![]() ![]() My slice melted in my mouth, light but luscious and not cloyingly sweet, thanks to the honey's floral notes. The dessert's popularity bumped it from an occasional special to a menu staple, and it's no wonder. "It's my mom's traditional recipe," Maryam said with pride. For her traditional Russian honey cake, she hand-rolls eight thin layers of cake between blankets of cream cheese frosting and bejewels the top with tiny beads of honey. And then we all bow when we have a good day. That's how they are treated in the kitchen. "Make sure they are in the right oven, with the right pan, there is the right amount of air blowing on them. ![]() "We have to kind of treat them like princesses, macarons, like a queen," said Maryam, who now employs two bakers. The egg-white-and-almond-flour treats (distinct from American coconut macaroons) require precise measuring, painstaking mixing and carefully controlled humidity. That meant perfecting the famously tricky process of making the cookies. She stayed home and launched Matryoshka's, named after the Russian nesting doll. She began making the delicacies when, pregnant with the couple's second child, she found that the cost of childcare outstripped her wages. Maryam tasted macarons for the first time in Russia, she said. The delicate cream-filled cookies look like little jewels in bright colors that signal their sumptuous flavors: pumpkin spice, maple black raspberry, chocolate espresso, white chocolate cranberry and cinnamon bun. She sells them at Leunig's Petit Bijou on Church Street in Burlington and, occasionally, at farmers markets. Meanwhile, Maryam's macarons have developed a following across Vermont. He added of Travis, "I think he's got it right." "The spices, the blackening, is very authentic, and it tastes great," McRae said. It's the only one he has found that comes close to the sandwiches he has eaten in New Orleans, he said. Marty McRae, who happens to be the Counter kids' school bus driver, stopped by the café while I visited to pick up his regular order of the shrimp po'boy. It just became a melting pot of all these different cuisines and varietals that created its own cuisine." GOODTIMES PIZZA HOW TO"It's just what they had at their disposal and how to utilize it, but using the influence from Africa and the Spaniards coming over and the French coming over and the Italians coming over. ![]() "It is such an homage to, I guess 'cooking the land' is the best way to put it," he said of Cajun food. Good Times orders its crawfish from a Louisiana purveyor and its shrimp from Gulf fishermen, Travis said. (Travis said he has struggled with supply shortages of some items, including okra, so he may not have had it for that batch.) The étouffée contained chunks of succulent crawfish, sweet peppers and onions in a light sauce that was less fishy than a down-South version but let the delicate flavors emerge. ![]() The gumbo, laden with chicken, andouille sausage and vegetables, boasted a rich smokiness but lacked the signature okra with its distinct texture. I got some Louisiana hot sauce if they want to kick it up." "I'm trying to back off because everyone's a little different, and Vermont is not well known for its spice," he said. Its blackened shrimp were just peppery enough to give a satisfying kick to the sandwich enclosed in dense focaccia and accompanying rémoulade, the classic mayonnaise-based dressing. I visited this month to sample the offerings, including the po'boy. He takes pride in getting the Cajun spices right, though bayou buffs have told him that the dishes could use more Louisiana heat. ![]()
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