It happened sometime in the past 3 years or so. I’m not sure exactly when or what set it off. What started as a refreshing choice at a handful of restaurants is now becoming a de facto dessert at almost every restaurant – eclipsing the likes of such stalwarts as creme brulee and (gasp!) apple pie. It looks something like this:
…and it is usually called something made up of some (sometimes all) of the following words: warm chocolate fondant cake and it is hopefully served with at least one scoop of ice cream. Mind you, I am not saying I don’t enjoy this cake a lot, I’m just saying that it is no longer a pleasant surprise and I think its time for chefs in the city to start thinking about how they could raise the bar on what has become the safe choice on a dessert menu. Local favorite Chestnut serves something they call a Chocolate Budino which is similar to the aforementioned warm chocolate cake in that it is warm and chocolatey but the consistency is almost pudding-like which, much to my surprise, works really well. Come on chefs, make it special!
