One of the reasons I love fall so much is the food. I’m extremely fond of apples and squash, and most especially pumpkins. I enjoy carving them to be sure, but I enjoy eating them just as much. If you don’t, you can probably go ahead and skip the rest of this post. Just go off somewhere and eat a bagel while reflecting on your obvious inadequacies.

This may have been a shitty October as far as layer weather is concerned, but like most Octobers it has been pretty great for pumpkin-related edibles. In the past couple of weeks I’ve had the chance to try pumpkin-flavored ice cream, frozen custard, gelato, cheesecake, bread, muffins, scones, cake, coffee, and doughnuts. There were a couple of clear winners among the lot, and a couple of things I probably wouldn’t buy again.

By far the best of the cold treats, and the most authentically pumpkin-y, was the pumpkin spice custard over at the Shake Shack. It was so smooth and delicious that Nicole and I went back this past Monday for a second helping, even though it’s late enough in the year now that it meant we ate it while shivering in the dark. (Shake Shack’s seating is all outdoors.) The Shack closes for the winter on 5 November, and I’m not even sure if they’ll still be featuring any of the October custard flavors after today, but it’s definitely worth trying the pumpkin spice if you can get your hands on it.

My next favorite was the pumpkin cheesecake Chris and I had at City Crab. Although I was full of swordfish by the time we saw the dessert menu, we split a piece anyway and were very glad we did. Think pumpkin pie, but creamier (as of course cheesecake is wont to be). The texture was perfect, too. The food at City Crab is always great anyway, so I can heartily recommend stopping by. Just save room for dessert.

The champion among the breakfasty offerings was definitely the pumpkin spice coffee cake I found at Trader Joe’s. Perfectly moist, not too rich, and with actual pumpkin flavor. Often things that are labeled “pumpkin” end up just tasting like pumpkin pie spices - nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, etc. This was definitely the case with the pumpkin spice latte at Starbucks, the pumpkin doughnuts at Dunkin’ Donuts, and Edy’s pumpkin ice cream, among others. While I enjoy pumpkin pie spice flavor, I enjoy actual pumpkin flavor even more, so the Trader Joe’s cake was a delight.

So there you are: three pumpkin delicacies that you should absolutely seek out if you have the gourd-love as I do. As for me, Chris and I have our usual Halloween plans this evening, which will almost undoubtely include horror movies and the pumpkin soufflé hiding in our freezer.