I think while this place tries to be innovative and creative, they end up simply being in a place that delivers the classics to you at a standard that holds up to fine dining.
Coming from the ex-pastry chef at Gramercy Tavern, the carrot cake, turkey swiss croissant, and chocolate chip cookie were all a blast to eat.
The triple chocolate chunk cookie was best-in-class. Probably the chewiest and one of the most flavorful cookies I have ever eaten. I wonder if they use lots of bread flour and maybe some spelt rye flour to pack that chew and flavor.
This gigantic cookie admittedly took a few days to eat, just because we had other food planned. Amazingly though, every time we came back to it, it seemed to get better. Getting more chewy, more dense, and more flavorful with each return. Maybe this cookie needs to marinate every time before service. It did lose the initial crisp/crunchiness over time though. I think the white and milk chocolate need to be balanced out by having a heavier ratio of dark chocolate, but overall this cookie was a demonstration of great technique and thoughtfulness.
The turkey swiss croissant was really great with a flaky and airy crumb structure, and the center was moist and cheesy and savory and delicious. There was a sweet coating on the croissant which my girlfriend did not like, but I liked it since they used it to stick on sesame seeds which elevated the basic idea with nuttiness and almost popping shells of the sesame seeds. The sugar also balanced out the other flavors for me. Overall a very solid savory item to order that leans a bit sweet and needs more spice.
Saving the best item for last, the carrot cake was god-sent. This is that type of item that changes your mind about food. The cake was served cold but somehow the buttercream remained soft, and malleable, all the while not being stiff like other cakes served cold.
The actual cake crumb was utter bliss. An ultra-smooth, creamy, and spiced creation that had a hint of sweetness and kissed you lovingly with earthy and sweet carrot flavor but with none of the bitterness, stringiness, or other unpleasant textural parts that sometimes come with carrot cake. You can eat this cake with no teeth and a quarter of a tongue.
Most of the sweetness comes from the dab of frosting at the top and that is all you need really. The buttercream melts into the fantastically moist cake crumb and washes you over with milky molasses, cinnamon, clove, and ginger and the sweet frosting and carrot puree make sure you end it with a happy face. I inhaled this shit within seconds while actively trying to hold myself back.
by kmpham2013