Rice to Riches

I was on a Kozyshack bender this weekend. A four-pack down the hatch, foil seals licked clean; evidence recycled. A real puddin' head.

We all know and accept that Kozy's rice pudding is great stuff. So great, that it can become a problem. First you're buying a two-pack, then four packs and soon you're eating whole tubs. Just like an alcoholic before a work week, I went in for one final binge at 10:54 p.m. Sunday night. Someone mentioned the geeked-out Nolita spot, Rice to Riches. I waddled my rice-pudding engorged thighs over there to see if it could stand up to the Shack.

The rice pudding emporium has been open on Spring Street for a couple years now (joined, like yesterday, by a PinkBery next door.) Similar to an ice cream counter they offer dozens of flavors. Some ok, some gross and some pretty good. They have toppings – fruits, nuts and crouton-like poundcake squares. The "solo", at $5, is their single-serving option. The molded-plastic dish can hold a lot of rice pudding, but the real question is how much of their pudding do you really want?

Here's my pud with Rice to Riches: the fruity flavors (e.g. mango and banana) tasted fake, and if you're thinking this going to be like a yummy sticky-rice and mango thing, then you're going to be disappointed. Rice is too soupy. Kozy's rice-to-pudding ratio is much better, and that gives Kozy more structure and texture in your mouth. Lastly, even for glutonous me, I just couldn't finish a single serving at Rice to Riches. I felt like I was eating a bowl of banana-flavored snot by the end. (Ok, I ate the rest later at home. Because I like leftover snot.)

Here's the verdict: Kozy 1-Rice 0. It's not that Rice is that bad, but it's just Kozy is that good. Rice to Riches has the disease that many New York places have. It takes some perfectly good comfort food and tries to spruce it up into hipster gourmet. I like my rice puddin' just fine. It didn't need no sprucin'. Next you come around, I'll be on my make-believe porch, too fat to get off it, and spoonin' puddin' in my mouth. Delicious, grocery-store bought, pre-packaged rice pudding from The Kooz.

Where: 37 Spring Street, 212-274-0008