I was tempted to hold back on the awarding of the best Easter buns in NYC for 2013 when I saw the potential of pecan and green peppercorn hot cross buns at Bien Cuit on Christopher Street. The buns were a festive addition to the cafe’s regular temptations like sweet maple yam danish, and artichoke and goat cheese croissant. But the poetry was in the writer not in the baker, and the proof was in the pudding. Blackened and crispy, the buns were no match for Amy’s. Try again next year. But there was joy in the coffee, which dissolved months of winter lethargy in a few strong sips and inspired an energized afternoon of bike riding. So much so that we earned a second cup at Smile to go in the midst of hipster land around the corner from Crosby Street. That part of town where Chinatown fuses with Soho is full of surprises – cafes, fashion houses and galleries. In true New York style you find the most interesting people – in this case a fellow biker who introduced himself by saying he met his third wife in a similarly crammed coffee shop. Bruce also told the story of a weekend ride that bought him face to face with a deer at 40 MPH, and after 10 days in hospital at a cost of $116,000 he is still in litigation with the deer’s attorney. I’m not so sure about the wife…