As a millennial of a certain age, I can admit that I am somewhat seduced by the concept of New York City. I mainlined a steady diet of Sex and the City and Broadway musicals from puberty into my early twenties, and all that pro-deli propaganda has a real effect on a girl’s psyche. I say all of this as an admission that I am just as likely to assume that something that hails from New York City—insert Pace picante sauce commercial voice here—brings with it a little bit of gravitas.
And relatedly, I can admit that I was initially a little excited that so much of New York has become readily available in Dallas. I can go have a smoked salmon tower at Sadelle’s for brunch, pop over to Van Leeuwen for midday ice cream, and grab coffee at Maman before sitting down to dinner at Catch. There are two problems with this itinerary, though: first, I am merely a broke journalist and cannot afford to eat quite so lavishly, and second, even if I could, none of these places would be worth spending much of my hard-earned cash.
This realization was sparked by a recent trip to Maman, where I waited in line for what felt like an eternity as I browsed the menu of $8 lattes and $6 cookies made in collaboration with Martha Stewart. Again I will admit that I was excited to try the gingerbread chocolate chip cookie that earned the Martha stamp of approval—until I walked up to the pastry case and noticed that nearly every single cookie in the case, gingerbread or not, was burnt around the edges. I do not mean slightly too browned, either. B-U-R-N-T…