Cottage Street Bakery
5 Cottage St., Orleans, MA
Reason to go on
Early one April morning in a cozy seaside bakery I looked into a pastry case and asked “What is a dirt bomb? A muffin? A donut?”
She replied, “It’s a muffin dipped in melted butter and dredged in cinnamon sugar.”
And I said, “Holy crap.”
As I took my first bite the shop filled with the voices of angels, the grey veil of morning fog lifted from the earth, the clouds parted, the sun shone down upon all the land, and it was good. After finishing this delectable, tender, cinnamony treat I realized that there was little else for me to do but walk directly into the ocean never to return.
Finding the water a bit too cold I returned to the bakery for a mid-morning snack. And although the dirt bombs had sold out for the day there was little
reason for despair as the case had been filled anew with smooth lemon bars, unctuous apricot bars drizzled in chocolate, linzer bars with an intense raspberry filling,
and almond tuilles loaded with crispy toasted slivered almonds.
And so, lesson learned. Even when you think you’ve had the best there is, there is always more to try, new experiences to be had, and yes, reason to go on. And an even more significant lesson, if you want a dirt bomb, get there early.