March 02, 2004
The elusive Nesselrode.
We've never had a Nesselrode pie. In fact, we had no idea what one was until we read about it just now in the food section of the NY Times.
But Bernard Gwertzman's tale of how he found the long-lost Nesselrode pie of his youth sure makes us want to try one.
In the summer of 1987, shortly after moving back to New York from Washington, I tried to buy a Nesselrode pie for my younger son's birthday. But that creamy, chiffon pie with accents of chocolate, candied fruit and rum that I remembered so well from my childhood in the Bronx seemed to have disappeared.
I searched the obvious pastry shops. I asked in the obvious restaurants. I asked friends for tips. But as far as I could determine - this was not a scientific survey, mind you - Nesselrode was apparently no more. Like baked Alaska and Charlotte Russe, it seemed to have gone to the equivalent of food heaven.
And while we're talking about vanished foods, what's a Charlotte Russe, anyway?
Posted by Magpie at March 2, 2004 03:54 AM | TrackBackMy childhood was spent in the Bronx as well (at least the first three years, and I've lived here again for the past five), and I've never heard of a Nesselrode pie either. Charlotte Russe I know, though I can't recall ever having eaten any.
Posted by: Elayne Riggs on March 2, 2004 02:21 PM