The Best Red Velvet Cupcake I've Ever Eaten

Yes, I know I just wrote about cupcakes. But that was before I walked by Sweet Revenge, which could be described as the Gwen Stefani of bakeries. This sassy little shop serves the most adventurous cupcakes around, and I've already become addicted to two flavors. The cinnamony "Crimson and Cream" is a red velvet concoction that sports a dollop of tart cream cheese icing shot through with raspberry, and the "Dirty" is the deepest, darkest Valrhona chocolate cupcake you're likely to find. I wish I had the metabolism for all 20 flavors.

Sweet Revenge: 62 Carmine St., (212) 242-2240.

Maialino

I remember visiting Maialino this past spring and being enamored of the fresh mozzarella and heirloom tomato salad. The simple but beautiful dish was served at room temperature for full flavor; chilling destroys the taste of tomatoes. I had also enjoyed the authentic carbonara - so many restaurants adulterate it with cream instead of letting the egg yolk create the sauce, but not Maialino.

So I thought I'd repeat my visit. Tonight, a friend and I scored a last-minute early reservation. The bread basket of spicy breadsticks, crusty sesame loaf and focaccia was devoured in about five minutes. Stracciatella, a sort of Italian egg drop soup, was rich and delicious. The salad misticanza was less appealing - a pile of plainly dressed arugula seemed to go on for miles and needed a bit of blue cheese or something.

Homemade tonnarelli cacio e pepe was wonderful - lots of black pepper and pungent pecorino coated the wavy noodles. My friend enjoyed the bombolotti, big, al dente pasta tubes with guanciale and tomato. But what really impressed me was my dessert - and the superlative service. I couldn't decide between the olive oil cake with vanilla bean mascarpone and the gianduja bread pudding. Our server debated the merits of both with me, and then hooked me up with the best of both worlds: a dish of vanilla mascarpone and the round bread pudding. The warm, buttery dessert was sprinkled with toasted hazelnuts and contained a surprise of melted, oozing chocolate inside. I should also mention the great fresh-ground Four Barrel Coffee.

Next time we'll have to order the signature suckling pig!

Maialino: 2 Lexington Ave., (212) 777-2410.

Little Cupcake Bakeshop

Just in case you're not quite finished with your holiday overindulging, here's a tip for you: one of the most decadent experiences in NYC awaits you at 30 Prince Street. Open just ten weeks, Little Cupcake Bakeshop is already mobbed, and it's easy to see why. Not only does the place stock every flavor of cupcake imaginable (French toast!), but there are homemade whoopie pies and smores, black and white brownie trifles swirled with raspberry, all kinds of three-layer cakes (red velvet, blue velvet made with blueberries and buttermilk, almond with meringue icing and raspberry-vanilla buttercream filling, maple-iced pumpkin spice), several flavors of cheesecake like Nutella and Oreo, and a long list of enticing winter beverages - the gingerbread latte is apparently quite a draw. It took me three tries to finish the trifle. (And that's saying something.)

Little Cupcake Bakeshop: 30 Prince St., (212) 941-9100.

Where To (Deliciously) Celebrate a One-Year-Old's Birthday

This was my dilemma; Baby Vates was turning one. Since we share a birthday, I wanted to throw a very special kind of party. The adults would need something delicious to eat while the children ran around like maniacs. Baby gyms like Kidville and Gymboree rent space out for parties, but food is obviously not included. Alice's Tea Cup has a baby/kid menu but is much too civilized. One restaurant informed me that they could not fit our party at one table, but that we had better make sure that the children did not run around between multiple tables. Things weren't looking good.

After several days spent Googling, I finally found the perfect solution: the private party room at the 2nd Avenue location of Totonno's. A large upstairs space decorated with holiday lights was the venue for our joyous occasion, and the best part is that we didn't have to lift a finger. The experienced staff thought of everything. A guest who couldn't eat pepper was offered a Caesar salad while the rest of us devoured a zesty green one filled with olives and onions. An onslaught of brick-oven pizzas of every variety bombarded our 28-person table. Two plain pies for the kids were served first - they were topped with a generous layer of fresh handmade mozzarella. Someone got antsy - where is the rest of the pizza? Is any more coming? "We make everything to order," said the owner reassuringly. "Don't worry, we'll make sure they eat till they puke." My aunt pronounced the ensuing white pizza "the best I've ever had." Fresh basil and tomatoes that somehow maintained their sweetness in the middle of December adorned a cheese-heavy pie. Then there were mushroom pies, and sausage pies, and a fantastic pepperoni pizza that went in two seconds. The pepperoni had a spicy afterkick that rendered the pie completely irresistible. Then there was another pepperoni pizza. Appetites were starting to flag...

...when the lights went off, and two cakes - chocolate for me and lemon for my son - were served. I didn't even have to give any directions for the cake decorations. My cake sported pink icing, while my son's had an attractive blue design.

The adults left stuffed, the kids left tired out from fencing with balloons, and I left completely satisfied by a perfect party. (I also hauled out a week's worth of leftover pizza.)

Totonno's: 462 2nd Ave., (212) 213-8800. (NOTE: Sadly, both Manhattan locations are now closed. 4-2011)

The Dow Jones Pasta Index

You're probably wondering what the heck this is, as did I when I saw it on the menu at Sandro's, a Roman restaurant on the Upper East Side. It's the brainchild of chef Sandro Fioriti, and the only reason to hope that the economy gets worse. The lower the Dow, the lower the price of all pasta entrees (except for the ravioli) until 6:30 p.m. Last night, that meant a huge bowl of fat, chewy bucatini (spaghetti on steroids) in a tomato sauce filled with tender chunks of pancetta, onions and the odd basil leaf, and a healthy portion of whisper-soft fettucini in a rich bolognese sauce. Normally, the prices of these dishes hover around the $23 range. But with such a deal, we didn't feel guilty indulging in Caesar salad and a wonderful tiramisu - the latter was served as a parfait. The top half of the glass was filled with light mascarpone foam into which had been mixed some tiny chocolate chips, while the base consisted of dense, espresso liqueur-drenched ladyfingers. There was also an interesting beverage on the menu which I'd never seen before: an infusion of clove-studded lemon peels. Perfect to take the chill off of the night.

Sandro's: 306 East 81st St., (212) 288-7374.