Sweet Rewards

I had a victory at work today.

When I got home tonight, too tired to think about a celebratory treat, I realized just how much I had been holding my breath this entire month. April has been an unforgiving month, but she relented at the eleventh hour, and for that dessert is in order.

Although if you've ever eaten with me, you know that dessert is almost always in order, and lately, it has been synonymous with Pinkberry. I find myself craving the tangy cool swirly goodness with kiwi, strawberries and mochi on a remarkably regular basis. (How do they make it so addictive, I wonder, and am I ethnically predisposed to liking it?)

For times when I'm in search of a special treat, however, I prefer to don a smart outfit and head to Cafe Sabarsky, a Viennese cafe inside the Neue Gallerie offering an Old World atmosphere and desserts to match. The Klimttorte, a chocolate and hazelnut cake, and the Topfentorte, a quark cheesecake with seasonal fruit, are fun to mispronounce and even greater fun to eat. There, for an afternoon, I make-believe that I either work in a creative field or live in Europe, but for some reason, never both.

Odds are good, however, that I won't muster up the energy to go to the Upper East Side this weekend, especially when I can't think of a better way to spend a lazy Sunday afternoon than over chocolate financiers, coffee eclairs and pistachio creme brulees at Financier Patisserie right here in my own neighborhood. I dare say, there's nothing better than edible pats on the back.