Almond Joy

My current vices, as I’ve let on previously, are pretty limited. An occasional square of dark chocolate, a Heineken here, a couple glasses of wine there. Mama is my name and tame is my game…

I should, however, confess my obsession with marzipan. I’m addicted, in particular to Ritter dark chocolate/marzipan bars. Got hooked on those things when I lived in Brooklyn and they sold them at the deli around the corner from my house. They are not so easy to come by out here in the boonies but miraculously available at Target, which makes me love that place even more (there, I admit it. I love Target). I recently found myself doing a little jig in the frozen food aisle when I discovered that Ben and Jerry’s had launched (so to speak) a new flavor called…Mission to Marzipan. Yeehaw! Have only indulged a couple of times so far. (philosophically opposed to spending 4+ dollars a pint for ice cream but sometimes it’s impossible to resist).

And how I miss almond croissants. They were always my favorites in Paris. They used to make a mean one at Bruno Bakery on Lorimer St in Williamsburg, a few blocks from my old place. One of those and a cup of black coffee always put me in a euphoric state of mind. They also made kickass pignoli tart (heavy on the almond paste). There were some Turks who had a bakery in a strip mall in a neighboring town and produced a soggy, overpriced version. But they closed up shop a year or two ago. (couldn’t handle life in exurban hell?). So, I’m still looking for a decent almond croissant out here, but there is a place that makes a killer Rhubarb pie.