Persimmons: not tomatoes

I mean, they really do LOOK an awful lot like tomatoes. Maybe even more tomatillos, but that's getting pretty far afield.

Doesn't it look like a tomato, though? Sort of like an under-ripe roma tomato with a fancy hat? No? Just me? I'd never seen a whole persimmon before I started working here, so it was something of a revelation.

Do you feel like you're not getting your daily allowance of manganese? We can help you with that, because our persimmon sorbetto is full of persimmons and persimmons themselves are full of the stuff. We are trafficking mostly in hachiya persimmons, but trust that we're pretty good at ripening fruit. We don't want you to end up with a fuzzy-feeling tongue from an unready, super-astringent berry. Yes, a berry! Just like tomatoes.

We're always your place for trying new flavors, and, along with persimmons, the rambutans are back in the house. I've had my struggles with the rambutan in the past (delicious but terrifying), but given my tenure here I've finally made peace with them. To a degree. As in I'll now approach within three feet of them while they're still whole because evidence to date suggests they're not likely to caress me menacingly with their weird hairy tendrils. But I'm not convinced and, like a fairly neurotic Australian Shepherd, will remain constantly vigilant. (Any peace I've made with the rambutans is clearly uneasy and fragile.)

It's for sure gotten somewhat chilly these days, for which I'm more grateful than most. It's hot chocolate season! You probably didn't need me to point any of that out, given the frequency with which y'all are ordering hot chocolates of your own accord. And can you believe that Thanksgiving's only two weeks away? Crazy. The time, it flies.