Almond Butter & Jelly Club
How do you turn a PB&J into something unique (and convince customers to pay $16 for it)? You focus on every detail, which is what pastry chef Youssef Aberdour does at El Condor in New York City’s West Village.
He starts with toasted triangle-cut multigrain bread from local bakery PartyBus. The “jelly” he’s using for the winter is kumquat preserves made by simmering the fruit with brown sugar, apple pectin, orange juice “love and patience.”
He makes almond butter by first roasting skin-on California almonds and then mixing them with caramel, and then blending them with honey, salt and vanilla until it’s “crumbly but spreadable.”
Then he spreads the preserves and almond butter on the bottom and middle slice of bread, and also puts sliced almonds and kumquat confit (made by cooking the fruit in syrup with brown sugar, water and vanilla) on each layer. He places the third slice of bread on top and garnishes the sandwich with more confit kumquats.
Price: $16