolo without hesitation. Why? The pastéis de nata. Strikingly similar to Chinese egg custard tarts (蛋撻), pastéis de nata contain a dense, sweet egg custard surrounded by a light, flaky and distinctly European shell. I put them in my toaster at home for a few minutes, devoured every last crumb and did not enjoy sharing with my husband.

NY Tofu House (East Village)

NY Tofu House
6 St. Marks Pl
Manhattan, NY 10003

The East Village has New York's most enviable diversity of reasonably priced cuisine, from Japenese yakitori and ramen joints to Latin American arepas to Polish diners to mac & cheese eateries to gastropubs to Moroccan food. And a large number of these restaurants have 500+ reviews on Yelp; they are highly trafficked and highly rated. So if I were looking to open a casual, populist-appealing, ethnic or single-item-focused restaurant, some quick market research would probably show the East Village to be the perfect spot. And a St. Mark's Place address would be an ideal location. Thus, NY Tofu House seems to have made some smart bets, and I predict it will fare well. Just look at this crowd outside on a random Wednesday evening:

NY Tofu House is still in "Grand Opening" mode, so they were handing out free samples to the eclectic cross-section of East Village evening roamers, all of whom seemed to be in the mood for some free Korean pancakes. Most seemed to move on after devouring their gratis goods, but I did notice a few people who seemed to be convinced by the sample to enter the restaurant. My husband and I had already planned on going in, but pathologically drawn to free things, we still snagged some pancake bites before entering.

The menu is very simple - appetizers, bibimbap, and tofu. Unable to resist goofy names, my husband ordered the Monkey Balls for our appetizer (deep fried stuffed mushrooms with tofu and veggies). Ratio of mushrooms to tofu/veggies to deep fried exterior was good; could still taste the mushroomy goodness inside the fried shell.

And of course the requisite (free) banchan that came with our entrees: salad with a lightly sweet sesame sauce, kimchi and mung bean squares. Nothing too special here, especially considering K-Town's BCD Tofu House has free banchan that includes an entire deep fried 8-inch mackerel-type fish, which is in itself a reason to eat there.

The bibimbap tasted fresh and healthy, with a generous proportion of meat.

The soondooboo broth had just the right amount of heat and density for a chilly winter evening.

Decent fare at decent prices with a great location. Nothing too special to report, but my warmed belly sure isn't complaining.