In our world, Wednesday is green market day. We may occasionally venture out to Union Square on a Friday or a Saturday, though Wednesdays are a given. If we’re in town to do some cooking, we’re at the green market on hump day. This morning was rainy and overcast, so we decided to go out for breakfast first to give things a chance to clear up. We drove off the Williamsburg Bridge and headed straight for the Clinton St. Baking Company. We had heard great things about this place, and we weren’t disappointed. My blueberry pancakes were enormous and light, with extra blueberries scattered about. I must confess that I prefer real maple syrup and butter to their hybrid maple butter, but the chorizo on the side helped bring things into balance. Alex’s southern breakfast with soft scrambled eggs, fried green tomatoes, cheese grits, and a hefty serving of bacon was awesome, and that’s probably what I’ll order next time. There will definitely be a next time.
After breakfast, there was time for a quick stroll to the Sugar Sweet Sunshine Bakery to pick up an assortment of cupcakes before heading over to the green market. If you’ve never tried these cupcakes, you really should. They are not too big, not overly frosted, extremely moist and tender, and pretty damned tasty. We had a cupcake tasting after dinner tonight, and although the lemon was the clear winner, the runners-up were pistachio and chocolate with vanilla frosting. The chocolate on chocolate was a little bit dry, and we didn’t actually get to the pumpkin or red velvet, which means breakfast tomorrow is all taken care of. I must mention the Bob, which I ate right after breakfast as a kind of pre-tasting test. It, though not part of the formal eating of the cupcakes, is my favorite.
We were remarkably restrained at the green market today and decided to make a quick stop at Whole Foods on our way out of town. Among the usual plethora of beautiful produce, there was a dazzling display of polished-looking ostrich eggs. Alex whipped out his camera and was politely asked not to use it by a nearby produce clerk. So you’ll just have to imagine these beautiful, cantaloupe-sized ostrich eggs. They are $39.99 apiece. There were also organic chicken eggs and duck eggs nestled close by. We wondered if perhaps they were stocked there in honor of the rumored Top Chef filming, or perhaps Whole Foods just has that kind of demand. We restrained ourselves from purchasing one, budgetary restrictions and all that. The beautifully stacked display did make us wonder, though, how can you tell when an ostrich egg is fresh? There’s no labeling of any kind, you can’t float them in water or crack them open to check the height of the yolk or tightness of the white. They’re not wrapped or labeled in any way, although they are in refrigeration. Still, for $40 an egg, I’d like to know that I’m getting a youthful product. Any ideas on freshness or uses for such an egg?
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