The wheat bushel blues!

Check out this Los Angeles Times article about the rising cost of wheat and how it could affect bread consumption. If you're like me and you're not crazy about low carb diets, you might want to read this...

Best breadbasket on the East Side...

Dusty's Bistro in Silver Lake serves what is potentially the best, most delicious breadbasket on the East Side. I have yet to partake in any other East Side breadbaskets, but The Great American Bakery Hunt will be on the lookout!

Carbohydrates, Destruction, and True Love

Does anyone else find this a little disturbing?

I asked the woman at the bakery if people really eat these, or just use them as some sort of absurd decoration. She said that customers typically use the bears for their dinner rolls...

Personally, I thought that they might be special promotional items for Valentine's Day, since the bear has a heart shape in its torso. After all, God knows there's nothing more romantic than sitting down to a dinner with your sweetheart and simulating the dismemberment of an innocent bear.

So all you lovers out there, if you must, pick up one of these dinner rolls of destruction and get rough with your carbohydrates. Just remember: Butter knives don't kill bears, people kill bears.

the best thing since Otto Frederick Rowhedder

According to this story, bakers once thought that the idea of a bread slicer was crazy. Back when the first model of a slicer was invented, Otto Frederick Rowhedder had to work hard to gain credibility for his invention. Check out the article and read a bit of history behind the man who eventually inspired the phrase "the best thing since sliced bread."

Seems retailers are catching on to my expatriate sensibilities

Do you want your clothing to reflect your deep love of Scandinavia? I sure do! Here at The Great American Bakery Hunt, we have a great appreciation for all things Scandinavian, largely (but not solely) because of the amazing Scandinavian bakeries that make this world a better place.

Enter Norwegiantees.com, an online retailer dedicated to Norwegian inspired t-shirts. Each shirt has a brief English explanation that describes how Norwegian culture influenced the design. Many of the designs capture the carefree, honest humor that is often associated with Scandinavian culture.

For example, a t-shirt featuring a moose design includes a caption that reads:

"The moose is the largest animal in the deer family which trots around the Norwegian woods and is called the king of the woods. Did you know that "hollering for the moose" is Norwegian slang, which means puking after a night of partying on the town? You do now..."

I can't say that I have any sentimental value for that phrase, since I was a resident of Denmark (Although I will surely be flaunting this new lingo around the streets of Orange County. "Did you see ___ last night? (S)he was hollerin' for the old moose like there was no tomorrow!, or maybe "Better not have one more drink, Bob. You'll be hollering for the moose by midnight at this rate.")

One of the shirts really struck a chord in my Scandinavia-obsessed heart:

My favorite is the ostehøvel tee, a wearable ode to cheese and the tool that makes eating it possible. When I lived in Denmark, there was nothing better than a warm home-baked slice of bread in the morning topped with butter, jam, and a stinky (and I mean that in the best way possible) creamy slice of Danish cheese.

Sadly, I do not know how I can replicate this breakfast concoction here in the states. Not only am I lacking fresh home-made bread made by my jolly Danish host mother, but I have no idea what that glorious stinky cheese is called! It never had a label, but always remained a mysterious, lovely presence in our small Danish fridge-- a big block of dairy greatness.

On most mornings in Denmark, I grabbed my open-faced cheese, butter, and jam sandwich as I ran out the door to catch my bus to school into Copenhagen. When I think of mornings in Roskilde, I think of that cheese, my voracious morning appetite, and how I was certain that the bus driver sniffed it as I took discreet bites and tried to bypass the "no eating" rule. (On a somewhat unrelated note, I also recall the theme song of a silly Danish children's show playing in the background as I struggled out the door each day with bookbag, breakfast, madpakke (lunch bag), and overcoat in tow. My host sister was a loyal morning viewer of "Martin og Ketil", a show that featured Martin, and his friend Ketil in a sort of Space Age hyperactive version of Mr. Rogers. Although I could rarely understand what they were saying, it was probably one of the funniest children's shows I ever layed eyes on. The two grown men went through a ritual each day, where they mixed a seemingly random, and often disgusting, combination of ingredients in their blender, which sat in the center console of their spaceship. I never found out why.)

Anyhow, those morning bus ride breakfasts live on in my memory: the thrill of defiance as I nibbled on the soft middle of the bread (the risk always worth the payoff), the perfectly chewy outside crust, my DSB transportation pass smeared with the residue of delicious, heavenly Danish butter, and the jingle of the Martin og Ketil theme song dancing around in my head. The simple ingredients were so satisfying, and as I sit here blogging, it's very possible that if I don't stop daydreaming, I will drool on my keyboard at the very thought of it.

That's all I can handle folks. It is with a heavy heart that I conclude this post. I would love to wear my ostehøvel shirt and support the young Norwegian designers that run Norwegiantees.com, but $40 (including shipping) for a t-shirt is a little too steep for my budget right now.

I am hoping to actually travel again in Scandinavia, and I best be saving up since Copenhagen will hardly be easy on the billfold. If anyone wants to buy ostehøvel for me, I promise to write you a nice thank you letter with a heartfelt "Tusind Tak" inside. But I would suggest buying one for yourself to keep the folks at Norwegian tees in business.

Clearly, a Norwegian tee is a wonderfully clever and whimsical gift, one that keeps on giving. And if you don't get it at the $40 price now, you know the t-shirts will be retailing at some outrageous $80 price at Urban Outfitters later on. I wish I was joking, but it is destined to happen. (I find that the trendy retailer is often exploiting the desires of wannabe expatriates like myself. Take this Europe themed hoodie , for example, an item that preys upon my aspirations to be an adventurous jetsetter. But how will I travel if I spend my money on $54 hoodies? Lucky Brand already snatched up my hard-earned dollars this year by designing a Paris-themed Eiffel Tower t-shirt. This madness has to stop somewhere.)

And so, my heart gets heavier, as I long for wonderful, wonderful Copenhagen once again, and hope that someday, I will return to Europe.

Day of the Dead Bread...

For those of you who are still obsessing over Halloween, don't forget that November 1st and 2nd mark traditional Day of the Dead celebrations. The Napa Valley Register features a dazzling Day of the Dead photo by Andrea Roth. Like any dedicated bakery hunter, I value any holiday that glorifies bread products, and this photo features quite a spread.

I can think of no better way to honor the dead than through a bread tribute. And this is the purpose of "“pan de los muertos” (bread of the dead), one of the many objects that family members gather for this holiday to pay tribute to their deceased loved ones. Bakeries that specialize in this type of bread experience a typical spike in sales around the time of this holiday.

This tradition reminds me of one of my favorite movie sequences, from "Man on the Moon" with Jim Carrey. Carrey plays comedian Andy Kaufman, a man who buys milk and cookies for thousands of strangers as one of his last hurrahs after finding out he has lung cancer. (In reality, Kaufman's timing was not quite as touching as it appeared in the film. According to L.A. Weekly, Kaufman did this years before he was diagnosed). I have always remembered that story though, despite the fact that the tricky screenwriters took some liberty with the sequence of events.

That moment on film just seemed so appropriate to me. Kaufman's cookies and milk gesture pays homage to the idea that when it comes to honoring a life, food is everything and everything is food.

Food remains the one constant in our lives. On any given day it is there to feed you, but also to comfort you, thrill you, romance you, make you drool-- even make you feel whole. Whether to celebrate life or celebrate death, food becomes a part of our most meaningful expressions, our most closely held memories. And this is why The Great American Bakery Hunt is a noble hunt indeed.

World's Most Expensive Restaurants...

Check out the World's Most Expensive Restaurants article featured on Forbes.com. Out of the restaurants they describe, my favorite one to dream of will be Alberto Ciarla in Rome. According to Forbes, dinner for one at this Italian restaurant will run you about $113, but it all seems worth it since any prix-fixe menu you choose will come with SIX different kinds of bread.

After all, six breads are way better than one.

40, Piazza San Cosimato Rome 153 Italy
+39 6 581 8688 / +39 6 581 6068
alberto@albertociarla.com