No. 28

Many shed a tear at the shuttering of Grilled Cheese NYC. But today, I tasted the Italian equivalent of the best grilled cheese sandwich ever. No. 28, an authentic Neopolitan brick-oven pizza joint, serves a sumptuous 3-cheese piadina which outshines anything I ever ate at Grilled Cheese. The big round flatbread is alternately crispy and chewy, and it's stuffed with a perfect blend of melty Mozzarella, smoky Provolone and a hint of spicy Gorgonzola. Pure heaven.

(For those who are interested, No. 28 also happens to be the default neighborhood hangout for fans of international soccer. The restaurant's lights brighten during the commercials and are dimmed during the game.)

No. 28: 28 Carmine St., (212) 463-9653.

Blossom

I'm always curious about a new vegan restaurant, but I'm less than enamored of Gobo and Zen Palate. Eternally hopeful, I enlisted the palate of a vegetarian friend and we made a visit to Blossom last night.

The wine list was expensive; I didn't notice a glass for under $10. We decided to conserve our cash for the edibles, which looked promising. The appetizer menu included a "South Asian lumpia" and phyllo-wrapped vegetables with tomato confit. My friend ordered the satay, which consisted of a tumble of sesame noodles topped with two skewers of grilled seitan in lieu of meat. Although the flavor of the grill was not apparent, the texture of the seitan was similar to that of meat, if a bit chewier.

As there was obviously no cheese in the salads, the chef had been creative with tempeh and tofu to approximate its salty, pungent flavor. In my friend's salad of field greens, grilled pears and candied walnuts, the crispy tofu cubes served this purpose. My salad was a plate of baby spinach leaves coated with plenty of horseradish dressing, red onions, tempeh "croutons," pumpkin seeds, and sliced wild mushrooms.

I had thought about ordering the pumpkin gnocchi with melted leeks for my entree, but instead went with the seitan "medallions" in a caper sauce with herbed soft polenta and broccoli rabe. The broccoli rabe was very garlicky and tasty, but the polenta was bland and not particularly herby. (I guess I'm one of those people who thinks that polenta needs butter and cheese.) The seitan adequately absorbed the light caper sauce (by itself, seitan is rather tasteless, being comprised of wheat gluten).

Although we had no room for dessert, I was sufficiently tempted by the dessert menu to visit Blossom again. (Pineapple crepes with coconut milk infusion, chocolate ganache torte, yum!)

Blossom: 187 9th Ave., (212) 627-1144.

Prem-On Thai and Sweet Melissa

It's never been a better time to be hungry on Houston Street, with the amazing lunch special at Prem-On Thai and the goodies at the nearby Sweet Melissa. (How did this branch of the Brooklyn bakery manage to escape my purview?)

I'd intended to lunch at the Le Pain Quotidien on West 8th, but every seat was taken by NYU. So, I walked over to Ushiwakamaru to see if they were open, but apparently they only serve dinner. Prem-On Thai next door, with its chic marble tables full of satisfied-seeming people, beckoned to me.

I was happy to see that Prem-On's lunch includes both an appetizer and an entree. For $7, I got two crunchy vermicelli-bean spring rolls and a delicious tofu curry with crispy and soft noodles. The egg noodles were a hidden treasure underneath the tofu, and all was smothered in a creamy coconut-turmeric sauce. Pickled greens and red onions provided a nice touch of sour and spice.

Although I toyed with the idea of ordering a trio of Thai creme brulee (lotus seed, Thai tea and ginger), I decided to be virtuous. That cause was lost the second I laid eyes on Sweet Melissa. What should I have, I wondered, and then came the more deviant thought: what shouldn't I have. I left with a Valrhona brownie, a Key lime tart decorated with sliced kiwi, one of the chocolate souffle cakes I remembered with such fondness from the Brooklyn store, a citrus chevre cheesecake and a dense chocolate peanut butter treat. So much for "no dessert!"

Prem-On Thai: 138 West Houston St., (212) 353-2338. Sweet Melissa (Manhattan): 75 West Houston St., (347) 594-2541.

Kanoyama

I made a happy discovery tonight at Kanoyama: the early-bird special. It includes such entrees as tempura don, salmon roe and sea urchin over rice, and eel over rice. I ordered the tekka don: rosy-pink slices of tuna blanketing perfectly vinegared sushi rice, accompanied by a romaine salad with mellow carrot-ginger dressing, two kinds of pickles, smoky bonito miso soup, sweet hijiki carrot salad, two slices of omelette sushi, and the Japanese version of potato salad (full of cucumbers and onions). All for $14!

Kanoyama: 175 2nd Ave., (212) 777-5266. The early-bird dinner is served until 7 p.m. on the weekdays and 8 p.m. on the weekends.

Cheeks Bakery (CLOSED)

Are you the sort of sweets lover who welcomes butter but abhors trans fats? If so, you'll be delighted by this new Williamsburg bakery. Open just 3 weeks, Cheeks Bakery sells delicious goods which are made exclusively with organic eggs and rBst-free milk. Owner Melanie explains, "If I always eat organic eggs myself, why shouldn't I also use them in products for my customers? It's the right thing to do." Melanie's passion for high quality ingredients is showcased in chocolate-banana bundt cakes, blackberry-buttermilk muffins, coconut cake with lime syrup, vanilla bean cheesecake, and for those who prefer the savory to the sweet, herb quiche!

Cheeks Bakery: 378 Metropolitan Ave., Brooklyn, 718-599-3583.

Po

Mario Batali may be long gone, but fans of the Italian home cooking that put him on the map are still flooding into Po. "Po is my favorite Italian restaurant in the city," says Brother Dominic, a Franciscan friar who has occupied a window seat for 10 years. "But you have to come for lunch; that's when Frank is here. He's the soul of the restaurant - he's been here from the beginning." Frank is the Croatian waiter whom the antipasto is named for. Not only is he stunningly efficient (I watched him easily dispatch a party of 17 without batting an eye), but he's hilarious.

"What is this, a cappuccino before lunch?" he laughs as he delivers my cavatelli with broccoli. "Is that a Maryland thing? Ah, they wouldn't even give it to you in France. IN FRANCE, they won't give you an iced tea - they look at the American like..." He then launches into a salty rant about the tipping habits of European natives by country. (No one fares very well.) By the time he's finished, I'm laughing so hard that I can barely eat. But I can taste enough to know that the cavatelli is deliciously chewy, and the broccoli is sauteed with plenty of garlic.

Brother Dominic and Frank commiserate about Batali's latest venture and how they've seen him on TV with Tony Danza ("Danza dyes his hair!" protests Brother Dominic). Steve, the original business partner, moseys in and makes himself a cappuccino. Frank pretends to tussle with him at the machine and yells, "Look at this, he can't even wait for a cappuccino!"

I finish a mint-flecked gelato covered with spiced nuts and go laughing into the snowy day.

Po: 31 Cornelia St., (212) 645-2189.

Sweets News

• Attention all Chikalicious Dessert Bar fans (and I know you're out there, because I could barely get a seat the other night!): On June 1, NYC's first dessert-only room will expand to thrice its size, moving to a larger site directly across the street. A back room will be available for private parties.



• Are you curious about how to pair chocolate with wine? Join Pastryscoop.com for a delicious lecture and tasting event at The French Culinary Institute on March 14th. There will be guest speakers from E. Guittard Chocolate Company and Baron Francois Wine. For more information, contact Pastryscoop.com at (646) 254-8542 or info@pastryscoop.com.



• You'll soon be able to purchase the world's first 100% organic lollipops.