At Long Last Love Has Arrived

Doesn't matter if it's a brand of clothing, a TV show, a weekly newspaper column, a website, a sixth grade teacher (a painful memory)...

If I'm crazy about it, it will be discontinued. Or at least it will be unavailable in my neck of the woods. The latest instance: Dare brand Lemon Creme cookies.

I stumbled upon them about a month ago at Breaux Mart, the market on Magazine within walking distance of my house. Granted, I had no business anywhere near the cookie aisle given the size of my ass, but there I was. Looking for a snack.

Look at that package! Could you resist that package? The photo doesn't do it full justice. There were two flavors on the shelf: Lemon Creme and Coconut Creme. I'm not wild about either of those flavors generally but both packages were real standouts on the aisle. The colors: I'm not a graphic artist so I can't give you technical specs, i.e., I don't know what kind of dye or ink was used. Suffice to say the colors were vibrant. Nothing humdrum about the colors or the design of either package but,

I could not resist those Lemon Cremes... Look at that package!

Besides the colors and that cute bird, one side of the bag is in English and the other side in French AND the bag is made of sturdier-than-usual paper, i.e., not cheap. AND the manufacturer was thoughtful enough to include those little plastic wires that allow you to reseal the package. A nice albeit unnecessary touch since the cookies taste so damn good, you'll eat them all before they have a chance to go stale.

From the first bite, I was in love and stunned: what is something this good doing in a poor people's grocery store?

Yes, I ate the whole bag. I think there are 18 cookies in a bag. Over two days, I ate the whole bag alone. And picked up another bag on my way home on the 3rd day.

Some friends stopped by that weekend and I raved about Dare Lemon Creme cookies. They're both sensible women who are disinclined to eat store-bought cookies so they didn't really catch the wave.... No problem. Just left more cookies for me. I finished the bag that night watching Law and Order reruns. Sooooooo yummy with cold milk....

The next day, I went back to the store. In the cookie aisle, my inner critic started beating me up: You're in a rut! Lemon creme, shlemon creme -- can't you try something new sometime? So I bought the coconut cremes. You notice I use lower case? Nuh uh. Coconut creme didn't do me like the Lemon Creme.

So the next day, I went back to the store.

The cookie aisle was completely gone. Not one package of cookies anywhere to be found. I asked at the Customer Service counter and was told they were remodeling the store and waiting for restock supplies. I didn't burst into tears .... but I was sad walking back home.

I stopped every day for the next 3 or 4 days. Like waiting for U2 tickets to go on sale....

Finally, I stopped in last week and the new and improved cookie aisle was complete. "Excuse me!" I huffed at a woman dawdling over the Dolly Madison cakes at the entrance to the aisle and blocking my path. Humph! Dolly Madison, indeed...

You guessed it. Not a single package of Dare cookies to be found. Not the lousy coconut. Not the heavenly Lemon Creme. "Oh, we don't carry Dare any more," said the clerk.

Oh, oh..... Woe is me!! Why didn't I buy every bag they had when I had the chance? Why did I waste a week on those stupid coconut cremes?

Now I'm on a research mission. Gotta find Dare cookies...

Humm....looks like they're Canadian. I have a friend in Canada....(David....have you guys discovered Dare yet?) And, apparently I'm not the only one who has fallen under the spell and this writer mentions buying them at Albertsons. I have some friends in CA where they have Albertson markets... And Canada is mentioned again.

OMG! Amazon.com sells them!!!

Oh! And read this, from a blogger with peanut allergies:

Dare Cookies at Amazon - Hurry!!

Amazon notified me that they are now selling Dare cookies again. I have never personally tried these but have heard from readers in Canada they are great. Plus...they are made in a peanut free facility! (I verified this is listed on each of the listings below...not all Dare cookies state this on Amazon.)

For some reason Amazon does not carry these often and only have small quantities when they do. So, if you are interested in buying a case of these safe cookies, act fast!

OK. I have to stop here because it's midnight and there are no Lemon Cremes in the vicinity so reliving the good old days when Dare was right up the street....I'm torturing myself at this point.

I just got my first paying music gig in New Orleans! When I get that first check? I'm ordering some cookies -- if I can hold out till then.