A Restaurant Week Write-Up

Another Restaurant Week session has come and gone, and I have three new desserts to share with you!

My first meal occurred at ArtBar, in Cambridge's Royal Sonesta hotel. The restaurant's location, in a corner of the hotel's lobby, and innocuous "art" did not impress, but the food was definitely memorable. I enjoyed a rather creamy lobster bisque, well-populated with lobster chunks and garnished with truffle creme fraiche, as my appetizer, and a medium-rare petite filet mignon served with lobster risotto and red wine reduction as my main course. According to the menu, my dessert was simply a key lime ricotta cheesecake with fresh berries, but said dessert was more complex than the description suggests. The plate was drizzled with a sweet peach glaze, and a square of vanilla genoise cake was in the center. A dome of sweet, whipped ricotta cheesecake with a faint key lime flavor sat on the cake, and a dimple at the dome's crown held a reservoir of thick, tart key lime syrup that also flowed down the ricotta. The intense citrus flavor was tempered by sweet, creamy white chocolate, which fully enrobed the cheesecake dome. The smooth white dome was further embellished with a limey white chocolate drizzle, and two wafers of pale green chocolate. Plump, juicy berries dotted the rest of the plate. I was very impressed by this innovative execution of a common cheesecake variety - the counterpoint of sweet, smooth ricotta and tart, tangy citrus syrup was delicious. I also appreciated the use of complementary yet offsetting fruit flavors as garnishes. The berries and peach glaze occupied the flavor range between the cheesecake's extremes. I was happily smacking my lips and hoping for more at the conclusion of this dessert!

I next dined at Davis Square's Gargoyles on the Square. This hip newcomer's simple decor - the minimalist dining room is accented with a small number of dark, heavy drapes and classic film posters - was an ideal setting for for the restaurant's classic dishes with an uncommon twist. My appetizer was a hearty salmon cake served over white bean and ham soup, which was followed by moules frites served in lobster bisque. I ended my meal with the salted caramel cheesecake with blackberries and creme fraiche, which was the star of this particular dinner. This dessert was a very dense New York-style cream cheese cake evenly imparted with a subtle caramel flavor. Even more subtle was its saltiness, which I'm guessing was reached by adding a mere pinch of salt to the cake mixture. The cake's thick milkiness plus caramel sweetness reminded me of dulce de leche. It was hard to fit the substantial slice in after a filling meal, but I couldn't let this unexpectedly complex twist on an old standby go to waste. I did, however, push the berries and creme fraiche to the side - the dessert really didn't need sour dairy in its flavor palette, and the berries were far too seedy with hardly any juice.

My last Restaurant Week dinner was at Grotto, a warm, intimate cave of a restaurant in the basement of a Beacon Hill brownstone. Their Italian kitchen brought me a fresh salad of mixed greens, cherry tomatoes, and pecorino cheese tossed in olive oil, as well as crab ravioli bursting with lumps of meat and topped with asparagus and almonds. Their dessert menu did not excite me at first - being neither a panna cotta nor bread pudding fan, I settled on the ubiquitous molten chocolate cake - but as soon as I bit into the cake, I knew I was in for a treat. Unlike the typical MCC, which I would characterize as a thin, burnt-brownie-like outer shell filled with grainy, somewhat-coagulated chocolate sauce, Grotto's was a quality, fudgy cake that evenly transitioned to a rich molten center. I enjoyed the subtle textural differences throughout the cake, and the rich bittersweet chocolate really popped against the French vanilla ice cream that accompanied it. I could really sink my teeth into this one!

I have no idea if this was intentional or not, but I couldn't help but notice a trend of simple or common desserts being kicked up a few notches. Did you try any exceptional restaurants, or similar desserts, this Restaurant Week? I always appreciate suggestions on where to go next. :-)

How It All Began

Many people have stories about how they became interested in their hobbies. My baking story is rather simple, but why not share?

The first Christmas after my college graduation, my Aunt Janet gave all her nieces a red heart-shaped NordicWare Bundt pan. My only prior bakeware had been a 13x9" metal pan, used regularly for brownies and box cakes - so, the arrival of a new format, generally associated with baking from scratch, inspired excitement and no small amount of apprehension. Could I succeed? I was also amused by the pan's segmentation, which is not how one would normally interpret an affectionate heart. In fact, I was reminded more of bicoid expression gradients from my developmental biology classes than the international symbol of love. Nerd alert!

Aunt Janet included a recipe for her Death by Chocolate cake in the pan. With a new pan and a recipe to go along, what choice did I have but to use the pan to bake the recipe? Somehow, a baker was made alongside the dessert. The rest is history, much of which is chronicled in this blog.

I bring this up now since my beloved heart Bundt was used two times in the past two weeks - first, to make this apple spice cake for a dinner party...
...and then to make the Death by Chocolate cake for Valentine's Day. I'm going to keep the DbC recipe a secret, so if you want to experience this dessert beyond this post I guess I'll have to bake it for you! However, here is a slice topped with vanilla ice cream and drizzled in Milat Winery's port chocolate wine sauce.

Death by Chocolate incorporates three expressions of chocolate - cake, pudding, and individual chips. The end result is very moist and fudgy at the center - thank you, pudding! - and slightly drier but still soft and chewy at the perimeter. Semisweet chocolate chips are scattered throughout the cake, and have incorporated well with their surrounding batter while maintaining their integrity. The edge of each chip softens from the cake's moisture, but a pleasing crunch remains as you chew the smooth baked chocolate. This treat is best at room temperature or slightly heated, and I usually top it with ice cream (vanilla or mint) and hot fudge. While the cake is chocolate perfection on its own, the additions make it an even better Death.

Thank you, Aunt Janet, for a delicious recipe and the countless treats that your gift has inspired!