On a recent day I ventured to Court Street Pastry Shop, one of the finest Italian cream purveyors in the city. They have rows and rows of treats filled, topped, stuffed, bathed, caressed, bombarded and moisturized with creams. One day I will try them all, but for now I can't help ordering the lobster tail.
Now, you might be thinking, how is a lobster tail an Italian pastry? To which I would respond, no idiot, not the tail of an actual lobster! A lobster tail, in this context, refers to thin yet crusty and substantial layers of pastry - shaped and sculpted in such a way as to look like a crustacean's tail - filled with monstrous amounts of cream. At Court Street, it's a sumptuous, dense and supple cream, perhaps with some egg yolks.
The cream. There's so much of it and it's so delicate and tender-amazing. The lobster tail pastry is surprisingly hard and sturdy, a perfect receptacle for this wonderful dump of cream.
As I was sitting outside enjoying my pastry, an older gentleman in pleated denim slacks walked by and noticed my treat. "That is an excellent-looking dump of cream you've got there!" Yes, that's correct.