Baked goods go political

With disgraced former director Mike Brown back in the news defending the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s handling of Hurricane Katrina relief efforts before Congress, late night comedians are getting some additional mileage out of President Bush’s famously mis-timed press conference compliment “You’re doin’ a heckuva job, Brownie.”

Within days of that public show of support, of course, the Bush administration was accepting Brown’s resignation amid charges of ineptitude at FEMA.

Now a Corvallis restaurant is getting in on the fun, giving the beleaguered ex-FEMA chief the raspberry with a cheekily named treat it calls the You’re Doin’ a Heckuva Job Brownie.

“I figured somebody had to do it,” laughed Jon Gold, owner of Sunnyside Up at 116 N.W. Third St.

Described as “a perfect meld of chocolate, locally produced raspberry preserves and satire,” the Heckuva Job sells for $2.25, 25 cents more than the restaurant’s regular Oh My God Brownie.

“There’s a premium for that one because FEMA’s involved,” Gold said. “People should know that we waste the extra quarter, just like the government does.”

So what’s next from the comedic kitchens of Sunnyside Up? Gold’s not sure, but one possibility is the Im-Peach Cobbler.

“That’s still in the testing stage,” Gold says. “We’ll have to see how it goes with the Abramoff scandal.”