I Had A Cinnamon Twist-Shaped Hole In My Heart

Ever since Starbucks dumped their Cinnamon Twist I'd been struggling to find the perfect pastry.

That was just over a year ago.

My life is a series of banalities.

For a while I settled on Trader Joe's Lady Fingers. Those were good, they still are, but they lack all the features that a perfect morning pastry should have.

Inside sources tell me the Cinnamon Twist is back on the register at Starbucks, suggesting a possible return of the the Queen of All Pastries some time this or next quarter. Perhaps a year of complaining and angry lettering has weakened the coffee giant. We'll see.

But even if it does return, I may not. I have found a pretty good replacement- coincidentally called a Cinnamon Twist.

I have a reason to get out of bed again.

I walk my dogs through downtown Glendora, use at least one phrase of French, my puppies get to see other dogs, I come home, make a cup of coffee, eat my Cinnamon Twist, read the news, and start homework. That's a good morning.

This cinnamon twist is really just a croissant with cinnamon and sugar so it's light, buttery and sweet. It has a crisp flakey crust but is very moist, though not dense inside. It goes well with the types of coffee I enjoy, and it won't make me fat.

That's what I want in a breakfast. All of that- and stuff I miss- is there. It's more than the pastry and the coffee. It's the dogs, it's the sun still low in the sky. It's the walk and being a regular someplace.

That's why I could never just settle on Lady Fingers. They were good. They are good, but they're not what I am looking for- even if I could not necessarily give an itemized list of what I am looking for. I wasn't just looking for something to eat- something that paired well with coffee. I was looking for a more that I would know when I found it- or I was dissatisfied with the not enough I didn't wholly know was not enough until I found more. They did the job for a while, but for that while I knew I needed something else.

And now here it is. Walking my dogs, cool air, "Bonjour- como t'allez vous. Je voudrais un Cinnamon Twist s'il vous plait", sweet, cinnamon, coffee, and the intangibles.

This should do for a bit.

That'll Do Pig
Add It Up- Violent Femmes
Blackbird- The Beatles
Happy Jack- The Who
Army- Ben Folds
Superstition- Stevie Wonder
Break My Body- The Pixies
Tired of Being Alone- Al Green