by jessica yoon
So, why did I come to the states so suddenly? My sister is getting married! The wedding is next fall, but there’s so much planning to do my family thought it would be nice to have me around to help out. I don’t know how much help I was in the end, but I’m convincing myself that just my presence was of great moral support.
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When my mom visited way back in November we did a lot food exploring. We visited a lot of marchés, specialty food shops, and boulangeries. One of the gems we found was a bakery way up in the 20th arrondissement called La Flute Gana. We had first read about it in a Korean foodie’s essay book on Paris and fell in love with their story and the pain descriptions by the author.
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As I looked at the tantalizing desserts and stood amidst the urban wild, cabin decor of Baked bakery, I began to think that the long trip to Red Hook, Brooklyn would become the first of many. It was extremely difficult to narrow down the menu, especially after reading reviews here and flipping through their delicious cookbook. Finally my friend and I decided to order two cupcakes, a whoopie pie, two brownies, and apricot rosemary bar to go. Yes, it was kind of a beastly thing for two girls to do, but in our defense, we did not finish everything, it took us an hour and three transfers to get there, and we spent a fair amount of time working our way through. Excuses, excuses, I know.
We started off with the sweet and salty cupcake. It was definitely a winner for me. The chocolate cake had a upper crust like a brownie and the inner workings of a molten chocolate cake. Inside was a soft, almost melted chocolate filling that worked well with the mouse-like, airy frosting. Despite the layers of chocolate, it was a very delicate cupcake that gave a hint of salty caramel. In contrast to my opinion, my friend found the cupcake boring and cliche. I agree with the cliche, but the speckles of salt really saved it from being boring for me.
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I walked out of the subway on the Upper West Side and knew instantly that I was in the right place. The smell of baked chocolate and browned butter greeted me as I stepped out into the sunlight. It may have been my imagination and the anticipation of eating Levain Bakery’s famous chocolate chip cookies, but I lie not when I say I followed my nose to the small, almost hidden gem of a bakery. Actually, it wasn’t quite a direct journey. My sense of smell may be good, but my eyes sometimes fail me. I walked deliriously up and down Amsterdam Avenue trying to locate the semi-sub level bakery. I finally caved, and asked the fruit cart man who told me it was around the corner below the waxing salon. Hey! It wasn’t just me though, even my friend confidently strode past it and continued almost half a block before I finally caught up with her as I hopelessly (and obnoxiously) yelled, “Angela! Angela!” to a girl who had her headphones on. Levain is a very humble place. It’s not fancy, cutesy, or filled with shades of pastel. Here, it’s all about the tastes and smells.
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