Famous Fat Dave Talks About Pumpkin Pie

Learn about the history of Pumpkin Pie from Famous Fat Dave.

A $25,000 Dessert in New York

By Vivianne Rodrigues


NEW YORK (Reuters) -

A day after New York City came up with a $1,000 bagel, a local restaurateur unveiled a $25,000 chocolate sundae on Wednesday, setting a Guinness world record for the most expensive dessert.

Stephen Bruce, owner of Serendipity 3, partnered with luxury jeweler Euphoria New York to create the "Frrozen Haute Chocolate," a blend of 28 cocoas, including 14 of the most expensive and exotic from around the globe.

The dessert, spelled with two Rs, is infused with 5 grams (0.2 ounces) of edible 23-karat gold and served in a goblet lined with edible gold. At the base of the goblet is an 18-karat gold bracelet with 1 carat of white diamonds.

The sundae is topped with whipped cream covered with more gold and a side of La Madeline au Truffle from Knipschildt Chocolatier, which sells for $2,600 a pound.

It is eaten with a gold spoon decorated with white and chocolate-colored diamonds, which can also be taken home. "It took us a long time to experiment with all the ingredients and flavors, and more than three months were needed just to design the golden spoon," Bruce told Reuters.

Read the entire story at Reuters.

Chocolate Week in New York City

Attention all chocoholics: New York has declared its “First-Ever Chocolate Week.” Launching Sunday, November 4th, restaurants around the city - Artisanal, Butter, Le Cirque, Country, P*ong, to name but a few - will be getting in on the action with chocolate cocktails, tastings and entire chocolate menus (sweet and savory).

In conjunction with the week’s festivities, the 10th Annual Chocolate Show will be held from November 9-11 at the Metropolitan Pavilion and Altman Building (125 W. 18th Street).

For more info, visit the Chocolate Show.


This post is from Restaurant Girl

A story/review of Parco's Cafe in Printers Alley

Photo from Boston Dreams and Michelin Stars blog

Every town gets the tourist district it deserves. In Nashville, it's Second Avenue, a Country-themed strip bracketed by a Hard Rock and a Hooter's, with Charlie Daniel's, Coyote Ugly, and competing souvenir shops interspersed in between. Just off Second Avenue is the seedy Printers Alley -- a pocket Bourbon Street. It's been in the news lately because the dimensions of its strip clubs are too constricting to comply with a new "step away from the stripper" City Ordinance.

I say all this by way of prologue because I was surprised as anyone to discover that deep in the bowels of Printers Alley, a new restaurant named Parco Cafe is serving great food. And I do mean bowels -- you have to descend a steep staircase off Printers Alley to enter the subterranean restaurant. (It aslo has a slight basement smell down there.) It was a quiet night inside, with only three tables filled, but the service was attentive and the food delicious. The chef, Chun Fu, is Taiwanese but trained at Le Cordon Bleu, and you can tell that he takes great care with and pride in each dish. Mrs. Chu worked the dining room and came by frequently to check on us.

The sign says fusion cuisine and it appears that Mr. Fu is fusing his Asian roots with his French training. (Or is Fusion supposed to be a pun?) Mrs. Fu brought us a complimentary amuse-bouche of chopped grilled tuna, taro root, and some sort of french fry, dusted with curry powder. Doesn't sound like much, but it was tasty. We then had steamed dumplings filled with diced shrimp, fish, and chives. They were elegant and obviously homemade. The dumpling skin was thin and translucent, not the waxy shell you find at down-market Chinese restaurants. We also had a mango, tuna, and avocado salad that was outstanding in both fresh taste and presentation. The chef prepared it as a layered tower, a green avocado base, a red sashimi-grade tuna mezzannine, and an orange mango terrace. I would go back just for that dish.

Read the rest of this post in Boston Dreams and Michelin Stars blog

The World's Most Expensive Dessert

~~~~~~~
Sure your collectibles are worth a lot of money, but a dessert? Sri Lanka has great antiques to buy, and is certainly known for their Buddhist temples, but “The Fortress Stilt Fisherman Indulgence,” which debuted in March, has brought delicacy and wealth to new heights. Its creation was inspired by the success of the restaurant’s other gem-studded treat, the Bombay Sapphire Martini. Wine3, one of the resort's restaurants, offers the Indulgence for $14,500. Yes, I typed that correctly. $14,500. What makes it so special? “The Fortress Stilt Fisherman Indulgence was created to give visitors at The Fortress Resort in the coastal city of Galle a one-of-a-kind experience,” said Shalini Perera, public relations manager at The Fortress.

The dessert is a gold leaf Italian cassata flavored with Irish cream. It is served with a mango and pomegranate compote and a champagne sabayon enlighten, and is complimented by a chocolate carving of a fisherman clinging to a stilt, an age old local fishing practice. The crowning jewel, and I mean that quite literally, is the 80 carat aquamarine stone that rests on a sliver of chocolate shaped to resemble the traditional stilt fisherman that is part of The Fortress' logo. Patrons are welcomed to pocket the gem after they polish off the delectable dessert. Although, the hotel has had many inquiries about the item, one as far away as Japan, no one has yet forked over the money to try it.

Sunday Lunch at Joe's in Hendersonville

A really good restaurant in Hendersonville with delicious food. The service has always been nice but sometimes they need some help during those really busy times. The layout of the restaurant is unique and cold. They really need to add some art, put another type of floor down or something to feel more inviting and homey.

The food is good and that is the main thing. So take your appetite and enjoy some good Southern food and be sure to save room for dessert. Maria is the main cook and she is fantastic, funny and a real talker.

What we ate:

2 Cheeseburgers
1 Grilled Chicken Sandwich
Fried Chicken with green beans, macaroni and cheese, cornbread and sweet tea.

Desserts:
Key Lime Pie
Banana Pudding
Chocolate-Coconut Pie
Peach Cobbler

Sundae Sunday at Serendipity 3