CORNBREAD CONUNDRUM

It's the time of year when parents of young children are forced to eat cold crumbly cornbread at annual Thanksgiving potlucks in schools across the country. While I'm thankful for the giving spirit in which these events are staged, the food lover in me dreads them. My British husband goes so far as to call Thanksgiving, "The Festival of Cold Foods." What is it about cornbread that is so hard to get right? I love the smell wafting from the oven, but I'm always disappointed when I bite in and my square fractures into a pile of crumbs. Recently, I stumbled across the perfect cornbread in an unlikely place: a 30-year-old chain with a French name, Au Bon Pain. I love these places for their reliably well-crafted sandwiches and frankly, for their clean spacious bathrooms, which I'd just snuck in to use. Breezing past the breads, the mini southwest cornbread ($2.19) looked so?cute. This warm yellow piece of perfection not only holds its own against offerings from high-end restaurants, but it also holds together. It's moist and, flavored with flecks of jalapeño and red pepper, both piquant and sweet. "Hmm," I calculate, "can I bring half a dozen to the potluck?" -- Au Bon Pain 16 E. 44th St. (Betw. Fifth and Madison aves.) 212-867-6356 See [www.aubonpain.com](http://www.aubonpain.com) to find a location near you -- Got a snack attack to share? Contact [NBrand@aol.com](mailto:NBrand@aol.com)