Happy Halloween

I had some sushi with a friend on Friday night, at a restaurant on the lower east side.  Out the window from where we were sitting, we could see a blackboard on the sidewalk in front of a bakery next door.  It said "Happy Holidays," and in orange, the following items were listed: Pumpkin Custard Pudding, Pumpkin Cupcakes, and Pumpkin Pie.  And there was a picture of a Jack-O-Lantern.  What holiday did they mean?  And how old are these desserts?  Have they been sitting in the case since the end of October, or am I missing some connection between Jack-O-Lanterns and Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, New Years, or, oh, I don't know, Martin Luther King Day?  My friend and I went inside afterwards to see how the pumpkin stuff looked.  We didn't see anything that looked like what was advertised.  My friend asked the woman behind the counter.  "Sold out," she said.  "But the sign..." my friend asked.  The woman looked confused, and went outside to look at the sign.  "Sold out."  Okay.  Sold out for today, or sold out because the holiday was 3 months ago?  The bakery's named Panya, on 9th Street and 3rd Avenue, if you don't believe me.  Check it out.  Or don't.  I can't vouch for it, other than the sign.  The sushi next door was good though, and pretty reasonable.

Comments

[PG]

Maybe they're following the Wal-Mart strategy of saying "The Holidays" even in the face of huge pressure to say "Christmas" because that way they can start marketing the whole shebang in anticipation of Halloween, keep rolling through Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's, and only reluctantly put away the stuff after the post-Valentine's Day discounts on chocolate end.

[Stacey]

Jeremy, Panya is Japanese... not that makes up for the whole Pumpkin thing, but maybe they got their holidays mixed up? Maybe they really like Halloween. Regardless, they make a darn good chai latte and green tea cookies. They also cut the crust off their sandwiches just like mom used to...