BOSTON, part II

some time ago, i saw a brief story on Food Network (i think?) about the "lobster tail." not the crustacean, but a pastry item vaguely reminiscent of a lobster tail's shape, made of a sweet cream filling surrounded by crisp, concentric rounds of pastry. hopefully this picture helps clarify my half-assed description:

up until this week, i'd never seen one of these in the wild, and IIRC the point of the Food Network story was that hardly anyone makes 'em anymore, since the recipe is such a pain in the ass...

anyway, i was at Faneuil Hall when one of the bakeries in Quincy Market just put out a fresh tray of lobster tails. they were kinda pricey ($4.65) but i figured, when was i ever going to stumble across one of these babies in San Diego?

well, i'm glad i bought it because it was DELICIOUS. the pastry was exceptionally crisp and buttery, lightly sweetened from a dusting of powdered sugar, and provided brilliant textural contrast to the fluffy innards. recipes i've seen on the web seem to indicate that the filling can vary, from something ricotta-based, like a cannoli, to just whipped cream. this version of the lobster tail was filled with a light vanilla pastry cream (probably cut with whipped cream?) but still dense enough to be extremely satisfying. one of these is more than enough to fill you up for an afteroon, so $5 starts to seem pretty cheap...

if you ever get the chance to try one of these suckers, do yourself a favor... but you might want to share with a hungry (and not diet-conscious) friend!