EVERYTHING’S COMING UP PRETZEL!

For the last 15 years or so, I have been in perpetual mourning over the pretzels of my youth. It’s not like I’m German or anything, but I recall pretzels as being shiny, firm and chewy with a little sprinkle of course salt, not sweet and buttery like today’s mall-varietal. A few years ago I had dinner at a delicious restaurant in Lake Tahoe called the Lone Eagle and became re-acquainted with my long lost pretzel, at least partially. It wasn’t twisted like a pretzel, but presented as a mini loaf of bread along side other toasty and warm bread creatures, however, I didn’t care about it’s other yeasty basket mates… my eyes, nose and every other sense bearing organ were FIXATED on the pretzel bread. I had repeat orders of this bread. I rarely partake of bread at restaurants because more often than not, they are barely suitable as a buttery deliver method, but this pretzel bread, oh my.

Such as many summer romances, I day dreamed about this little pretzel bread and occasionally mistook other bread like specimens for my doughy tryst, but none could compare.

Fade to summer 2010. I am strolling along the bakery aisle at Whole Paycheck in search of dessert and what do I witness, you ask? I spy a tall plexi-glass altar to everything pretzel. There were little individually wrapped warm pretzel buns, shiny and flexible pretzel twists and long, brown and glistening pretzel baguettes. It was a pretzel grotto. I had arrived.  No, but for real, these were like the real thing. Even the little roll-like pretzel ball things… they tasted exactly like the pretzels of my wiley youth.

Pretzel bagel!

This is getting long right? Take a seat. Have you been to Noah’s bagels? They have pretzel bagels there, which I have to say, don’t really taste like pretzels, but do not defile pretzelry like their sweet and greasy mall counterparts.

I’m not exactly sure where I’m going with this. I guess I would like to invite you to taste a real pretzel, not a Wetzel Pretzel or an Auntie Anne’s pretzel. A real, soft, warm, chewy and salty pretzel is something to be experienced. You may invite mustard or melted cheese to the party, but I like to take in all the pretzeliness sans accoutrements. I know Timberlake brought sexy back, but to whoever brought pretzel back, thank you.

Click here to get the Wiki on pretzels. How do you pretzel?

By |2018-10-03T15:52:11-04:00October 12th, 2010|

2 Comments

  1. Carrie Gray October 13, 2010 at 11:20 AM

    I am dying to know what these pretzels were of your youth? I only got the hard, brittle kind like Snyder’s (not that they were bad) or the microwaveable SuperPretzel (also not too terrible). My newest fave is the chocolate dipped – preferably with white chocolate. Sweet and salty always pleases my palate!

  2. Katrina January 20, 2011 at 9:56 PM

    Whole foods pretzel rolls are delicious and just 99cents!! They’re at least twice that at our local farmers market…

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