Tucking It In

It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity. -Albert Einstein

I'm in the middle of a stupid computer crisis and my time to blog has sadly been whittled away by the technical support of Time Warner and AOL.

In lieu of the afore-planned Beantown bonanza, here's a few of the East Village restuarants I've been to in the week since I moved downtown. (For some reason, as I did just now, I always misspell the word restaurant by mixing up the a and the u.)

Prune and Tuck Shop
I was on my way to a quiet counter brunch at Prune today (I'm trying to start Play it As it Lays by Joan Didion), but as I turned the corner, a light bulb went off in my head that the last time I tried to have brunch at Prune in July, it was closed for vacation. And it is, through the 12th. Instead I had a breakfast pastry full of beans, ham, and cheese at Tuck Shop, the new Aussie hole in the hall. Next time, I want to try a piece of lamington cake, which is sponge cake layered with raspberry jam, coated in chocolate, and topped with coconut. Mmm-mmm-mmm.

Mama's
I don't like broccoli, but I make myself eat it sometimes anyway. The other night, I made a deal with myself that if I ordered the broccoli at Mama's, I could also get corn and mashed potatoes on my veggie plate. The corn was sweet and had a hint of cilantro. The taters were creamy and had a few cloves of roasted garlic hiding in them. And the broccoli -- I don't know if it was the healthy dose of pepper it wore, or the fact that the garlic from the taters overwhelmed its normal flavor, but that green shrub was damn good. Thanks, Mama!

Atlas Cafe
Jon and I really like the fresh, hand-cranked yogurt with mix-ins, and many of the other 100+ menu items (salads, sandwiches, crepes, soup, etc.). It's très cheap and quick, and there's decent outside seating.

Next week: Barring other unforeseen difficulties, technical and otherwise, a sip of Beantown