episode 51: cosmic brownies, banana pudding, and April Fools!

discussing April Fools food marketing, the resurgence of cosmic brownies, my homemade banana pudding - and more!

an ode to the cosmic brownie 🍫

cosmic brownies, the dense and fudgy Little Debbie snack of our youth, are making a comeback, at least according to Bon Appetit. homemade or gourmet versions of the treat have appeared on menus at big restaurants and bakeries, like Chef Kwame Onwuachi’s restaurant Tatiana, Chip City in NYC, or Fat+Flour in LA. this likely represents a trend towards more nostalgic baking, as people move away from the European pastry tradition. sales of actual Little Debbie cosmic brownies are up too, doing 530 million last year alone. even though, yes, it is just a brownie, the colorful look and specific texture that reminds us of our youth is fun not just for the consumer, but for the chefs too.

best day of the year: April Fools recap 🤣

ah my favorite day of the year, April Fools - when the corporate marketing and social media girlies have their day to shine. every April 1, I hop onto my food instagram to frantically repost every funky fake product I see. here were some of my favorites from last week:

• Cheez-Its cold foam creamer - a collaboration with Coffee mate. I would try this, is that bad…it kind of reminds me of cheese foam at a boba shop!

• Fishwife x Veso anchovy vermouth (which turned out to be REAL!)

• nano citrus, brought to you by Sumo Citrus. this made me chuckle.

• MËATBALLM from IKEA. yes, a meatball-flavored lip balm. I know people who would clamorrr for this…

if you’re yearning for more jokey products, this article has a roundup of even more April Fools collabs - I chuckled at Califia Farms x Tabasco “peppermilk”, Kikkoman soy sauce perfume, and Welch’s $19 singular strawberry fruit snack.

a pirates booty coup? 😠

the founder of your favorite puffed-cheese snack, Pirate’s Booty, has taken a page out of Trump’s book and gone a little…wacky! Robert Ehrlich, who started Robert’s Gourmet Foods, was trying to appoint himself as the mayor of Sea Cliff, a small village in Long Island. he attempted to utilize a New York state law that permits residents to dissolve local government structures and rebuild with signatures from 10% of the town voters. Ehrlich stormed into town offices “with signatures” that he refused to show the workers, and was denied his request. so he then entered the race for mayor as a write-in candidate, and he lost miserably. he then became angry and marched into the Town Hall falsely claiming he was the mayor and attempted to fire all the existing staff. after his continued insistence and aggression towards the city’s staff, police had to intervene to remove him. someone had a little tantrum….

tariffs again 🙄

import tariffs aimed at Mexico, Canada, and China (and more) were set to take effect this week, though Trump paused some and allowed others to move forward. eventually, whatever does take effect will impact a huge swath of consumer goods and the overall supply chain. of course, this will impact prices at the grocery store for consumers (which is what we’ve said all along!!), as a large percentage of food and agricultural products will rise in cost. some of the staple grocery categories set to get more expensive include seafood, coffee, fruit, alcohol, rice, cheese, nuts, and olive oil. so….basically everything. either stock up, or pay the costs down the line, I guess :(

are steak fries good? 🍟

I mean, my take before coming across this article? nah. my take after reading this article: hmmmm maybe? steak fries rank among the least popular of all the types of fries in the US, but some chefs want to bring them back. the case against them: they’re bulky, appear more scant on a serving plate, and get soggier faster. generally, they evoke thoughts of yesteryears — before the advent of superior fry shapes (curly fries! waffle fries! literally anything else!) however, a few chefs have stuck by the steak fry and maintained a loyal customer following by adding special spice mixes to the fry or serving them with incredible sauces. the wide and flat shape of the fry does make it a great vehicle for dips. read more and tell me what you think!

things on the internet about food I enjoyed recently 📲

this is the content spotlight corner. enjoy the following:

• this very funny video about hollandaise sauce. Charli XCX meets Bo Burnham vibes. i’ve learned that it is indeed, very hard to make, and it’s always more fun to learn about things from a song!

• this video about food and fashion intersecting. its a beautifully done piece that highlights the how food is highlighted in fashion marketing, positioning it to be seen as a luxury good in a world where costs of groceries are becoming unattainable for normal folks.

• this NYT Cooking video from their series Fridge Tours. Chef Scott Loitsch shows us his iconic second freezer filled with homemade ice cream and individually-scooped cookie dough disks. I want to be that kind of rich one day!

• this recipe for a “crisp martini” from NYC restaurant Hillstone. I don’t know this restaurant, but the girlies have been loving this recipe (that is not really a martini? considering it has St. Germain and is topped with wine?) I still want to try it!!

NYC sandwich tours! 🥪

if you like sandwiches, and if you live in or visit NYC, I have a suggestion for you! my friend Tim works for A Man and His Sandwich, a sandwich tour company in New York. the founder, Ben Gollan is a former Australian lawyer who loves sandwiches and created the tour company when he was moved to the States with his wife. they take guests on a walking tour stopping at multiple sandwich shops to try sandwiches, and along the way they discuss very important questions, like “is a hot dog a sandwich” over the 3-ish hour walk. a food tour like this is a great way to explore a city and learn from someone else while immersed in your surroundings (and off Google Maps!). I have yet to take the tour but I will confidently give it my endorsement prior to experiencing it!

restaurant review: All the Kebabs 🍗

literally any food made by the folks at Yellow (or Albi and La’Shukran for that matter) is fantastic, and Yellow Union Market’s evening menu, All the Kebabs, is no exception. we had such a lovely dinner here, including a stellar labneh with onions, fluffy and fresh pitas, my friend’s Levantine G&T (sumac gin!), my ‘spro-tini (w/chai!), the duck breast and oyster mushroom kebab served with tons of veg, and of course we haddd to get the soft serve (labne and cold brew twist!!!) for dessert. it’s really no surprise the food rocked here, and I will take any chance to have their labneh I can get. couldn’t recommend more!!

cocktails, labneh, pita, kebabs, soft serve!!

f*cked up food 🤢

is that a crime…?????

dc happenings 📝

openings

• Bar Angie opening today in West End (I got to go to their Friends & Family opening this week - very cool martini bar vibes!)

• Kalorama Market, local grocer & deli, opened

• P St Compass Coffee opened

• The Whale Tea opened in Van Ness

• Pitango Gelato opening on 14th St this summer (!!!!)

• new bar Problem Child opening in Navy Yard

• Tango Pastry opening on H St

• Joia Burger opening 2nd location on Wisconsin Ave

• (YAAAS!!!!) Chai Pani coming to Union Market in August

• (f yes!!!!) Botiwalla, from Chai Pani restaurant group, coming to Upton Place/Tenleytown

• new H St location of Dolcezza opened last weekend (I went, its very cute!)

• Lost Sock Roasters coming to NoMa this summer

• yet another Tatte in AdMo

• Falafel Sam coming to AdMo

• Juneberry Garage patio bar opened on old Walter Reed Campus

• Xi’an Famous Foods opening in Alexandria!!

closings

• Julia’s Empanada closing :/

• wow, Lucky Buns closed on the Wharf - JINYA Ramen coming

• Negril, the jamaican eatery closing near Howard

other

• some fancy Mexican chocolate you can get at the Dolcezza in the Hirshhorn Museum

home cooking 🧑‍🍳

pudding assembly and pasta pic

I made so many fun things recently:

• banana pudding: finally!!! I have loved banana pudding for so long, but it’s a recipe you have to make a whole batch of, not just one serving. the perfect opportunity arose when I hosted friends for a craft afternoon, giving me an excuse to whip up (literally!) a batch. NYT has published Magnolia Bakery’s recipe and it’s pretty easy (even for a non-baker like me).

• spinach pasta: I went to Eden Center again (we love having friends with cars) and got a lot more spinach. this week, I was craving pasta so I made a green sauce of sorts, with a little sautéed spinach, spices, lemon, and cottage cheese (you could use cream or silken tofu here!) and then I toasted breadcrumbs for a ‘lil crunch.

• pad thai: I came into possession of some pad thai noodles, so I got vegetables and ingredients for the sauce at Eden. after I assembled the ingredients (most of them!) I discovered that the noodle packets came with sauce 😞 so we used that, which honestly was just ok. now what do I do with a huge bunch of garlic chives??? please let me know!

---

thanks for reading, friendies!