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Dessert: The Last Indulgence 甜点：最后的放肆

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Eating dessert is important, regardless of economic turmoil  无论经济危机有多严重，吃甜点仍是一大要事

The front line in America’s battle to preserve its sanity, creative spirit and good cheer runs through places like Allen & Son Bar-B-Que in North Carolina, where regular customers know the menu will carry five or six pies, a half-dozen puddings and fruit cobblers, ice cream, cookies, and always the cream cheese pound cake with cream cheese icing.

美国不惜一战以保护其心智健全、创造力和欢乐的最前线（译注：比喻美国人非得吃甜食才足以保持心智健全、创造力和欢乐），分布在如北卡罗来纳州「艾伦与子烤肉店」等处所，而这家餐厅的常客很清楚，菜单上一定会有五到六种派、半打布丁，以及水果派、冰淇淋、饼干，而且一定少不了涂满鲜乳油干酪糖衣的鲜乳油干酪磅饼。

It extends past Tartine Bakery & Café in San Francisco, where the morning pastry-makers double up the filling in the pain au chocolat.

这前线还延伸到了旧金山「塔亭甜品咖啡屋」，这儿早上制作糕点的师傅会把巧克力丹麦面包的馅料加倍。

And it curlicues in front of Charlie Trotter’s in Chicago, where pastry chef Della Gossett wrestles purple Okinawan sweet potatoes away from the savory cooks so that she can spontaneously create a homage to Asian regional cuisine for the dessert menu.

火线也迂回延伸到芝加哥「查理．特洛特-加龙省-加龙省-加龙省餐厅」前，糕点主厨戴拉．佳塞特必须和其点心师傅抢购冲绳紫蕃薯，才有办法即兴自创点心，好透过甜点菜单来向亚洲地区特有的烹调致敬。

“The popularity of baking and pastry has never been greater in our profession,” says Mark Erickson, dean of culinary and pastry programs at the Culinary Institute of America. “It used to be a subset of culinary training, but now it’s a [career] track within the profession itself.”

「对我们从事的这个职业来说，如今烘焙和糕点的受欢迎程度简直前所未有，」「美国烹调研究院」烹调与糕点部主管马克．艾立克森表示，「过去甜点只是烹调训练的一环而已，但如今它却成为烹调这个职业里新窜起的一门新行业。」

Bad economy good for business?  经济愈差，生意愈好？

When gas prices cracked the $4-a-gallon barrier [last year] and the bottom fell out of the housing market, the restaurant industry braced itself for the inevitable fallout. And it has arrived, according to anecdotal reports from restaurateurs in major markets. Customers are dining out a little less often, becoming more particular about where they dine, and are ordering more thriftily when they do venture out.

当汽油价格在去年突破每加仑四美元关卡，而房市也跌落至谷底，餐饮业早已作好心理准备，提防之后无可避免地会受到余波荡漾的拖累，而他们担心的后果也的确来临了，因为据主要市场餐饮业者私底下透露，顾客的确更少出门用餐，而且对于上哪吃饭也变得更挑剔起来，即使他们真的卯起来上馆子，点菜时也变得更节省。

But one segment appears to have suffered less than others: dessert. Those who normally soothe their sweet tooth are not skipping – not tonight.

只不过，有个领域倒是较少受到波及：那就是甜点。这代表那些习惯吃甜点来慰劳自己的人（译注：sweet tooth指嗜吃甜品者），并没有省略甜点──至少今晚不会。

“If you’re looking for a comfort food, dessert is one of those areas that people are going to turn to.” says Alison Nelson, co-owner of two Chocolate Bar boutiques in New York City.

「如果人们想找种食物来安慰自己的话，甜点一定是雀屏中选的选项之一，」纽约市两家巧克力精品店店主之一的艾莉森．尼尔森表示。

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turmoil [ˋtɝmɔɪl] n. 骚动；混乱

sanity [ˋsænətɪ] n. 精神健全，精神正常; 清醒

run through 遍布; 迅速传遍 to pierce

cobbler [ˋkɑblɚ] n.【美】脆皮面水果派; 脆皮水果馅饼

icing [ˋaɪsɪŋ] n. 糖衣，酥皮

pastry [ˋpestrɪ] n. 酥皮点心（如馅饼，水果派）

curlicue [ˋkɝlɪ͵kju] v. 迂回延伸; 形成花体, 用花体装饰 to move in a twisting, curving manner

wrestle [ˋrɛs!] v. 与……搏斗

savory [ˋsevərɪ] adj. 可敬的；体面的 morally respectable

spontaneously [spɔnˋteniəslɪ] adj.  (行为)自然的，自发的

track [træk] n. 路线；路程 a career path/track refers to the careers available to you after you complete certain studies and entry-level jobs within a company

the bottom falls out of something 某物出现垮台(或暴跌)的局面

fallout [ˋfɔl͵aʊt] n. 余波; 后果

restaurateur [͵rɛstərəˋtɝ] n.【法】餐馆老板

thriftily [ˋθrɪftɪlɪ] adv. 节俭地

sweet tooth 喜好甜食 a fondness or craving for sweets

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Karen Barker and her husband Ben own and operate Magnolia Grill in North Carolina. At their upscale contemporary Southern restaurant, a steady 70 percent to 75 percent of their customers have ordered dessert since the restaurant opened 21 years ago. That’s much higher than the industry norm of 40 percent to 50 percent for fine-dining restaurants, and is partly attributable to Karen’s national reputation as a master baker. But the point is, Magnolia’s figure has remained impervious to stock-market crashes.

凯伦．巴可和丈夫班共同创立并经营北卡罗来纳州的「木兰烧烤餐厅」，在他们现代化的高档美国南方风味餐厅里，自廿一年前开张至今，会点甜点的客人比率一直维持在七十％至七十五％之间，而这个比率比业界高档餐厅一般常见的四十％至五十％来得高，部份原因是出在凯伦是全美知名的糕点大师。但重点是，「木兰烧烤餐厅」的数字并没有受到股市震荡所影响。

Creativity in the pastry world  糕点世界创意无穷

Traditional desserts may be more prominent these days, particularly in the South and the heartland, but a scan of the menus at the country’s top progressive restaurants reveals that boundary-pushing is thriving.

近日来，传统点心或许仍然位居主流，在美国南部和中部地区尤其如此，但只要扫视一下全美顶尖前卫餐厅的菜单，就会发现突破传统的现象正当红。

Pastry chefs, who tend to be artistically inclined and design-oriented, are taking advantage of the technological innovations spawned by the experimental cuisine movement, employing all manner of mind-blowing techniques and gadgets.

糕点师父往往比较具有艺术倾向，且以设计为导向，而他们在这股烹调界实验新风潮之下，纷纷搭上了技术创新的便车，运用各式各样令人兴奋的花招技巧和器材。

Unlike the timeless tall-cake parade at The Village Bakery in South Carolina, and the classic cobblers and egg custards served at the Carriage House in Mississippi, these edgy creations may exist just for a few moments, never to be nibbled again.

南卡罗来纳州「村庄烘焙坊」以历史悠久的多层蛋糕着称，而密西西比州「马车屋餐厅」则以经典的水果派和蛋卡士达闻名，但和上述店家大异其趣的是，引领潮流的创意糕点往往只供应短暂的期间，然后就永远都吃不到了。

“A lot of my desserts, I don’t think I’d ever redo them the next year,” says pastry chef Elizabeth Dahl of Chicago. “I’m never going to grow as a pastry chef if I have [the] same desserts all the time.”

「我做的很多甜点，都不会在明年重复出现，」芝加哥糕点师傅伊丽莎白．达尔表示，「如果我老是重复做的点心，就永远不可能有所成长突破。」

No matter what form it takes, be it strange or nostalgic, “dessert just brings out the kid in you,” says Barker. “It’s something that really makes people happy, and there are really very few people who are not dessert people. It’s just a nice ending to the meal.”

但无论甜点形状为何，也不管外形是新奇古怪还是经典怀旧，「甜点都能唤醒人们内心的小孩，」巴克指出，「甜点是令人们快乐的原因，而且很少人不爱吃甜点。餐后来个甜点，就能划下美好的句点。」

−by Jerry Shriver

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magnolia [mægˋnolɪə] n.【植】木兰；木兰花

norm [nɔrm] n. 基准；规范

be attributable to 归因于, 归咎于, 归功于…

crash [kræʃ] n. 失败；垮台；破产

prominent [ˋprɑmənənt] adj. 突出的；显著的

progressive [prəˋgrɛsɪv] adj. 进步的, 先进的

boundary-pushing 突破界限; 突破传统 an action that takes something to a point beyond which it has never proceeded

inclined [ɪnˋklaɪnd] adj. 倾向的

mind-blowing [ˋmaɪnd͵bloɪŋ] adj. 令人大为惊叹的; 使人震惊的

parade [pəˋred] n.（多得似乎没有尽头的）一系列

custard [ˋkʌstɚd] n. 蛋奶沙司(与水果、布丁一同食用); 蛋奶冻

edgy [ˋɛdʒɪ] adj. 时尚的; 撩人的 daring, provocative, or trend-setting

nibble [ˋnɪb!] v. 一点一点地咬（或吃）

bring out 使（某种通常不易显露的行为或情感）显现；激发

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front line 前线（战地或工作的第一线，危险且任务重大）the most visible or important position in any situation

homage [ˋhɑmidʒ] n. 尊敬；敬意；崇敬[（+to）] a sign of deep respect and often praise shown for someone or something

subset [ ˈsʌbˌsɛt ] n. 小组; 分组; 子集 a small group that is contained within a larger group

anecdotal [͵ænɪkˋdot!] adj. 传闻的；轶事的 describes information that is not based on facts or careful study

attributable [əˋtrɪbjʊtəb!] adj. 可归因于……的 caused by

impervious [ɪmˋpɝvɪəs] adj. 不受影响的；不为所动的 not influenced or affected by something

spawn [spɔn] v. 大量产生；造成，酿成 to cause something new, or many new things, to grow or start suddenly

nostalgic [nɑsˋtældʒɪk] adj. 怀旧的 referring to feelings of pleasure and sometimes a slight sadness at the same time as you think about things that happened in the past

Tartine Bread