Favorite Dishes #77: Brooklyn Star’s Cinnamon Bun

Ahh, the simple pleasures of weekend life: sleeping in on Sundays. The smell and sound of bacon sizzling on the grill. And cinnamon buns?! For a confection so seemingly over-the-top, Brooklyn Star’s (593 Lorimer St, 718-599-8999) entry is surprisingly restrained in the chew. It maintains a satisfying dryness throughout, refusing to surrender into over-sweetened slop.

There’s enough subtlety here to differentiate between alternating layers of pecan-like nuttiness; cinnamon spice, and slightly moistened starch, enveloped within the warm caress of a gooey, saccharine paste rounding out each bite. While it’s rarely envisioned as a brunch mainstay, The Brooklyn Star reapplies relevance to this treat traditionally dismissed as shopping mall fare. Drowning in vanilla frosting, and served piping hot in a cast iron skillet, their bun is a sight worth savoring — its very smell alone is intoxicating. Priced at $6, the side is subversive enough to become your newest weekend ritual.

The Village Voice is counting down to our Best of New York City issue in October. We’re combing the city every day, one dish at a time, to guide you to the most delicious food in NYC. These are our 100 Favorite Dishes for 2015, in no particular order, save for the top 10. 

Here’s our countdown up to now:
#100: Laminated Blueberry Brioche at Dominique Ansel Kitchen
#99: Egg Shop’s Golden Bucket Fried Chicken
#98: Ramen Lab’s Torigara Shoyu
#97: Cannoli at Ferdinando’s
#96: Breakfast Sandwich at Dimes
#95: Banana Royal at Eddie’s Sweet Shop
#94: Fletcher’s Burnt Ends
#93: Almayass’s Mante
#92: Empellon Taqueria’s Fish Taco
#91: El Rey’s Sardine Tostada
#90: General Tso’s Pig’s Head at the Cannibal
#89: The Vegetarian at Meat Hook Sandwich Shop
#88: The 21 Club’s Creamy Chicken Hash
#87: Deep-Fried Olives at Via Carota
#86: Pougi at Loi Estiatorio
#85: Shelsky’s Hot Pastrami Sandwich
#85: Pearl & Ash’s Smoked Bread with Chicken Butter
#84: Gluten-Free Pizza at Rossopomodoro
#83: Perry St’s Chocolate Pudding With Candied Violets
#82: Whit’s End’s ‘Fuckin’ Bluefish Dip’
#81: Morgenstern’s Salt and Pepper Pine Nut Ice Cream
#80: Levain Bakery’s Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookie
#79: Delmar Pizzeria’s Pizza
#78: Cafe Cluny’s Avocado Toast