"Look to the Cookie"

This is a quote from a very funny episode of Seinfeld, The Dinner Party. In it, Jerry delivers an ode to the power of the Black-and-White cookie as a symbol of racial harmony.

What does this have to do with life in Dusseldorf? Well, the other day I went into my favorite bakery here (it's also one of the best), and while I waited for my bread, I noticed, in the case in front of me, a reminder of my youth: a Black-and-White cookie! These were one of my favorite things to eat growing up in Brooklyn. So I was rather surprised to find them in a bakery in Dusseldorf. I asked the woman behind the counter for one, and as I was excitedly telling J about eating them growing up and about the Seinfeld episode, the woman told me what they were called:

Amerikaners. I kid you not.

So, I leave you with a picture of an Amerikaner, and with Jerry's ode.

"The thing about eating the Black and White cookie, Elaine, is you want to get some black and some white in each bite. Nothing mixes better than vanilla and chocolate And yet somehow racial harmony eludes us. If people would only look to the cookie all our problems would be solved."

p.s. I just found a recipe for Black and White cookies (along with some history).