Reminiscing and Rhyming About Breaking Bad 📝

Happy Anniversary, Breaking Bad—10 years old,

And one of the best television shows ever.
I tip my pork pie hat to Vince Gilligan and Co.,
For their indelible artistic endeavour! 

I’ll be honest, I was skeptical initially.
Really? Cranston? The guy from Malcolm in the Middle?
A teacher cooking meth to support his family?
Tried it out and won me over little by little.
Bryan also won over critics—four Emmys!
Walter White did not often play second fiddle.


My first time in awe was “...And the Bag's in the River,”

That’s when I knew it had the potential to be great,

Watching Walt kill Krazy-8 made me gasp and quiver,
Almost as much as the reveal of the broken plate.

Season 1 got cut short, but it birthed a co-star,

The Writer’s Strike was a blessing in disguise,

Aaron Paul’s performances further raised the bar,

Killing Jesse Pinkman would not have been wise.

I was unequivocally mortified,
By the end of Season 2 Walt was so repulsive,
He just stood there and did nothing, letting Jane die,
By then it was too late—the show was too compulsive!

For a show this gripping, you need great actors to make it work,

Like the dauntless Dean Norris, Jonathan Banks who was lethal,

The amazing Anna Gunn and boisterous Bob Odenkirk,

And of course, the godly Giancarlo Esposito.

From box cutters to called hits and poisoned liquor,

Gustavo Fring was creative in his killing.

That doesn’t even include Mike the Fixer,

Responsible for much of the blood spilling.

However, Gus’ creepy, cool demeanour,
Is what made him such an iconic villain.

With the intensity of nightmares and dreams,

Breaking Bad had breathtaking direction,

They crafted so many memorable scenes,

That often warranted further inspection.

And “One Minute” to praise the writing team,

You were the masters of misdirection,

Funny lines, classic quotes, and complex themes,

You helped cook up a classic confection!

Thanks for not treading lightly, not taking Half Measures,

From the start of Season 1 to the end of Season 5,

Watching Breaking Bad was one of life’s greatest pleasures.

As Walt said to Skyler: “I liked it...I was alive.”

SanRemo's Stellar Donuts 🍩

Rating:

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

SanRemo's name is esteemed,

From them I tasted three donuts:

Chocolate Chip Banana Cream,

Nutella and Maple Walnut.

Fluffy like pillows and light like a dream,

Then filled with cream or glazed with icing.

Portion sizes were borderline obscene,

Justifies their premium pricing.

The maple was glazed, the walnuts were chopped;

A classic with some added crunch.

Once I started, I did not want to stop,

I savoured each and every munch!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

For fans of banana: this could be compelling;

Quantity and flavour both bursting at the seams.

For me: the bad memories were overwhelming.

I did not like the Chocolate Chip Banana Cream:

Tasted like banana-flavoured penicillin!

⭐️⭐️

The crowning achievement was Nutella;

So addicting, I was losing my moorings,

Like a twisting-and-turning novella.

It caused the release of endless endorphins,

Would have thought that it came from Coachella!

Shoutout to Paul who got them, I endorse him:

He’s a great friend, a real stand-up fella!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Maple Mille-Feuille 🍁

For the complete (emoji) experience, it is recommended that you view this review on a mobile device.

The Village Grocer is renowned for its weekly themed bakery specials. As this last (long) weekend was Canada Day, they went with one of the most certifiably Canadian ingredients: maple! As a patron of almost anything puff pastry related, I purchased their maple mille-feuille.




👀 Appearance
The mille-feuille was enormous enough that I was able to split it into two still-satisfying portions.

Presentation-wise, it did not have a great first impression. Upon taking it out of the box, the slab of icing sugar that was dusted on top was missing about 20% of what should have been there. After closer examination, I was disappointed to discover that there were only two layers of puff pastry: the top and bottom. There was always a third middle layer in all of the mille-feuilles that I’ve had in the past. In place of this third layer was a collection of candied pecans in the middle, which was ensconced by whipped cream above and a massive maple custard layer below.


🍽️ Taste
I have almost always found maple-flavoured desserts to be superfluously sweet for my palette. As such, I was pleasantly surprised that the custard component of this mille-feuille offered the optimal amount of sweetness and a perfectly pronounced maple taste.

Conversely, the candied pecans and puff pastry exterior were both muted, missing the requisite candied and buttery profile.


⚖️ Execution
After trying it however, I was glad that this mille-feuille did not have a third layer as it was fairly forgettable. It sorely lacked the trademark flakiness characterized by a high quality puff pastry. Meanwhile, the candied pecans did not provide the classic crunch that fresh nuts offer.

Luckily, the cream component had terrific thickness and consistency, as it did not melt or become runny even after an hour and a half out of the fridge.


💰 Cost
This mammoth mille-feuille cost only $2.99. Considering I’ve had slices of cake that were about a third of the size and cost three times as much, this was superb value!


🏆 Verdict
I would strongly consider buying this again the next time it is available, if only for the maple custard/cream.

Maple Custard/Cream ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Puff Pastry and Pecan portions ⭐️⭐️

Overall: 🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦 Day Long Weekends out of 5.

OK, we'll C ⛹️‍♂️

They threw him a huge celebration;
Paul George will re-sign with the Thunder.
But there’s still an elephant in the room,
In the form of internal plunder.
There was a noticeable absence,
From a particular fellow,
Said he’s not willing to sacrifice,
Goes by the name of Carmelo.

                  (picture via Sportingnews)