Butter Lane is in my ears and in my eyes…

…and in my mouth…and makes me sing Beatles songs in my head.

Butter Lane is the latest cupcake bakery to open in New York, on 123 East 7th St. in the Lower East Side. Magnolia — made famous by Sex and the City — long ago lost its supremacy in Manhattan’s cupcake world, especially after opening a third location in Rockefeller Center.  Crumbs and Buttercup Bake Shop are quickly becoming passe.

Butter Lane promises to produce “the better cupcake” and they do, using pure ingredients and local dairy ingredients. Jess, my fellow cupcake connoisseur, agreed these cupcakes didn’t taste like generic grocery-store cake, as Magnolia’s do. I had the vanilla cake with chocolate American buttercream frosting. They perfect the classic, while also going out on a limb with unusual frosting options, like blueberry buttercream and French buttercream (and even let you taste test before making your choice). 

And I later learned the business is owned by three females: a former banker, a woman who works in publishing, and another who works in television. They’re probably friends who decided one day over drinks they’d do something crazy like open their own cupcake bakery and make a fortune. Ah, only in New York.

Hong Kong Supermarket

If I could, I’d trade the Gristedes on my corner for the Hong Kong Supermarket in Chinatown. Katie P and I walked down the aisles picking up one box and package with Chinese characters after another, thinking up recipes we could concoct or wondering what some unidentifiable items would taste like. Everything is so cheap, you can’t really resist buying it just to find out.

Strawberry Dofu Delight

Since I have an automatic attraction to anything pink and like tofu, the box of Strawberry Dofu Delight caught my eye. No tofu involved though – it’s a fat-free gelatin dessert. Let’s forget that Katie said it reminded her of Pepto Bismal. It could be delish! If not, I have my blueberry jelly, which are wiggly, individually wrapped cubes as opposed to a spread from a jar. Apparently, you eat them at your own risk. The box warns, “Please chew carefully and swallow slowly, so as not to be choked.”

See, you won’t find this stuff at Gristedes. I forgot how much I enjoy wandering Chinatown. Rachel and I had a great time in Flushing’s Chinatown too.