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Sugar Rush: Desserts at Kefi

Posted by Erin Zimmer, March 23, 2009 at 5:15 PM

Greek yogurt

I ended up at Kefi twice this weekend—not really on purpose, but I didn't regret it either time. Both visits, I got the same two desserts because I didn't want my fellow dinners to leave without trying either. The Greek yogurt ($4.95) is the lushest, most velvety version of the fetishized yogurt you'll have, especially if you're used to buying the nonfat or even two-percent fat Fage kind. The two scoops are topped with nuts, flaky kataifi, and candied quince and dates, all sitting in a pool of sticky honey to balance the tartness. The yogurt is imported from a Cretan guy who lives in Canada.

Walnut cake with walnut ice cream

Then there's the walnut cake ($5.95): a tad dry, but almost better that way, since each bite needs a wee bit of the walnut ice cream, which is, wow. Made at the sister restaurant Anthos, the paired scoop has a comforting sweetness with nicely scattered nut hunks. Maple lovers, come hither. Especially those who aren't allergic to nuts.

When asked how things have changed, if at all, since Frank Bruni's review in the New York Times last week, one of my servers could quote Bruni down to the "palate mononucleosis" line. He said it definitely hasn't helped business, but hasn't hurt it too much either (they were healthily packed both times).

Kefi

505 Columbus Avenue, New York NY 10024 (at 84th Street; map)
212-873-0200
kefirestaurant.com

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Tags: cake, desserts, Greek, Kefi, Mediterranean, Sugar Rush, Upper West Side, yogurt