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New York City is eating up the Knicks, and now fans can taste it, too.
The Big Apple is crackling with Knicks energy. Spend just a minute in NYC, and you’ll pass a fan sporting a Knicks hat, custom merch, or wearing their iconic orange and blue.
Even the streets around Madison Square Garden are zhuzhed up, with the 34th Street-Penn Station subway entrances transformed into an Instagram-ready landmark with globe lights reimagined as basketballs and the metal facade repainted with the Knicks’ signature colors.
The city’s most beloved eateries have been stirring up fan spirit, too — proving that when the Knicks win, so does New York.
Restaurants, bakeries and more are also getting in on the basketball boom, giving New Yorkers another reason to hope for a championship win this Saturday, which would be the team’s first since defeating the LA Lakers way back in 1973.
From Knicks logo-emblazoned cakes, cookies and cupcakes to in-demand pasta in — what else? — neon orange and blue, NYC chefs are making a full-court press with in-demand themed treats in time for Game 5 against the San Antonio Spurs.
Here are some of the hotspots getting major foot traffic for their Knicks-themed goodies.
Patrizia’s
Pasta eaters are flocking to Patrizia’s to score the new Jalen Brunson Rigatonia.
The family-style Italian chain rolled out the $24.99 plate — honoring the team’s star point guard at all 19 restaurant locations — just before the finals started.
The in-house rigatoni is dyed blue using natural blueberry extract, then topped with a spicy orange vodka cream sauce, plus generous dollops of burrata cheese.
Antonio Alaio, owner of Patrizia’s Manhattan, told The Post that diners have been packing in just to get a taste of the dish after it went viral on social media.
But you’d better be quick.
“Over the weekend, we sold out. Approximately 600 pounds of pasta since launching our pasta special last week across all our locations,” said Alaio.
That’s 1,200 orders citywide — translating to an extra $20,000 just from Knicks pasta alone.
Noa, a Café
For those with a sweet tooth, a newer bakery — cleverly titled Noa, a Café — is already making fans with its vibrant cinnamon rolls.
Its two locations — the first debuted in Nomad in April 2023, and the second is now open in the West Village — have been blasting through about 150 to 200 cinnamon rolls on game days only, according to founder Nicki Dehghani.
That’s in addition to the 100 to 300 non-themed rolls with cream cheese frosting they produce every day.
“We wish we could do more! But that is what we have time to produce at the moment,” Dehghani said of the popular product, which offers the option of orange or blue frosting and sprinkles for $9.
Junior’s Restaurant and Bakery
In a rare move, legendary Junior’s Restaurant and Bakery added something special to its famed cheesecake line: melt-in-your-mouth Knicks vanilla cupcakes, boasting frosting, a fondant wafer, a Knicks logo and sprinkles on top.
“They are selling like hot cupcakes!” third-generation owner Alan Rosen proclaimed to The Post, saying they unloaded more than 1,000 cupcakes in the first week alone, adding: “Which is surprising since we are known for cheesecake.”
In fact, on the first day they became available, a single diner came to the 49th and Broadway location and bought them all — around 70.
At just $5.75 individually or $69 for a dozen, the chain has banked nearly $6,000 — and is still going strong.
Rosen noted that Junior’s, which opened back in 1950, is celebrating its 75th anniversary, only slightly younger than the 1946-born Knicks.
“We are both only getting better with age,” Rosen previously told The Post.
Butterfield Market
Upscale grocer Butterfield Market is also getting in on the game.
Its original Upper East Side location on Lexington Avenue — there’s also a newer spot on Madison — recently went viral for its exclusive, multi-product Dot Cake collab. Each 8-ounce confection is $11, whether Knicks-themed or regular, and fans have been lining up for a chance to score one.
Butterfield has also whipped up 12-packs of orange- and blue-frosted cupcakes for $24.99. Overall cupcake package sales have spiked from 200 per day to 220 across both locations since the playoff run.
And Knicks-themed cookies ($12.99 a box) have pushed cookie sales from roughly 300 per day to about 350.
In addition, they’ve been selling approximately 50 to 60 Knicks-themed cakes ($20 each) per day.
“The Knicks excitement has created a meaningful boost in our dessert business and has driven a noticeable increase in customer traffic and celebratory purchases,” Joelle Obsatz, CMO of Butterfield Market, told The Post.
Il Fornaio Bakery
Beloved Il Fornaio Bakery has been selling out of their most popular hand-crafted goodies since rolling out Knicks-themed cookies, cakes and cake pops.
Owner Marco Vicari revealed that just in Knicks items alone, the company made over $35,000 in sales since the finals kicked off. Most notably, cookies — at $30 a pound – have been a big seller at the Astoria staple, known for its luxe cakes, traditional Italian pastries and danishes.
“Since Game 3, which was our biggest day to date, we have sold over 500 pounds of Knicks rainbow cookies alone, and the orders have not stopped,” Vicari, who established the shop in 2011, told The Post.
Posting on Instagram just hours before Wednesday’s game, Vicari urged diners to call ahead and reserve theirs as other treats have sold out fast.
In recent days, online orders have skyrocked 100%, he told The Post.
Given that success and just ahead of Game 4, the bakery has also started selling personal-sized chocolate mousse cakes christened with the Knicks’ colors and logo on top.
Zabar’s
Meanwhile, Upper West Side landmark, Zabar’s (2245 Broadway), also jumped on the Knicks kick — big-time.
A rep told The Post that it has landed a $11,800 windfall from special team treats and merch.
The popular deli and grocery store, best known for selling 4,000 pounds of hand-sliced smoked fish per week, traded its signature black-and-white cookies for orange-and-blue-hued treats just ahead of Game 3.
Six-packs, available online, run $29.98; individual cookies are $4, first-come, first-served; in just a few days, the UWS staple nabbed $6,000 alone on those as fans line up to grab them, setting social media abuzz.
Zabar’s, which opened more than 90 years ago, also launched a limited-edition hat in Knicks colors ahead of Game 4. Two-hundred of the prized $28.98 merch sold out in just six hours, nabbing the deli nearly $5,800 in sales, a rep told The Post.
For those looking to score one, Zabar’s revealed it will restock with 200 more hats this weekend — but, no surprise, they expect to sell out again.
Raising the bar(s)
It’s no surprise that bars have also seen big wait times, and for Goldie’s Tavern — an official partner of the Knicks Playoff Bar Network, with a prime location at 135 W 30th St, just one block away from MSG — it’s certainly no different.
“It’s a level of ‘holy s–t’ we were not expecting. The best crowds we’ve ever had.” Wayne Gravesande, general manager of Goldie’s, told The Post, adding that he projects a whopping $40,000 to 50,000 in sales each game night.
The sports bar has been playing all games on massive projectors, and for Game 1 alone on June 3, 500 fans were standing outside early hours, waiting to get in ahead of the game’s 8:30 start.
Fans have even stood on cars outside just to catch a peek, the proud manager revealed.
