Archive for September, 2009
Cannelle Patisserie – A Diamond in the Rough (of the Strip Mall)
Finding Cannelle Patisserie is an adventure in its own right. Since it’s located in the upper reaches of Jackson Heights (and dabbling into East Elmhurst), it involves both train & bus for me to get there from my Brooklyn roost. Then… hmm… where is it? Did I write the address down wrong?  Nope, it turns out this real French patisserie is located waaay back in Waldbaum’s strip mall, requiring you to walk through a suburban-sized parking lot to get there.
Graham Crackers – What’s up with them?
There’s nothing quite like a graham cracker crust with your key lime pie or your cheesecake, is there? And what would s’mores be without ’em?
So who was this Graham person, and why did he invent this cracker/cookie hybrid? It turns out there’s a fabulous story behind him, best told at The Straight Dope. Sylvester Graham (1794-1851) was an American dietitian who started a movement to get people to eat healthy foods– an early Gwyneth Paltrow, if you will. He advocated lots of good stuff you can totally get behind: eating whole grains and vegetables, brushing your teeth and bathing daily, getting lots of exercise, and sleeping 7 hours a night. Unfortunately, he also forbade alcohol, spices (including salt & pepper), sugar, fat, and meat. And so it was through this “Graham Diet†that the idea for graham crackers came about, as they’re supposed to be bland little healthy snacks that are made with whole wheat flour. In his day, people thought white flour was the flour of refinement, and that only poor people ate coarsely ground whole wheat flour, so Graham had a tough time convincing them otherwise. Now, before you think he was a bastion of good sense (albeit a bit puritanical), I must inform you that one of his main reasons for promoting this healthy lifestyle was to stave off the evils of what he called “the self-abuse,†aka masturbation. He believed that sexual exertions led to all kinds of nasty things, like blindness, epilepsy, indigestion, and insanity. Through lots of cold baths and bland food, one could keep these impulses at bay. The guy ended up having quite a bit of influence, most notably on Harvey Kellogg of Kellogg’s (Super-Bland) Cornflakes fame. Also, Americans do shower a lot.
In 1898, Nabisco was able to successfully market graham crackers, adding honey to the recipe in 1925, and continuing to change it until we’ve got the common graham cracker of today: full of refined flour, sugar, fat, and chemicals– exactly what Graham railed against. If you’re on the hunt for more of an old-school graham cracker, look for Health Valley brand. It’s sure to curb your sexual appetite.
Dairy Queen – My Dessert Alma Mater
Oh, Dairy Queen, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways…
My first job at the grand-old age of 14 was at the DQ down the street from me. Ah, the camaraderie and the 90s R&B music played all day long… ah, the numerous “mistakes†we were allowed to eat. Now, I realize that DQ is no Payard Patisserie. I get it. What DQ represents for me is summer, a simpler time of life, and smooth, creamy soft serve. Since there’s no DQ to be found in NYC (a Carvel conspiracy, perhaps?), I pounce on any DQ I find during a road trip or trip back home. My favorite treat is the Pecan Cluster Blizzard, a wondrous mix of vanilla soft serve, pecans, butterscotch syrup, and chocolate dip hardened and blended into chunks. The sweetness of the butterscotch, mixed with the texture and crunch of the nuts, finished with the chocolateyness of the dip are heaven itself for me. Also on offer are old-school soda fountain drinks like the Chocolate Malted (favored by my dad) and the Boston Cooler (a mixture of Vernor’s Ginger Ale & vanilla soft serve). When I moved to the East Coast, it took me a long time get used to the “pop = soda” thing because the word “soda†conjures for me visions of ice cream treats like a chocolate soda… mmmm…
Steve’s AUTHENTIC Key Lime Pies – Treats “On the Waterfront”
Going to Steve’s AUTHENTIC (all-caps!) Key Lime Pies is like visiting a crazy sea captain, if said sea captain kept a hermitage on a pier in Red Hook and baked delicious pies all day. Just follow the sign on Van Brunt & Van Dyke Sts., past the little garden crowned with a boat, and you’ll find the promised: “Pie’s Here.â€Â Hooray! Inside you’ll find a relatively dark, vaguely nautical-themed space which is the wholesale bakery itself with a small counter for purchasing pies. Steve’s is very insistent on making sure you understand that getting an actual key lime pie is rare. Key limes are a specific variety of limes that are named after the Florida Keys and are much smaller, more yellow, and more acidic than regular Persian limes you’d buy at the store. They’re rare because they’re annoying to deal with: the thornier the key lime tree, the more fruit it bears, and the little buggers are chock full of seeds. Steve’s is proud to take on the burden: they import the limes, squeeze and deseed them, make the pies, and sell them in Red Hook and through various lucky establishments throughout the city. The menu is simple: you get either a key lime pie in various sizes or you get a Swingle, which is a 4″ tart dipped in dark, semi-sweet Belcolade chocolate and frozen on a popsicle stick. I’ve had it once, and I’m not sure whether the sourness of the limes marries well with the bitterness of the chocolate– it’s a bit much to ask of the tongue, perhaps. I always get the regular 4″ personal tart with its smooth and citrusy filling in the tasty Graham cracker crumb crust. It’s not too sweet and not too sour– the perfect balance.
Grom – Gelateria Delizioso
When visiting Grom, you may be tempted, Baskin-Robbins-style, to head straight over to the ice cream counter to pick which flavor has the biggest chunks of chocolate, fresh-fruitiest color, and what have you– NOT SO FAST! If you do, you’ll lose your place in line like we did. There’s really not much to see anyway as all the gelati are contained in canisters with metal lids. Plus, if you wait patiently in front of the registers for your turn, you’ll be waited upon by Grom professionals who will supply you with samples upon request. Another plus is that, even for a small, you can get two flavors. This way, my friend and I tasted three delicious gelati and a sorbet: Bacio, which is a popular Italian flavor of chocolate and hazelnut; Crema di Grom, containing “Battifollo” biscuits and chocolate chips; Crema come una volta, containing egg yolks and a hint of lemon; and Albicocca (Apricot) sorbet.
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