Scrumptious Sundays

February 9, 2009 4:03 pm

Sunday may be considered a day of rest for some, but for me, Sunday has become my day of indulgence. In preparation for the grueling week ahead, I make it a point to do something fun, something for me on Sunday to counter-balance all the annoying stuff I have to do during the week for everyone else. This past Sunday, fun came in the form of sparkly shoes and a scrumptious sandwich.

New York's unusually warm weather this past weekend was its own zing of fun, making my downtown excursions act as the sprinkles on this ice cream "Sunday". I started at Loehman's, where designer discounts are guaranteed to work up an appetite. After waiting in line for what seemed like an eternity for a fitting room, I emerged from my mother-ship with a few pairs of leggings and amazing Betsey Johnson summer heels. Super high cork heels, sparkle, sparkle golden straps, and a perfect forties peep-toe, complete with a large gold bow, made me salivate so much that I knew I just had to have them.

After drooling over my fantastic new shoes, and calling my mother to boast about my indulgent purchase, I headed southwest to Balducci's. Balducci's is the food market for food lovers. Isles of imported goodies, pungent cheeses, crusty breads, and fresh veggies would make me hungry on any given day, but my pillaging at Loehman's had made me particularly ravenous. While Balducci's is best known for their gourmet goods, it is their sandwich station that gets my taste buds excited. A variety of pre-determined sandwiches are featured, as well as a list of ingredients ideal for building your own, which is obliviously the more fun route, and since Sundays are all about fun, that's exactly what I did.

After browsing the extensive list of deli meats, cheeses, veggies, and vinaigrettes, I decided to start with the bread. I chose a whole wheat bread with grilled chicken breast, white American cheese, and fresh avocado to be topped off with a roasted red pepper mayo. I danced around the cheese isle, sniffing all the rinds of my favorite fragrant formages, while I waited for the Balducci's sandwich maker to finish his craftwork. As soon as my lunch was wrapped up and paid for, I sprinted across town to Union Square.

I popped a squat on a bench and unfolded my ornately wrapped sandwich. Before I could take a bite, I had to remove some of the chicken breast, as the sandwich was so packed that I would have worn more than would have made it into my mouth. I hate wasting food, so I placed the chicken breast into a napkin to feed to the pigeons after I finished feeding myself. Now I was ready to eat. Wow. It's no wonder that Balducci's sandwiches are so expensive, because they're that good. The chicken breast and cheese were moistened by the red pepper mayo, which was out of this world. The fresh avocado brought a lovely lightness to the sandwich, making my indulgence a predominantly healthy decision after all. After munching down on half of my sandwich, I re-wrapped up the rest and stuck it in my purse. $10 for a sandwich makes me want to get as much bang for my buck as possible, so I planned to take the rest to work on Monday as another deliciously indulgent lunch.

I moseyed around the farmer's market at Union Square for a while, contemplating my next move. My Sunday was almost complete, but something was still missing, besides another pair of shoes, of course. While browsing the cook book section of Barnes and Nobles, a sudden craving for a cupcake came over me. It may have been the sight of all the cakes and cookies on the covers of the cook books, or my natural inclination towards frosting, but I immediately peeled myself off the floor and headed directly for Billy's Bakery.

Billy's Bakery has my favorite, favorite cupcakes in all of New York. They are light and fluffy with just the right amount of sweet butter cream frosting. The line was out the door and down the block when I arrived, but I mustered up some patience and waited my turn. The sweet smell of confectioners sugar fills the bakery. "Two vanilla cupcakes with chocolate frosting," I shouted over the sugar hungry crowd. I sat outside on the sea foam green bench and devoured my sweet ending, taking comfort in knowing that I had another one in my bag for later.

Alexis Popov