Who can take a rainbow...

The evening began with absolutely no intention of eating sweets (hard to believe, but true!) As we walked along 1st Avenue on our way to Happy Hour, our eyes were captivated by bright colors and decadent chocolate frosting that took the shape of— a cupcake?? Were we seeing this correctly or had the smoldering NYC heat caused us to hallucinate?? A rainbow cookie cupcake??? Simultaneously, we ran into Pinisi Bakery to make sense of what we were seeing through the store window.

Ken, who works at the bakery, and a local patron who was eating the rainbow cookie cupcake as we walked in, explained to us that these cupcakes were indeed a spin off of Italian rainbow cookies (a favorite of ours, growing up oh so close to Bensonhurst!) and to sweeten the deal- they were just baked at the Pinisi’s other location, on East 4th between 1st and 2nd Avenue (merely steps away). Without any deliberation, we exclaimed in unison "give us one NOW!" We anxiously waited while Ken cut the cupcake in three sections (for us and our friend, guest star of the day Sangita). Ken displayed his artistic side by cutting the cupcake into a peace sign! The cupcake far exceeded our expectations. Our friend, who is not as infatuated with sweets as we are, exclaimed, "wow this is amazing". This rainbow cupcake creation was warm, moist, and tasted like a rainbow cookie! It wasn’t overly sweet, unlike some varieties of cheap rainbow cookies. An added bonus was the wonderful chocolate frosting- this chocolate frosting was not sugary and complemented the cupcake perfectly. For $3 a cupcake, this is reasonably priced in a city where cupcakes can run anywhere from $1 for a mini Baked by Melissa to $35 for a supersized steroids-induced Crumbs cupcake cake.

In addition to the rainbow cookie cupcake, Pinisi has red velvet cupcakes, gluten free brownies, freshly baked breads, and a flourless chocolate cake that we will definitely come back to try. They also had Kiko's - giant Turkish sugar cookies that Ken explained were only a fraction of the size you can find them in Turkey, but the oven wasn't big enough to accommodate.
There was a special art exhibition adorning the store that had just been put up featuring the artwork of Ms. Meghan Oare. The comfy couches in the back allow you to sit back, relax, absorb the art and eat your baked good of choice.

Store Info: Pinisi Cafe & Bakery is family owned & operated. All baking is done on premises to provide the freshest quality baked products.
http://www.pinisibakerynyc.com/
There are two locations: 128 E 4th street between 1st & 2nd Ave (the original, open 7am - 11pm daily) and 18-20 1st Ave between East 1st and 2nd street (open 6am-midnight); the one we stumbled across that's been open just about a year.

This is the first bakery the Cjaps have discovered on our own without reading about it in NY Mag, The NY Times, Time Out NY or one of the many food blogs we subscribe to! Cheers to the Cjaps for our new discovery!