Palm Sunday/Passover

Spent a lovely dinner with my friend Stephanie at Maz Mescal, a neighborhood Mexican restaurant. We must be senior citizens since we went at 4:30, shared an appetizer, shared an appetizer for two for our entree, but we did finish it up with a shared slice of Mud Pie (with ice cream) and cafe au lait. Nobody went home hungry.

However on the way home, I stopped at Tal Bagels thinking I could buy my yearly supply of macaroons. There are certain foods which I love but rarely buy because they always disappoint if it's not perfect, and macaroons are one of them. Typically the canned or packaged version are bready, doughy and lack flavor.

But, ahhhh... Tal Bagels' real, house-made macaroons. They came in plain, chocolate covered and almond, and I bought half a pound of almond. I like chocolate, but I'm more of a macaroon purist. By the way, an Israeli told me Tal means dew in Hebrew. Maybe it's like Morning Dew Bagels... Hmmm, that doesn't quite translate well.

In any event, despite being full from dinner, I could not resist biting into a macaroon. Yes, it was moist, chewy, sticky with a few razor thin slices of almond adhered to the side. Really, it was perfect. You can taste the almond and the coconut (REAL coconut) in equal shares. Contemplating the ones dipped in chocolate, I think it would make the macaroon too candy-ish so I think I made the right call with the almond. To me a macaroon is a great blend between candy and a cake.