October 11, 2007
Bread could be our favorite food. We especially love a chewy, tasty, dense bread with a hard crust such as a French baguette, the pan de pueblo of Spain, Cuban bread, any Italian bread, or the round loaves and rolls from Calandra's in New Jersey. We haven't found this type of bread here, despite many trips to the panaderia. But remember the song, "If you can't be with the one you love, honey, love the one you're with"? Mexicans have perfected pan dulce (sweet bread) and have given it as many varieties as the Italians have for pasta. And here's the lucky part: you don't have to know the name of the variety to try it. As you enter the panaderia, you pick up a big round tray and tongs, walk among the displays of tempting treats, and choose what appeals to you. Then you go to the counter where an attendant bags it and gives you a tally, which you take to the cashier, who gives you a receipt to take back to the bagger to trade for your baked goods. The price is very reasonable, and at the end of the day there are twofers. We have the good luck to live near both the Ideal and El Globo bakeries, two of the oldest and most traditional in the city. So, even though we still prefer our bread dense, substantial and crusty, we are steady customers of both the Ideal and the Globo. We can't fault a country that contributed both the tortilla and pan dulce to world cuisine for their lack of heft and crust.
Bread could be our favorite food. We especially love a chewy, tasty, dense bread with a hard crust such as a French baguette, the pan de pueblo of Spain, Cuban bread, any Italian bread, or the round loaves and rolls from Calandra's in New Jersey. We haven't found this type of bread here, despite many trips to the panaderia. But remember the song, "If you can't be with the one you love, honey, love the one you're with"? Mexicans have perfected pan dulce (sweet bread) and have given it as many varieties as the Italians have for pasta. And here's the lucky part: you don't have to know the name of the variety to try it. As you enter the panaderia, you pick up a big round tray and tongs, walk among the displays of tempting treats, and choose what appeals to you. Then you go to the counter where an attendant bags it and gives you a tally, which you take to the cashier, who gives you a receipt to take back to the bagger to trade for your baked goods. The price is very reasonable, and at the end of the day there are twofers. We have the good luck to live near both the Ideal and El Globo bakeries, two of the oldest and most traditional in the city. So, even though we still prefer our bread dense, substantial and crusty, we are steady customers of both the Ideal and the Globo. We can't fault a country that contributed both the tortilla and pan dulce to world cuisine for their lack of heft and crust.
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