Snap, crackle — stop! Before you dismiss Kellogg’s NYC, the new cereal “restaurant” near Times Square as a mere marketing stunt — which it is — give it a try. The heavily hyped spot has big-league talent behind it, including Milk Bar founder Christina Tosi and former Per Se general manager Anthony Rudolf, and it functions like a well-milked machine.
You order your bowl at a counter (small $6.50, “regular” $7.50) and when a buzzer vibrates like an overcharged sex toy, you fetch your cereal from behind a little Automat-like door.
The curated offerings on the menu are the best bets. The Berry Me in Green Tea — Rice Krispies topped with fresh strawberries and green matcha tea powder — left me giggling with delight like my less curmudgeonly 8-year-old self.
Less succesful was the Pistachio & Lemon — Special K and Frosted Flakes adorned with nut, lemon zest and thyme. It had a harsh aftertaste like the sleeping aid Lunesta. Unlike that drug, though, it’s guaranteed to be non-habit-forming: Citrus and herbs don’t go with milk.
Still, it’s best to stick with the experts’ combinations. When I chose my own cereal adventure in the “Raid the Pantry” category, selecting from 14 different cereals and innumerable toppings, it didn’t go well. I ingeniously combined Froot Loops with bananas and chocolate chips, and the result was a cacophonous sugar overload. The breakfast of champions it wasn’t, but I’ll be back for lunch.
1600 Broadway at 49th Street; kelloggsnyc.com