PB&J Transcends the Lunchbox

New York Times

05-03-2025

The Chefs Making PB&J for Adults
In a 1901 article in the Boston Cooking School Magazine of Culinary Science & Domestic Economics, the food writer Julia Davis Chandler introduced one of America's most iconic culinary couples: peanut butter and jelly. In the time since, PB&J has dominated school lunchboxes and shown up in various packaged treats, from Uncrustables to M&M's. Now pastry chefs like New York's Miro Uskokovic, 41, are embracing and updating the pairing. At Hani's, the East Village bakery that he co-owns with his wife, Shilpa, PB&J cake is a perpetual best seller. 'With desserts, you should never go too intellectual,' says Uskokovic, who sandwiches wild blueberry compote, peanut butter buttercream and peanut-sesame crunch between layers of yellow sponge. 'I haven't met many people who don't like PB&J.' At Brio, an Italian restaurant in Amsterdam, the chef Maddy Caldwell, 24, serves a frozen version of the combo, topping her ice cream sundae with peanut sauce and quince jelly, while in Asheville, N.C., Owl Bakery's Lola Borovyk, 32, simmers local muscadine grapes into jam and then combines them with peanut frangipane and streusel in a twice-baked croissant. 'It's lowbrow meets highbrow,' she says. At Hellbender, a Mexican American restaurant in Ridgewood, Queens, the executive chef Yara Herrera, 33, took inspiration from another childhood favorite: Jell-O. Her parfait features alternating stripes of silky peanut butter and concord grape gelatin with a topping of whipped cream and candied peanuts. Originally conceived of as a special, the dessert was so popular that it's become a menu mainstay. Says Herrera, 'I don't think PB&J is ever going out of style.' — Tanya Bush
In Norway, a New Stay on a Private Island
When it comes to solitude and scenery, few places rival Norway's western coast, with its tens of thousands of islands and islets, and its maze of fjords. But luxury accommodations are scarce in this part of the country, which means visitors are more likely to sail by than to linger on land. Today, though, you can stay at Lilløy Lindenberg, a guesthouse on a nine-acre private island. (You reach the property, a converted farmstead, via a 10-minute boat ride from the neighboring island of Herdla, which connects to the mainland by bridge.) The closest major city is Bergen, home to Lilløy's interior designers, Vera Kleppe and Åshild Kyte, who commissioned a number of the region's artisans, from a glassblower to woodworkers, to help refresh the farm's existing two buildings, as well as a stand-alone sauna and a shop. The original main house, built in 1906 and paneled with a mix of repurposed wood and knotty and solid pine, contains three guest rooms, while the fourth is in the former boathouse perched above the sea. The colors in all the rooms — soft greens, rusts and rich browns — reflect the surroundings, as does the menu, which includes locally foraged mushrooms and seaweed, plus cardamom buns made by a baker on a nearby island. In summer, the kitchen will pack a picnic lunch for guests who want to go kayaking for the day. From about $615 a night, or about $1,670 for the entire property, thelindenberg.com. — Gisela Williams
A Watch That Accounts for Leap Years
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