Cinnamon Snail Time!

When it's mid-summer already and I have yet to visit the Red Bank Farmer's Market for The Cinnamon Snail, I know I've let you down.  Don't worry, I've let myself down too.  But I made up for it, recently, with these.

Hello, Cinnamon Snail; how YOU doin'?

We arrived bright and early and, as we waited for our gourmet food to be prepared fresh to order, we watched the line accumulate.

Understand that there is a whole, bustling farmer's market too...but the vegan organic truck is clearly the main draw.  How great is that?  Kudos to the incomparable Chef Adam Sobel.

Choosing Cinnamon Snail desserts is a little like shopping at a sample sale: if you see something you want, you'd better grab it; it will not be there when you come back.  The variety of desserts available, coupled with the line, always gives me anxiety.  What should I get*?  Am I getting enough? 

Most importantly, how many will fit in my tupperware?

And then it happens; our meal is ready.  The friendly folks at Tommy's Coal Fired Pizza were, once again, kind enough to allow us to sit at their outdoor seating area to enjoy our meal because it was early and they hadn't opened yet.

If you too are lucky enough to be on the receiving end of their generosity, please remember to be considerate and leave the area as clean as you found it (or cleaner in VM's case).

The festive meal:

Would someone please just inject this exquisite strawberry lemonade directly into my veins?  It is incredible!  I'm not usually a fan of flavored lemonades, but this isn't "flavored", folks; it's the real thing: strawberry bits and everything.  So.  Good.  And refreshing!  We actually tried to come back for some later in the day, but alas the market was finished.

Once again, I fully intended to order breakfast.  I've been eying all of the offerings- french toast, waffles, and scramble wrap- for quite some time now; however, my intentions were foiled as I could not resist the tofu banh mi.   Extremely well done with all the right textures, a nice little kick and, praise be- no cilantro by design!  As if that isn't enough to get your mouth watering, I wouldn't be surprised if the kimchi was homemade.  Divine.

VM was really disappointed that her "usual" (miso glazed shitake mushroom sandwich with grilled onion, olive tapenade and arugula on 7 grain bread) wasn't on the menu, but she managed to make due with what Chef Adam had whipped up as the day's special sandwich: "Provencal white wine tempeh with white truffle aioli, arugula, and kalamata olive artichoke tapenade on a grilled baguette".  It was extremely yummy, and the tapenade ultimately won her over.

Just so you know, these are the other halves.  We're talking seriously large sandwiches, folks.  And the bread?  The bread is so good and fresh and perfect!  Tip: ask nicely for your sandwich to be halved... and then you can share.

Now you might think I dipped into my take-home, donut booty at this point, but you'd be wrong.

And do you know why you'd be wrong?  Because I had the forethought to get an extra peanut butter chocolate cookie dough donut on the side.  I'm no fool.

VM is not as forward thinking in matters such as these, but I let her have an apple cider donut anyway because she's swell.

But back to mine.  I mean really, how can you not love this donut?  I could go for twelve one right now.

Chocolate glaze, chocolate filling, peanut butter goodness, peanuts, chocolate chips...

...and then we were done.

We headed back out to the farmer's market and what do you know, The Cinnamon Snail line had only grown.

We walked around the many fruit and vegetable stands, and then spied Papa Ganache selling an assortment of the vast goodies available at their shop.

Keeping with the theme, Veggie Brothers was there selling a variety of their prepared, frozen, vegan meals. 

We made one other stop at the market, but I'll save that for the next post as it will require your undivided attention.  I'll give you a hint: science + ice cream; stay tuned.

In the meantime, we were ready to go and checked the Snail line one more time before doing so.  Yep, still going strong.  Rock on with your bad self, Cinnamon Snail.

We had a full day of errands to run, but once we got home it was time to dig in to the take-home booty.

Now is it just me, or does this particular donut look like it wants to eat me?

This gorgeous specimen is actually not a people-eating pastry, but rather a fresh berry bun.  Imagine a perfect raised donut with a generous coating of authentic glaze, filled with gorgeous fresh blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries.  I have to admit, this fruity dessert blew all of us away- even me.  Absolutely incredible.

Next up was a previous favorite, the maple glazed donut with toasted coconut:

And then a cinnamon pecan glazed donut:

My take-home peanut butter chocolate cookie dough donut!

And, of course, a spare apple cider donut for VM. 

*Oh my goodness I just realized that I forgot to get one of the Mexican hot chocolate twists; how could I have made such a gluttonous glaring omission?  Next time, Snail, next time.  Soon.