Monday, November 30, 2009

Oliver!





No, I mean neither Master Twist nor his incarnation in the popular Lionel Bart musical currently in revival yet again in London. Nor the Olivers Hardy nor Stone. But rather, that crisp, indescribably subtle English biscuit, the Bath Oliver, named for its 18th-century creator, Dr. William Oliver, in Bath.


I've been a fan of these biscuits—never call them crackers!—since first discovering them in adolescence—can't remember whether here or in their native Britain—and used to be able to find them on the shelves of the better NYC supermarkets. But no more. They have disappeared into the great maw of the specialty online grocery markets and are available only at very high prices. I'm about to make another visit to London and plan to scope out Sainsbury's, Tesco, and Marks and Spencer in hopes of squirreling away a few packets to take home. This all started because a friend, currently in Florida, who is also obsessed with these delightful tidbits, asked me to look for them. And the mouth-watering memory of their flakey crispness on my tongue was re-evoked.



B.O.s are good with or without cheese. I don't favor (favour?) jam on them, because its sweetness cancels out some of their delicate flavor (flavour?). At any rate, in addition to attending theater, ballet, and art exhibitions during my upcoming visit, I shall certainly make a market foray looking for the one and only Bath Oliver biscuits. Yum!

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