Monteleone and Cammareri Off and Stumbling

Well, bite my tounge. Less than 12 hours after grousing here about when the newly combined Monteleone and Cammareri bakery might finally deign to open, my wife walks through the door with a tidy little box wrapped in red and white string full of Monteleone cookies. The bakery's door apparently swung open today (Feb. 8). Wifey's take on it: "They don't know what they're doing yet. And it wasn't their full selection. I got what I could."

I ripped open the box (before I remembered to take a picture, as you see) and tasted one of the goodies. And...hmmm. Tasted familiar, no doubt about that. But a bit burnt and a bit stale. Me thinks these are the cookies that have been biding time in the display cases the past few days waiting for the shop to open to the public. The old Monteleone's cookies were always fresh and moist. Ah, well. First day. They need time.

An hour later, on my way to the subway, I passed by the place. Four young girls in white shirts, busying themselves. The cases are only half full, and I didn't see much in the way of Cammareri bread. Give 'em time, give 'em time.

But I found the answer to one burning question. Will Cammareri exploit its "Moonstruck" connection? Yes! A resounding yes! At the back of the bakery is a flat screen television obviously loaded with a DVD of the Cher flick. All someone needed to do was click on "Play Movie" on the remote.