It's a secret no longer. The no-name cookie shop in the upper reaches of the East Village, offering cookies that bear a striking resemblance to those at City Bakery, is in fact owned and run by—City Bakery. Raisfeld and Patronite crack the story open:
The source of all this obfuscation (and all those cookies), we’ve learned, is Maury Rubin himself, owner of City Bakery and a bit of a prankster. His aim here is not to torment annoying, know-it-all chowhounds but to force them to focus on the space itself—what he believes is the first top-to-bottom green bakery.The evolution of the bakery, code-named Birdbath, is being chronicled on its very own website, BuildAGreenBakery.com. If you can make it past the tedious (and unskippable) flash intro complete with Star Wars style textroll, there's a clickable interior image that reveals the source of the raw materials used in construction. (Suggested tags: renewable, biodegrade, vintage, found, cork, "dan barber eat your heart out", "you too matthew kenney")
Laudable, in a sense. But NYC food blog Words to Eat By isn't buying what Rubin's selling: "Yes, it’s a giant, smug, greener-than-thou lecture wrapped in a sinfully delicious layer of cookie dough." But such delicious dough, really.
· Mystery Muffins [New York]
· Build a Green Bakery [buildagreenbakery.com]
· Well THAT Was Disappointing [Words to Eat By]
· Secret East Village Bakery: City Bakery or Not? [~E~]
