The Truff

[Photo via NY Mag]

We may be loyal to our friends, but when it comes to food, we prefer to play the field, especially when our current field is the ethnic and specialty shop-strewn East Village. While we can be dunkined, 'bucked, or Brennered in a matter of seconds, the devils we know lose out when the alternatives are not just alternative but superior. Rather than inundate you, dear ADD(led) surfers, we shall provide a weekly spotlight. Read, if you've got the concentration/time/interest, and then go, or, lacking these, just go. This time the name's Trufette, and it's on Avenue B between 6th and 7th. We weren't sure what lay beneath the little gray storefront when we first walked by -was the title literal, or just an indicator of really expensive and hard-to-find stuff? Both, it turned out, though, considering the quality, "really expensive" could be dropped. Trufette is the retail branch of S.O.S. Chefs; the owner, Atef Boulaabi, is a godsave for David Chang and Gabrielle Hamilton alike. The store is lined with old-school apothecary drawers filled with everything from almond syrup to pimprenelle powder. There's a changing menu of imported mushrooms (honshimeji, porcini, yellowfoot, hen of the wood). Those of you whose budgets exceed student stipend levels can check out truffles, Spanish saffron, and fennel pollen; we settled for Sicilian pistachios and a blood orange fruit puree. Give us a lengthy dictionary sesh and we'll be back. Trufette 104 Ave. B 212.505.5813