#61 – CLASSIC TOAST WITH CONDENSED MILK at SAINT’S ALP TEAHOUSE

Once again Time Out New York released their Top 100 Dishes of the year and once again, I’m going to eat my way through every one. And no price point or subway delay will stop me. In no particular order, here’s my take on their Top 100.

Toast is all the rage right now. Like the fried chicken craze last year in Brooklyn, if you’re a hot new restaurant, you’re pretty much required to offer at least one appetizer of toast on your menu. Vandaag, ABC Kitchen, and Marea all sell something on toast – whether it’s gravlax, squash, or sea urchin, respectively. This is all rather ironic since I’m doing the search for New York’s best bagel right now and those aren’t supposed to be toasted at all.

I was surprised that the only real toast dish on Time Out’s list this year wasn’t from one of the fancy new restaurants, but rather the East Village location of a Taiwanese chain cafe.  In TONY’s defense, the toast phenomenon really took off after their list was published, but there’s nothing wrong with the Classic Toast dish at Saint’s Alp Teahouse.

I’ve walked by this favorite hangout so many times over the last ten years and have only once been inside (to order a tea to go). They specialize in many different tea concoctions, like bobba, matchas, and barley. There was so much to choose from in the drink department (and we did have a nice frothy Taro Milk Tea with Tapioca Pearls), but since we already had a big dinner at nearby Whitman’s, we glossed over the savory food here and chose only the list item.

We decided it would be our dessert, but the Classic Toast with Condensed Milk could have worked for breakfast or a midday snack. It’s a thick doughy slice of white pullman toast that’s then slathered with melted butter and covered with sticky, sweet condensed milk. The toast can also be ordered with other more interesting toppings like matcha green tea, strawberry jam, and toasted almond. And truth be told, the condensed milk would probably have been the last one I’d have chosen.

But I’m so glad I did because it was both decadent in its rich, sweet stickiness and also refined in its simplicity and restraint. The bread was delicately toasted and there was just enough butter and condensed milk to bring out the nutty starchy notes of the soft bread without overwhelming my lactose sensors.

Toast is a perfect palette for any number of cuisines or toppings and the milk toast at Saint’s Alp is a great example of how to keep that idea controlled and simple. It’s milk toast that’s refreshingly not milquetoast.

Would Saint’s Alp Teahouse’s Classic Toast with Condensed Milk make my Top 100 of the year? It far exceeded my expectations and the milky sweetness was pleasant at just about any time of day earning this an 8 out of 10.