Guest Blogger Post: ChikaLicious - the ultimate dessert experience

I'm happy to feature Puff and Choux's first guest blogger today, and I'm even happier that this person is Bradley Matthews. Bradley is a dear friend of mine and has always been a champion of my crazy ideas - this blog being one of them. I'm telling you folks, you can't ask for a better friend than Bradley - he's got the "greatest friend in the world" title nailed down pretty tight.


ChikaLicious - the ultimate dessert experience
By Bradley Matthews

Firstly, I'm honored to be a guest contributor on Puff and Choux. I (and the other indulgent heffers out there) love this site.

On Saturday I FINALLY treated myself and another dessert whore to the ChikaLicious experience over on 10th Street at 2nd Avenue. I've walked by this place for ages and have always wanted to try it. Something about the white decor...the oblong bar...the minimal seating...and the simple phrase 'dessert bar' were all quite enticing. We realized that the main experience opens at 3pm on Saturday and mistakenly ended up in the 'casual cafe part of ChikaLicious' across the street which offers desserts to go without the experience of getting to watch the chefs MAKE the dessert. I equate it like going to a Benihana 'to-go cart' without getting to see the Japanese chef fling the shrimp tails all over the table and bang the salt/pepper shakers to a beat.

I should preface the rest of the story with the fact that the person whom was with me is a dessert connoisseur. He had been to ChikaLicious previously, so his expectations were high. Upon entry, we were immediately seated at a side-table, so we didn't actually get to watch the chefs prepare the desserts. A Bob Marley mix played throughout our whole ChikaLicious experience, so I was happy as a clam (pretty easy to please on the musical front I suppose).

Let's get on to the desserts. We ordered a Prixe Fixe course with a matching wine (ChikaLicous picks the wine for you based on your dessert choices). We started with the 'Amuse'...a panna cotta of some sort...I honestly can't remember as the portion fit on one scoop of my spoon. I know this is a tasting, but come on people! At least provide us with smaller, more delicate spoons. The heavy monstrosity we were required to use diminished the decadence of the experience. The second dessert is the 'main course' and is the dessert of your choice. I had the white chocolate mousse which I found to be quite smooth and tasty, until I then tasted my accomplice's dessert. He had the chocolate tart with peppercorn ice cream. I think that was the best dessert and ice cream I've had in a while. The chocolate tart was filled with chocolate ooze that ran like a river into the ice cream. The ice cream literally tasted like pepper...I've never experienced that. Something about curling up on a couch watching horrible movies eating peppercorn ice cream sounds a little too bourgeois-esque (bourgy if you will) for me, but DAMN was that scrumptious. I kept having to sneak tastes from him. We wrapped up the tasting with the 'Petit Fours,' which included four bite size samples of cookies and chocolates.

Since we ordered different 'main course' desserts, we each were provided with different wines. I received a sparkling sweet blush of some sort...I tasted flower essence of some sort...it basically was a perfect match for my light mousse. He received a dark port to match his chocolate tart. I've never been a huge port fan, and drinking port at 3:30pm just seems wrong for some reason. It seem to overpower the amazing tastes of the chocolate tart and the peppercorn ice cream.

We both LOVED the two owners: Chika (the chef...the cutest Japanese woman I have ever seen) who would come to our table to introduce the dessert courses in a thorough and professional manner, along with her partner in crime (and husband), Don, whose kind personality was a perfect match to Chika's, making me think that if they had a child (which they may), it MAY just be the cutest, most meek baby ever.

All in all, ChikaLicious was an amazing experience. I could have probably scarfed down ten helpings of each dessert easily, but I suppose they don't want to fatten us New Yorkers up TOO much. Most of us don't have Segways (although I would love one...but I hear they are illegal in New York...I digress).

When in New York, be sure to visit:
ChikaLicious Dessert Bar
203 E. 10th Street
New York, NY
P: (212) 475-0929
www.chikalicious.com

Talenti Gelato and Sorbetto and Blacksmiths' Roughshod Blueberry Brandy - a great combo

Last week, I posted about a delicious dessert wine I purchased while visiting the great state of Maine. The wine is called Roughshod and is a product of Blacksmiths Winery. I had mentioned that I would be combining Roughshod with some vanilla ice cream, and did just that. The ice cream of choice was actually gelato from Talenti Gelato e Sorbetto.

I wanted to keep the flavor simple as to not overpower the blueberry brandy taste of the Roughod, so I chose Talenti's Tahitian Vanilla Bean (interesting side note: these vanilla beans are imported from Papua New Guinea). Talenti achieves this flavor by taking whole Tahitian vanilla beans, splitting them and scraping them by hand to create this paraticular gelato. The flavor is nothing like I've ever tasted before and paired nicely with the Roughshod. The vanilla flavoring of the gelato erased the cough syrup-like initial taste once experiences while drinking Roughshod straight.


I highly suggest you indulge your taste buds and buy some Roughshod (which you can do here) and pour it over some Talenti vanilla gelato. You can buy Talenti at any Whole Foods grocer, but you can also purchase online by visiting here. So plan ahead and enjoy this delicious treat in no time!

For a bit of background on Dallas-based Talenti, I found this interesting article about the company in Entrepreneur Magazine. The company claims its inspiration was found in Bernardo Buontalenti, also known as "Talenti." Talenti was a famed Florentine artist and architect who also happened to be a foodie. Talenti is credited with first introducing court of the Duchess Catherine de Medici's in the early 1500s to a concoction he called "gelato."

However, Wikipedia offers a more colorful history when it comes to the origin of the frozen treat:

"The History of Gelato dates back to the 16th century. There is some confusion in the origin as to where or who really invented gelato. As most stories go, it is credited to Bernardo Buontalenti, a native of Florence, who delighted the court of Caterina dei Medici with his creation. Italians are certainly credited with introducing gelato to the rest of Europe; with Sicilian born Francesco Procopio dei Coltelli who undoubtedly was one of the most influential individuals in the history of gelato, as one of the first to sell it to the public. Summoned to Paris in 1686, he opened a café named after himself called “Café Procope”, which quickly became one of the most celebrated haunts of the literary establishment in France. In Italy meanwhile, the art of traditional gelato making was passed on from father to son, improved and perfected right up to the 20th century, when many gelato makers began to emigrate, taking their know-how to the rest of Europe."

February is Fondue Month!

Ack! There are only three days left in February, so you better hustle your bustle and celebrate Fondue Month!

According to the folks at Bottlerocket Wine Shop, a fantastic little spot on 19th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues in New York City, February is the month to celebrate all that is melted and great. So hop to it folks! Whether it's cheese or chocolate, you can't go wrong. And be sure to stop by Bottlerocket for any of your alchohol cooking needs - they've got everything from Kirsch (a traditional element in cheese fondue) to some of the best port I've ever tasted.


One of my favorite dessert (or basically any time you feel like drinking) wines from Bottlerocket is the Familie Bauer Sylvaner Auslese 2005 ($19). The tasting notes describe this wine as:

"Medium Bodied, sweet, high acidity, intense, citrus fruits, honeysuckle, mineral, long finish."

Trust me, the honeysuckle element is delicious!

And for those of you not likely to cook at home, check out Artisinal in New York City for some of the best fondue on the East Coast!

Delicious Dessert Wine, courtesy of the great state of Maine

Over Presidents Day weekend, I took a journey north to Portland, Maine with my pals Erikka and Jessica to have our hand at dog sledding and snow shoeing. The trip was a great success - friendly locals, delicious food at Fore Street and lobster-shaped cookie cutters. Also, I discovered this great dessert wine from a Maine winery called Blacksmiths.

Although we didn't have a chance to visit the winery itself, I did pick up a bottle of their Roughshod which is comprised of 85% Wild Maine Blueberry and 15% 151 proof Oregon Brandy.

Here is the description from the folks at Blacksmiths:
"This is Blacksmiths' original fortified blueberry wine, delicious as an aperitif and hearty enough to use in a unique Roughshod cocktail. The wine is made in a similar manner as our classic blueberry wine, but the fermentation is halted by addition of brandy to preserve the appropriate level of sugar. This provides the balance of alcohol and sugar which is important in producing an enjoyable dessert wine."

My roommate Peter and I cracked open the bottle for the first time last night, and we both agreed that the taste was unusual, but delicious. We suggest small servings as this is definitely a dessert wine meant to be sipped with a potent aftertaste. Also, we're toying around with the idea of pouring it over vanilla ice cream - we'll let you know how that turns out.