beXnlog

The Last 05

Like a strange case of deja vu or just people who like doing the same thing over and over, this New Year's Eve was spent almost exactly like last year's! Granted, the group involved was slightly different but it followed the same idea: food, something sweet, fireworks and hot cocoa.

The weather was quite cold and drizzly, much of the usual gang was out of town and truthfully - the end of the year snuck up so quickly i'm still thinking it's Fall! Rolling ourselves out of the apartment, we met up with Ish, L and O at Madras Cafe in the East Village. It was a good night to eat something hearty and filling. I couldn't decide on what to get so i got something new: the Tamil Nadu thali which was assorted Southern Indian dishes; be ordered a dish of eggplant, lentils and vegetables (which he thought was very hot); Ish got be's usual - the paneer muttar dhingra (cheese, peas and mushrooms in an almond sauce) and L had my usual - the Bombay thali. O, who showed up later after work, ordered a mango lassi and gulab jamon. Everyone loved their dishes and we left feeling full and satisfied. Honestly, Madras is totally underrated and 1,000% better than the restaurants on 6th Street. Again, it's one of my Top 5.

For a Saturday night, the East Village was surprisingly quiet. The only people who seemed to be around were mobs of drunken tourists wearing "2006" party gear. It felt like a good night to try Chikalicious, the popular dessert bar that we've been attempting to eat at for a year! Hit with some good luck, there was no infamous line AND there were 5 seats in a row right at the bar! Usually they don't take parties larger than 4 so it was really fated that we all should have dessert there.

Chikalicious is small, seating only about 20 people at a time. It's very sparse yet cozy and intimate at the same time. I'm very glad our first time there was sitting at the bar - that way we could watch Chika (the chef and owner) and the other chefs prepare everything. It was quite mesmerizing watching them create the different desserts with such attention to detail and presentation. Don (the sommelier and owner) was super nice and no one rushed anyone, even though customers started arriving and suddenly there was a long wait.

The way Chikalicious works is simple. For $12 you get a 3 course dessert, of which you can choose the main course from an ever-changing menu. For $7 extra you can opt for a wine pairing, which everyone did but me. I chose a pot of darjeeling tea for $3.50, which was enough for 3 cups and was served with 2 tiny cute creamers!

Our first course was a small scoop of roasted banana ice cream over coconut cream agar agar cubes. The ice cream was a complete flavor explosion in our mouths! I'd never had ice cream so wonderfully intense and pure - the roasted banana flavor was so delicious and creamy. Over the coconut agar, it was a refreshing and tasty start!

I really couldn't decide between all the main courses. At one point 3 of us wanted to order the same thing! I finally chose the warm chocolate tart with pink peppercorn ice cream and red wine sauce. be ordered the sweet potato brulee with egg nog ice cream and maple spaghetti squash. Ish asked and was recommended the apple soup with almond croutons, while L and O both got the blood orange sorbet with espresso pannacotta. Most of us tried everyone else's main dishes too, and overall i must say they were each completely amazing! Some of the pairings seemed strange but all of the flavors worked together beautifully. My pink peppercorn ice cream had an amazing sweet, creamy, peppery flavor. My tart just melted in my mouth. L's blood orange sorbet was pure intense citrus explosion. be's brulee was wonderfully Fall. Ish's apple soup was so smooth and delicious. And everyone's wine pairings matched perfectly. be was skeptical of his smoky cream sherry but after eating it with the brulee, he realized how well the smokiness brought out a feeling of Fall.

Finally, for the last course we each got a toasted coconut marshmallow, a dark chocolate truffle, and poppyseed cream on a tiny butter cookie topped with candied citrus. I normally don't like marshmallows but this one just melted; the texture was unlike any other marshmallow i've had before. The truffle was smooth and intense, dusted in cocoa powder like an old skool truffle. I wasn't sure what to think of the poppyseed cream at first, but as i chewed it up, all the flavors and textures worked together to make a wonderful bite of goodness! It ended up being my favorite of the 3 petit fours.

Overall, i thoroughly enjoyed our desserts at Chikalicious and will definitely try to go there as much as possible. Note that the servings are not big - it's quality over quantity here, but all 3 courses do amount to 1 average-sized dessert somewhere else. However, the flavors, textures and presentation are above par. The ice creams and sorbets were the best i've ever had. So go early, sit at the bar and enjoy some amazing desserts so unlike your usual chocolate cake or apple pie!

We spent so much time at Chikalicious that we made it right in time for the Emerald Nuts fireworks show and 5k run in Central Park! There was no free hot cocoa like last year (and we were all geared up for some given how cold and windy it was) so we headed back downtown to French Roast around Union Square. Their french fries are yummy but i can't say the same about their hot cocoa. It came in a large "mug," more like a bowl with little "handles" made of bear heads on the sides, with pretty chocolate swirls on a layer of foamed milk on top - but we all agreed it was Hershey's syrup! Good, but not really what we wanted.

In the end, it was a delicious night with good friends to ring in the New Year!

posted by beXn @ 3:44 AM