What to Eat at the Birdbath Pop-up at Books of Wonder
In a nutritional about-face from a prior concession, Books of Wonder has recruited City Bakery’s Maury Rubin, who’s opening a pop-up Birdbath in the space once occupied by Cupcake Café. For the next three months, Rubin will operate the takeout counter as a “green burger joint,” feeding juvenile bibliophiles vegan burgers and quasi-healthy desserts, before converting the space into a permanent Birdbath branch this spring. Rubin pulls no punches with his BBvDBB (pictured), short for “Birdbath version of Daniel Boulud Burger,” a black-bean-and-red-pepper burger stuffed inside a falafel burger. (It’s his answer to the Frenchman’s foie-gras-and-truffle claim to patty fame.) Other options include a freekeh burger with Fuji apple and shiro miso sauce, and a bulgur-pumpkin-seed burger tucked into a m’smen, Hot Bread Kitchen’s Moroccan flatbread. For dessert, a trio of ice-cream splits includes one made with grilled pineapple, coconut gelato, and hibiscus syrup.
Birdbath, 18 W. 18th St., nr. Fifth Ave.; no phone yet.
*This article originally appeared in the January 14, 2013 issue of New York Magazine.
The BBvDBB.
Falafel burger with shiitake, scallions and sesame-balsamic dressing.
Freekah burger with fuji apple and shiro miso sauce.
Bulgur-pumpkin seed with avocado, cilantro and tomatillo sauce in a m'smen.
Organic banana split with vanilla ice cream, cherries, cocoa nibs and dark chocolate sauce.
Grilled organic pineapple split with coconut gelato and hibiscus syrup.
Pear split with maple gelato and candied ginger.