Cotton candy

For dinner I met Eric at Kenka, on St. Mark's street. They played martial music when we walked in; by the time we ordered, I wasn't even paying attention. He told me that after the meal they gave you a small cup of cotton candy as dessert. We sat on small chairs at rough hewn wood tables. The waiters took orders on their knees. The food was delicious and cheap.

With our check came two small paper cups. I picked one up. Inside were grains of pink sugar. It wasn't like any cotton candy I had seen. Eric then explained that you had to make the cotton candy yourself; that there was a machine at the front of the restaurant.

A group of four girls was before us in line. When they left Eric turned the machine on. A large metal cylinder began to spin. He told me to pour my sugar into an opening at the center of the cylinder and then he began to move a chopstick around the cylinder. Almost invsible wispy strands began to collect on it. After he had grabbed some he hande me a chopstick to grab my own. It was like magic.

When we left I admitted that I didn't much like cotton candy. He said he didn't either. Really, it's just like eating sugar, he said. He told me he made it just for the experience. We each had a few tufts from our respective bunches, then threw the rest away. Posted by eku at December 12, 2004 12:40 AM