Saved! By Baked Goods

If there is one thing I could eat every day for the rest of my life and never get tired of it, it's baked goods, of any kind, shape, or form. I am particularly obsessed with fresh bread, really crusty and fragrant. So it was particularly appropriate that this past Thursday, the baked goods paid me back for all my love and devotion.
Kanchan and I planned on meeting for dinner in the South End (SoWa, to be precise; post on Stella to follow!). I luckily found a parking space on the street, and quite unluckily, discovered that parking meters operate until 8PM in the South End. That's absurd! I, being who I am, had no change. Luckily, across the street from where I parked was a cute little bakery. Aha! I could get change.
So, I walked into Flour, and was instantly smitten. A large chalkboard behind the counter listed the soups, sandwiches, and breads of the day. A few small tables lined the giant window in the front of the shop that faced Washington St : perfect for people watching (a truly excellent way to spend time, especially in the South End). The space was so small that there was a sign on the front door asking patrons to leave their baby carriages outside. How cool is that?? Much appreciated by me. The bakery case was filled with every possible kind of scone and muffin, as expected, but there were also all sorts of more substantial things, such as beautiful glazed roast chicken and quiche.
I was very strong and focused and did not allow myself to waver from my goal of obtaining quarters to feed the meter (at 7PM! Absurd). I didn't want to just ask for change for the meter and started looking for what to buy. Well, that, and I was standing in a bakery - it will be a cold day in hell when I walk out of a bakery without having bought something. I am not big on sugar (read: do not allow myself to be big on sugar) and was looking for something on the savory side. And there they were : the most perfect pecan raisin rolls. I love them. Always and forever. So I got two, asked for some change, and happily walked out the door with my little brown bag.
The bit of roll that you see missing in the picture was eaten on the long walk back to my car. And by that I mean 20 feet. Ok. 15. It was so good! The bakery used golden raisins instead of the regular, sad-looking kind. The roll wasn't too sweet and was just crusty enough, with a bit of moisture right around each raisin. And so I was saved from a parking ticket (or a $16 valet fee. Again, absurd) by a couple of raisin pecan rolls. As always, the baked goods were there for me when I needed them most. I now had change for the meter and met Kanchan for dinner, fully intending to return to Flour for a more serious and thorough appraisal of all the beautiful things in their front case that I did not have time to salivate over.
~AK