Brain food

Two somewhat related thoughts on the topic of comestibles:

1) Thanks to Menchie's, a fro yo joint conveniently located a few miles from home, I've rediscovered the tasty goodness of Cap'n Crunch. The cereal, which I consumed by the box throughout college, is one of the approximately 800 toppings that Menchie's customers can slather on top of their frozen yogurt. And by "customers," I mean me.

Anyway, I can't really figure out what makes it taste so damn good -- the Quaker Oats web site refers to some nonsense about "sweetened corn and oat" blah blah blah, but I think those evil geniuses have actually invented some crazy superfood that doesn't really taste like anything grown on earth. Matters not.

The point is, Cap'n seems to go with every fro yo flavor I've tried. Last night, it was the perfect complement to a (small) bowl of coconut. Dare I call it coco fro yo?

I think I just did.

So next time you're looking for that certain something to play off of the subtle flavors of your own frozen dessert, buy yourself a box of Crunch and thank me later.

2) Here's how dumb I am.

One of the fro yo (OK, now it's getting annoying) flavors on tap at Menchie's last night was "original tart." I grabbed myself a little sample -- don't worry, Beth, you're allowed to sample -- and took a lick.

It was a little, well, tart. Mouth-puckeringly tart. And not entirely pleasant. I knew it tasted like something I'd eaten before, but I couldn't place it. Lemon custard? Not exactly. Lemon pudding that-has-been-left-out-too-long? No. What, then?

I gave Jenny a taste and she looked at me and said, "It tastes like yogurt."

Which was, of course, exactly right.

Somehow, that connection between the stuff that Dannon sells and the stuff you can slather with hot fudge and Cap'n Crunch was lost on me about 20 years ago.