The Treats Economy
Getting through the work day (with cake): an atlas of my favorite treats
I started full-time freelancing during a pandemic, which means I went, all at once, from working in a demanding corporate environment to working by myself all day in a tiny studio. I’ve always been a huge proponent of little treats, but I think something about the pandemic and my general feelings of becoming a shut-in really exacerbated the need. Treats help break up a work day, since acquiring them gives me a reason to leave the house. Treats give me an excuse to try out new bakeries, bodegas and cafés that I haven’t been to yet. Treats offer a reward for finishing annoying, difficult or draining tasks. Treats are delicious, which is reason enough in and of itself. I’ve started to refer to this system of microdosing food-based incentives as the Treats Economy, jokingly at first, but in reality? We are all living through a never-ending plague, and I think it’s totally valid to take a walk and pick up a cookie just because it’s a Wednesday.
Here are a selection of my favorite treats, sorted by category. I’m including both Brooklyn- and Dublin- based treats here, because even when I’m far away, it still feels nice to think about my faves.
Sweet
Sweets are the main treat category that I’ll leave the house for. I used to bake a lot, but since I currently live alone, I prefer to outsource these things to the experts (and refrain from keeping too many of them in my house at one time). Here in Dublin, I’m obsessed with the Belgian waffles at Corner Bakery (an extremely blessed local business that will get another shout-out in the savory category). These waffles have the magical texture of a cake donut that’s been studded with crunchy caramelized chunks of pearl sugar. Belgian waffles were never on my radar before now, and all of the sudden they’re all I can think about. On a less calorific note, I’m in love with the yogurt here in Ireland, which tastes so luxurious and never pretends to be low in fat. I especially love the lemon-flavored varieties, which are so rich to my impoverished-by-American-yogurt palette that they almost taste like lemon curd.
In Brooklyn, I’ll walk almost any distance for a good donut, but my top picks come from Fan Fan (BIG love to their guava and cheese filled donut) and Peter Pan Donuts in Greenpoint. At Peter Pan, the waitresses are grumpy, the blueberry cake donuts are sublime, and you never need to spend more than $3 on your treat (which is a small miracle in NYC). I also love a cookie, and the blue corn pine nut chocolate chip cookie from Ursula in Bedstuy is one of the better variations I’ve had recently. Long live any and all fancy chocolate chip cookies: I refuse to be a purist on that front. Last but not least, I always want a Reese’s holiday shape. American friends, please save some Reese’s Easter eggs for me.
Savory
Listen, I’ve already written an entire essay on the sausages in Ireland, so I will save further evangelizing. But the double sausage roll from Corner Bakery in Terenure is my absolute favorite thing. That spot also makes an amazing lamb empanada that I’ll grab whenever I can. Speaking of empanadas, Empanada City in Prospect Lefferts Gardens makes theirs deep-fried to order, so there’s always a wait but it’s so worth it. Ironically, my favorite empanada on the menu there is called “Plain Chicken.” Nothing plain about that one to me, baby.
The most important category of savory treats to me, though, will always be Stuff With a Fried Egg on it. As I rapidly approach age thirty and find myself getting hungover after one glass of wine, there’s nothing that can make me feel better quite like a fried egg. I love them in all forms: I’ll fry them myself and fold them into flour tortillas, I’ll stumble into my nearest bodega and order a bacon egg and cheese on a roll, I’ll lay one on a pile of white rice or slide it into a bowl of brothy ramen. Despite the fact that I eat some variation on fried eggs every day, they continue to feel special. They’re really the workhorse of my personal Treat Economy.
Also, if Twitter history is anything to go by, I love a banh mi:
Caffeinated
I have a weird issue with hot beverages, unless I’m outside in truly arctic temperatures, so I drink my coffee iced all year round. Iced oat milk lattes feel so pedestrian as to almost not register as a treat, however, in Brooklyn they cost about $7/each and so I shouldn’t really grab one without feeling a little special about it. Oat milk is the superior non-dairy milk, and I remember the days when it wasn’t popular yet and finding out which coffee shops stocked it was like a treasure hunt. Now it’s everywhere, and I treat myself accordingly.
Caffeinated things that feel even more indulgent: milky bubble tea, Vietnamese iced coffee in little pouches from Kopitiam, anything pumpkin-flavored in the fall, egg nog as coffee creamer near Christmas, and splashes of Bailey’s in our coffee as a Friday afternoon treat (because when in Ireland). Also, in Dublin, the best caffeinated treat of all is a Baby Guinness: it’s a shot made of half Tia Maria and topped with Bailey’s, layered to look like a tiny pint of Guinness. I absolutely die at the sight.
Crunchy
My brain likes when things go crunch. I know I’m not special for that, but I’m still going to give crunchy treats the special category they deserve.
A benefit of crunchy treats is that they often come pre-packaged, so you can keep them around for when you’re in special need of a quick pick-me-up. One thing I’ll always splurge on is a new-to-me chip. Here in Dublin I’m currently devouring Oishi Prawn Crackers like there’s no tomorrow, as well as Quillo Ham Crisps, which are insane topped with a shard of sharp cheddar and a bit of apricot jam. You could create that sweet/salty/crunchy combo using a lot of different chips - and I’ve tried - but something about these ham crisps really hits different. I’ve also heaped anchovies onto plain salted kettle chips before, which is idyllic if you, like me, are the type of human who essentially craves their own personal salt lick.
Other crunchy little bites I’ve loved: the salami cotto sandwich at And Sons Buttery, a block away from my Brooklyn apartment, which is made on local sourdough with the most shatteringly crisp crust; any brand of chili crisp (from the artisanal ones that keep popping up to the OG Lao Gan Ma); McVitie’s chocolate hobnobs (I have eaten an entire roll of these in a day, no regrets). And, if I had to throw in one Really Fancy Treat: the fried prawn heads at Cervo’s were of the most fascinatingly crunchy things I’ve ever had the pleasure of eating at a restaurant. I ordered them at my birthday dinner with Becky and Hannah, who were kind of horrified at the basket of beady-eyed shrimp heads staring at us (birthday girl privileges!), but I still think of them fondly. That texture, man.
