Monday, November 17, 2008

DRAKE'S COFFEE CAKE


Being of European decent, I grew up watching a lot of American TV shows, and they featured a lot of things that were not available to me in my surroundings. This could be anything from Yoohoo, to the Empire State Building, to palm trees, to Pamela Anderson, to Hollywood Boulevard. In my early twenties, I got to see a good number of those things with my own eyes while touring. Some of them were rewarding (Yoohoo), some of them not so much (Hollywood Boulevard). I've since moved to Canada, where a good number of "things from the tv" are common (not a lot of palm trees though). Last weekend I managed to find a gem in the state of New York, one I had never seen, and never fully realized was a real product, sold to the common man: I found a Drake's Coffee Cake.
To be completely honest, I am reviewing the experience moreso than the actual coffee cake because I can barely remember the actual coffee cake. I was in a higher state of being, you see. I bought the thing with a huge smile on my face, walked over to the van, and announced that I had just found a Drake's Coffee Cake. I didn't hear anyone's response, though I can imagine someone might have referred to how funny that is since only a day earlier I had said the Omegas should go to Monk's and take a group shot in front of the Restaurant sign for the LP cover, then a shot of us eating at a table for the back cover. But, if this was said, I didn't hear it. I was picturing myself being Newman, and everyone else in the van as the cast of Seinfeld. Tony was Kramer, Dan was George, Ryan was Jerry, Skibra was Peterman, Yan was Puddy, and that leaves Jay as Elaine. Matt was actually not a Seinfeld character, he was Frankie Coffee Cake (get the reference for bonus points). But instead of trying to bribe me with Drake's Coffee Cake, or stealing it from me, I was eating it like I was intended to. I consumed that thing like there was no tomorrow, like I had just told the world that zip codes don't mean anything. I remember the cake being very soft and fluffy, and there was a brown sugar covering the top. I think there was some cinnamon involved, but the memory is hazy. I now know that Drake's Coffee Cake is real, and that it can be purchased in New York. I will live on being torn between the glory of having eaten the DCC, and the pain of not fully remembering it's flavors, until I find myself eating another. It may be this confusing state of mind brought forth by the DCC that had Elaine, George and myself (Newman) in such a frenzy in the first place. It is like a holy grail of snacks. Even if you believe it exists, even if you hold it in your own hands, even if you eat it with your own mouth, you can still never truly taste it. You must keep eating it, and eating it, and keep trying. Drake's Coffee Cake symbolizes freedom: one knows it can never truly be obtained, yet one must never give up it's quest.

2 comments:

margaux said...

when i was 12 and in nyc for the first time, i got a black and white cookie that i was equally excited about and it wasn't very good. jerry's sick feeling came true.

jujy fruit and junior mints are great though

jennifer said...

I'm just laughing at Jay as Elaine. I actually see it too!