The Girl Who Ate Everything

I have been eating a lot of bread lately, probably more than I have in my entire life. Why? Because...IT'S SO YUMMY!

Two days ago I went to Sullivan Street Bakery for a slice of bianca con pecorino and a pane alle olive. The weather was beautiful and people were sitting outside munching on their "pizza" so I also...sat outside and munched. Little bits of cheese nestled inside bubbles of bread. Ish. Okay, bread doesn't really bubble but you know what I mean. POCKETS! BUBBLE POCKETS! Yes. I don't like olives but I liked that olive loaf, so anything encapsulated in yeasted wheat is probably fine with me.

Before going to the bakery, I went to Kee's Chocolates to buy my mum a birthday present (for those curious enough, her 51st!). We have chocoholic tendencies but have never been to Kee's before. I heard any good things about it, mainly about the creme brulee truffle, and as it was so close to the bakery I figured I'd make a stop there. It's very small but cute with simple decorations (mainly plants) and oh my god, THE SMELL! THE AMAZING SMELL! Kee (I assume) was cooking some slivered almonds in a pan behind the cash register (you can see just about all of the preparation area in there) and it was a to-die-for smell, in my opinion. After saying that my mission was to get a present for my mum, she explained all the chocolates to me, all the while keeping an eye on those almonds. I was afraid of doing anything that could possibly undeliciousize (you know it's a real word) the almonds.

I got a 12 piece box for $19. As for what flavors I got, I don't really remember, but I got most of them. ;) I don't customarily buy single truffles for myself but I had to try the creme brulee, a dessert I used to eat probably too much. As I was getting ready to leave, a warning was given:

"Eat the creme brulee in one bite or the insides will spill out!"

I don't usually eat truffles in one bite as I like to see what's inside, but she was completely right (obviously; she made it!). As I bit into the truffle before going to Sullivan Street Bakery, it satisfyingly gave way (as in, it had that crisp-ness--know what I mean?) to AN ERUPTION OF CREME BRULEE! Okay, not an eruption, but the cracks looked like lava flows. I quickly jammed the rest in my mouth (maybe not the best way to eat chocolate, but oh well) and mmm mmm, I reveled in the bite sized creme brulee-ness. I bet the other truffles taste great too.

Gastronomie, epicurious.com and eGullet have some more info about Kee's Chocolates.

Oh, back to bread! Today I went to Le Pain Quotidien on Grand Street at around 8 AM before going to school. I passed by it last week thinking "Good lord, why didn't I know about this?" Because I don't usually go that far west on Grand! I have to walk around more and find more food (or rather, I shouldn't walk around more...erm). I love the interior design of the place; light browns, wood everywhere, long communal table. Feels cozy and open at the same time. :)

In front were the sweet pastry type goodies and cookies and on the back shelves were bread, huge loaves of em (they also sell spreads and chocolate on side shelves). You could buy some in half or quarter portions, thankfully. I got half a loaf of the walnut bread for $3.95 and they offered to slice it but I like tearing away my bread (and it makes me eat more slowly; sliced bread would be gone in SECONDS! Or MINUTES!). My half ball of wheat was plopped in a wax-lined bag, put into another plastic bag (I guess I didn't need the other bag, oops) and I sat on some nearby stairs to tear off a chunk.

Ah. Happiness. I like eating with my hands and yes, as someone taking food microbiology and living in NYC I know I must ingest loads of crap eating with my hands. MY DIRTY HANDS. Yet I'm okay. Perhaps one day I'll get some horrible microbial intoxication, but I haven't yet.

Today's happiness was brought to you by a morning walk in cool, semi breezy (and humid) weather, half a loaf of bread, and Magnet coming out of my iPod. ;)