I’ve been back from NYC for over two weeks now and I’m embarrassed that I’ve barely written a lick about my trip and the wonderful time I had seeing friends and enjoying the city that is home in my heart.  Let’s face it, Los Angeles is a fabulous city as well but there are somethings that you can only get in NYC – like the $1 packet of 3 whole wheat fig bars, my favorite snack in the world.

These are not your run-of-the-mill Nabisco Fig Newton’s that you’re familiar with.  My counter whole wheat fig bars are sweet, chewy and a mix between gummy and granular on the inside and have a moist, brown sugar crumbly outside.  They’re easy to eat and in my opinion little pieces of heaven.  This may be one of the only non-chocolate sweet worth dreaming about.

I know that there are other well respected brand names like Paul Newman’s Own (Fig Newmans) and Barbara’s Bakery that have their versions of fig newtons but they cannot compare to the piles of 3 Saran Wrapped bars that you find right near the cash register of every bodega and corner market in New York City.

At no other time would I ever think eating something not from a sealed package (that wasn’t made in front of me or at least while I was waiting)!  There was a time I did look into trying to buy these fig bars wholesale but stopped because in my mind buying them was such a treat that I didn’t want to spoil the experience.

I was always the person at the counter who picked up every package at the register and did my best to inspect it thoroughly to ensure I was getting the pure fig bars because biting in and getting the taste of a raspberry-fig bar was always such a horrendous disappointment.  I was often too lazy (and pissed off) to go back to the store and buy a replacement.

In my 20’s, (when there used to be 4 fig bars per $1 package instead of 3) that I ate these every day for breakfast with yogurt and had convinced myself these were healthy (and that I wasn’t eating cake or a cookie).   I may be older and possibly wiser given that I’m an RD but I still ate them with yogurt for breakfast when I was in NYC 2 weeks ago.

People always talk about the bagels and the pizza of New York.  I brought home 3 dozen NY bagels home back with me and I still have a quite a few left in my freezer.  However, not one single pack of my whole wheat fig bars are left.  I never thought I’d miss these staples of my NYC life so much but I do.  If you ever come to Los Angeles to visit me, keep the bagels and the pizza, bring the fig bars.