the best brownie you can buy on the jersey shore is at a little place you’d miss if you blinked, so I’m here to tell you not to. (to be fair, you could miss the whole town; it’s in loch arbour, the tiny village that 194 residents call home).
the place is the grateful deli, a cheerful, family-owned operation. on the counter are the brownies. they are not covered with icing or insipid colored sprinkles. and they are not perfect squares that look like they’ve been cut by ex-military animatrons. but if there’s anything I want to do with my writing, it’s to show that there is beauty in imperfection, especially when it comes to food. this brownie is honest home cooking that just happens to be sold at a deli in a teeny town. it looks like it, and it tastes like it. you’ll be glad.
I have a few really stellar brownie recipes in my arsenal. one is kahlua brownies. the other, called super fudge brownies, is from a 20+ year old mrs. fields cookbook, back when she scorned the use of transfats. consumption of both varieties have inspired numerous marriage proposals, so let’s just say I know from a good brownie.
they usually fall into two camps—fudgy or cakey—but if you factor in what is sold at many local bakeries and franchises, you need to add in a few more, far less palatable camps. these often contain chemicals, or they don’t have a true chocolatey flavor, or they’re dry. but more often than not, they taste like they come from a box. and quelle surprise, there’s a really good reason for that.
on the other hand, the bag into which austin (on-the-ball, young grateful deli cashier) put the brownie is nicely butter stained when I get it back to my house. always a good sign. plate, business end of a fork, go.
this is fudgy, sticky. smears the bottom of the plate in a really appealing way. sticks to the fork so you have to work it off like icing. the flavor is wildly deep, intense, unabashedly chocolatey. someone did not scrimp on the quality of the ingredients. you can’t snarf this brownie; it’s just too rich. and that’s coming from someone who really likes chocolate. those who like or need to pace themselves with real chocolate may choose to save half for when they get the munchies later that night while watching the daily show. jon would totally approve.
oh, tip: this brownie requires cold milk, and I don’t say that just because I never bothered to grow up and it’s my choice of beverage with anything chocolate. you want milk and not coffee or anything else because milk’s cold, clean smoothness counters the brownie’s dark richness. they play nicely together. perfection may not be beautiful, but balance is.
here’s how lame I am: I meant to take a picture of the brownie I bought yesterday, but after a few bites I was so deep into the chocolate vortex that I forgot. so I had to go back and get another one today. I know, you’re all crying in your beers for me.
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