Shauna Eats Sunnyside

Nutella Heals the Heart

Between tonight’s nightly news reports and MSNBC commentary on the election (just vote Obama), the stress of maintaining a nearly flatlined bank account amidst the threat of looming layoffs, unwelcomingly blustery and torrential weather conditions, and mama’s nagging headache courtesy of a caffeinated soy chai latte comedown, B and I were forced to rely on a more effective measure of damage control to get us through the duration of the evening—primarily, carbs and Nutella.

One Friday night about a month ago in Noho, I met up with a sake-bombed B and his friend M outside of corner snack counter/cramped cafe Bite (on Lafayette b/w Bleeker and Houston), where we perched on sidewalk stools, ate Nutella-and-banana panini-pressed sammiches, and haggled cute girls and passing tourists. Anyway, the highlight of that evening wasn’t our eventual decline to making a bathroom pit stop and subsequent grocery run at a late-night Whole Foods on Houston, but rather that warm, crusty, cinnamony, melty chocolate treat wrapped in warm aluminum foil.

In case you’ve been living under a rock for the past twenty years, a bit of background. Nutella is a mystical, quaintly spreadable mix of hazelnut and cocoa devoured readily on crepes and baguette, complemented by any variation of peanut butter, banana, or strawberry content, among others. To some, it’s practically a way of life.

Tonight, B and I toasted two fresh (three-for-$1) rolls from OK, er, The Store Formerly Known as OK Food, a.k.a. Sunnyside Market (on 43rd Ave. b/w 42nd and 43rd Sts.) Once toasted, B donned a flowery oven mitt whilst sawing in half the piping carb loads as I adeptly sliced a ripe ‘naner. We swiped a healthy layer of Nutella over the warm bready interior, then mashed together (B’s was literally mashed) for our homemade dessert wonders.

And the taste? Since B wasn’t feeling photogenic today, you’ll never know how stuffed his cheeks were. But out of the corner of my eye, I saw him scarfing. Mine was delish—the perfect combo of melty, licky, choco-fruity, carb-comforting mayhem to cool the nerves and pacify the sweet tooth.

Once again, Nutella comes through in the clutch. This is the shit miracles are made of. Only you can’t eat a fuckin miracle.

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Bite
335 Lafayette Street (b/w Bleeker and Houston)
New York, NY 10012
212-431-0301

Sunnyside Market (The Store Formerly Known as OK Food)
42-08 43rd Avenue (b/w 42nd and 43rd sts)
Sunnyside, NY 11104 
718-937-1774