Those weren’t pecans

From up-close and personal experience I know rats are the Al Capones of the food world. Why do they infest bakeries? Because that’s where the sugar is. So the news on the NYC Health Department’s shutdowns of some famous cookie outlets was not exactly surprising. I remember we always had to leave one tray of shortbread uncovered at night because the owner figured the resident vermin would choose the easy dinner over gnawing through plastic film. Now it turns out it’s another way of saying: Leave the droppings. Take the cannoli.