Shauna Eats Sunnyside

B’s Birthday Treats

B played the part of (disgruntled) birthday boy this past week. As I had joyously taken several days off to celebrate (while boo labored over security council reform in Midtown), I picked up a few sweet treats to welcome Sunshine home on the anniversary of the day he burrowed his way from the womb.

For dinner, we ventured to our favorite Harlem Ethiopian joint, Awash, for a heaping combo of B’s favorite special tibs (beef cubes. hot sauce. spices. mmm.) and my personal red meat of choice, yebeg alicha (savory lamb in a liquid gold butter slop). To first put us in the East African state of mind, we cracked a bottle of Honeyrun Proprietor’s Reserve Blackberry Honeywine (made in Cali, but apparently a popular DIY beverage in-country and frequently flowing at Awash) from Lowery Liquor & Wine Co. (on Queens Blvd. b/w 40th and 41st Sts.).

The $12 sulfite-free wine, as expected, is super sweet with tangy blackberry contrasts and a thicker fluidity than your average table wine. But abso-fucking-lutely delectable. And at 12% alcohol content, we’ll take it. We downed a few glasses at record speed, then hopped the next gypsy cab uptown to ceremoniously gorge ourselves into oblivion.

Back at the homestead post-fat-fat sesh (B’s nic-fit face, in full effect), we tore into one of my gifts to the age-rebuffing maverick, a box of mix-and-match Japanese wagashi sweets from shi-shi ricerie Minamoto Kitchoan in Rocafeller Center (on 49th St. b/w 5th and 6th Aves.). Priced at $2.50 to $4 per nubbin and (to B’s OCD delight) clearly marked with relevant expiration dates, we were intrigued with the colorful, decorated interpretations laced with variants of red bean, mochi, and of course, rice.

Our favorite was this lightly gelatinous cherry blossom (and leaf, apparently) rice mound with what we recall to be a tender red bean paste center (could be wrong, we were delirious at that point). The foliage is more edible than it looks, and the treat is infused with delicate floral hints and undeniable freshness sans sponge. We want another three or four… no telling if this is just a seasonal offering.

Although B discovered he’s not the biggest chestnut fan, I was rather into this oribenishiki (sweet red bean and chestnut paste wrapped in a Japanese crepe). Moist, cakey, creamy and mealy, this mini (Canadian maple leaf-branded?) pastry is the best of all worlds and worked well with our digestory shot glasses of herbal tea.

We were not fans of this pungent green tea cake with white bean paste, which lingered bitterly on the chops and had zero redeeming texture. Moving right along…

I also brought (the grumpy old man) his favorite guava pastry in our ‘hood, a twist from El Triangulo Bakery (one candle won’t give away how elderly he’s become!). I sang a distorted, off-key version of the Birthday Song (he forgives me), then we feastily dug into the crisp, flaky wand containing perfectly-proportioned seeded guava paste. Consistently well-executed, consistently delicious.

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Awash Ethiopian Restaurant
947 Amsterdam Avenue (b/w 106th and 107th Sts.)
New York, NY 10025
212-961-1416

Lowery Liquor & Wine Co.
40-14 Queens Blvd. (b/w 40th and 41st Sts.)
Sunnyside, NY 11104
718-784-2334

Minamoto Kitchoan
608 5th Ave. #1 (actually, 49th St. b/w 5th and 6th Aves.)
New York, NY 10020
212-489-3747

El Triangulo Bakery
44-08 Greenpoint Avenue (b/w 44th and 45th sts)
Sunnyside, NY 11104
718-786-5919