Young at heart: fine-dining chefs offer novel, grown-up takes on childhood favorites

Nation's Restaurant News, Jan 24, 2005 by Erica Duecy

Elizabeth Belkind, pastry chef at Grace in Los Angeles, is known for her seasonal doughnut flavors, including a recent maple-glazed cake doughnut served with candied walnuts and apple-cider-flavored ice cream.

Ice-cream sandwiches also have developed a following. Pastry chefs often use the frozen confections to garnish their desserts. For example, Snyder of the Lever House uses ice-cream sandwiches as an accompaniment for several desserts, including a chocolate shortbread and coconut sorbet sandwich dipped in chocolate, which is served alongside a coconut-and-milk-chocolate layer cake. Snyder's cookie plate also comes with an ice-cream sandwich, including pumpkin cookies with cranberry ice cream and snickerdoodles paired with rum-raisin ice cream.

At Fiamma Trattoria, a B.R. Guest restaurant in Las Vegas' MGM Grand, executive pastry chef Vita Shanley offers three ice-cream sandwiches paired with three tiny milk shakes in chocolate, strawberry and vanilla flavors.

In the kitchen of Jules Ramos, executive chef of Moda in Providence, R.I., another kids' favorite, the root beer float, gets a grown-up application with the addition of cappuccino-flavored ice cream. Ramos pours root beer syrup in a tall glass and tops it with the cappuccino ice cream and chocolate ganache. Just before service he adds soda water, "so it keeps its fizz," he says. "I used to use root beer, but it would go flat quickly," Ramos explains. "It's no fun unless it's fizzy. The flavors go really well together, and people are attracted to the nostalgia of it."

Candy, too, has appeared on menus in unexpected presentations. Back at the Lever House Snyder offers an adult take on caramel apples. Her caramel-apple sundae is served with pecan sandies, caramelized apples, cinnamon ice cream and whipped cream.

At Django in New York, executive pastry chef Nancy Olson uses spicy cinnamon candy to make her Hot Tamale-poached lady apples. Olson melts the candies to make a poaching liquid for the apples. The poached apples then are served over an apple crisp with a side of Granny Smith apple sorbet. The sauce made from the spicy candy is drizzled over the dessert.