A QUEST FOR THE ALMOND TART

Late last spring I had an urge to watch Martha Stewart. After all, she's into food big time--and so am I.

So I turned on the TV and to my surprise she had a guest on by the name of Jesse James (yes, the one married to Sandra Bullock). Immediately I was hooked. First, because Jesse James owns a business (car and motorcyle customizing) in Long Beach--my city--and second, because he was on Martha's show to make his famous almond tart. How could I turn away from that?

Well, I watched the two of them talk about the tart and then I paid close attention to Jesse's tattooed arms pressing the crust into the pan. During their informal chat, he also talked about his hamburger joint called, Cisco Burger, located in Long Beach on Anaheim St. He told Martha that people could get this famous tart at his 50s-style diner. Needless to say, I was all over that one.

On the following Saturday, I dragged my husband and daughter through some seedy parts of Long Beach until we ended up at Cisco Burger, a "green" operation, from the solar panels on the roof to the all-natural meats served between burger buns. I really could have cared less about ordering a sandwich or burger; my tunnel-vision goal was to get a slice of that tart.

But when my husband and daughter came back to the car, they had only the food--with no dessert. I was SO letdown. The manager didn't know anything about Jesse's appearance on Martha Stewart, nor about the tart that this burger joint was supposed to be serving. Though he did promise my husband to look into it and said that the tart would most likely be forthcoming.

While my family and I sat on a bench near the parking lot eating our lunch, I decided to do an experiment: If millions of people watched that particular Martha Stewart show, surely, some who lived in Southern California would make the trek to Cisco Burger to get the tart. So I sat and observed...as I forlornly ate my sandwich.

Slowly, in between the locals arriving in broken down cars and trucks, came "the ladies." They arrived in fancy wheels--Jags--with well-coifed hairdos and long glistening nails. I wasn't sure if I should warn them, or just sit like a bird on my concrete bench quietly letting them discover what I had already learned: There was no tart behind the glass doors.

I chose the latter, and let fate takes its course. Hopefully, like me, those "Martha Stewart ladies" would return in the future to find what they were after...

I haven't gone back to Cisco Burger since that day, but I'm sure Jesse has put the tart on the menu by now.

In the meantime, here's a link to the recipe on Martha Stewarts's website. I've made the tart and it's great! Easy, delicious, and a winner for any dinner party.

Because I'm an organic enthusiast, I encourage you to use organic ingredients whenever possible.

AlmondTart Recipe

Cisco Burger