Orderinny

I need to get the whole take pictures before I eat part down. I need to commit it to memory.. "take pictures before you stick your chopsticks in and make a hole in the fish"... " take pictures or you are not allowed to it" ... bleah...
So yes, no pictures of Cafe Mozart in its full glory, or the apple and walnut pie i consumed at midnight on friday night after catching La Traviata at the Metropolitan Opera. But people who hang out near the Lincoln Center area know all about this place, because it serves above average desserts in a cute setting, and doesn't close until past midnight, when all the other cute cafes in the area have long closed for the night. They even have a pianist playing live music from 8 pm to midnight most nights, although the room is so noisy when its packed that the music falls onto deaf ears most of the time. I feel sorry for the pianist, playing for unappreciative diners who, quite sensibly, are there for the conversation and the food and not for the music.
About the desserts, they are really good. The chocolate desserts are sinfully rich while the tarts, filled generously with fruit, come with a nice warm and crumbly crust and served with fresh cream... When eaten at midnight, its heavenly =) I had the apple walnut sour cream pie. It was most of a crumble, but I am not complaining. The apple to walnut ratio was quite nice and the crumbles, while a little too sweet for my taste, was warm and slightly crispy. When mushed up with the soft, tart, baked apples and the crunchy walnuts, the texture was very pleasing. Of course you pay for it the next day, but whatever...Oh, and since its called Cafe Mozart, it does serve some austrian desserts, such as sacher torte and linzer torte. I dont think I've tried either, so I cannot comment on the authenticity of the austrian items. I've also tried the dinner menu before and I'm not as enthralled by it as I am by the sweets. First, I really do like sweets a lot more than savory foods, and second, there was nothing really special. They covered their bases by offering pasta, fish and chicken and hamburgers too, but there wasn't anything too out of the ordinary that made me stop and appreciate the food a little more.
A tiny gripe: there is a serious dearth of food places open late at night in the Upper West Side. Besides Mozart, we saw Penang open and that was about it. All the other eateries were in the midst of closing shop by 11 pm. I guess people have more sensible sleep schedules there =)

Cafe Mozart
154 W70th St (Between Broadway & Columbus)