Where else would you expect to find the latest and greatest food trends but New York City? My friends Renee and Jose moved to Brooklyn from Monrovia, California almost a year ago, and she has been sending me her latest finds on a regular basis. The latest report from Renee is on Chikalicious, a dessert only restaurant in New York. It may have been the first dessert only restaurant, but it certainly won't be the last. I look for this trend to hit Los Angeles in a few months, and maybe San Diego by next year. It takes a while for trends to get established and really take off. Here's a peek at Chikalicious.
It really is dessert only. Their web site, www.chikalicious.com, shows a sample menu. They offer a prix fixe menu for $14, not bad for New York. You get a choice of dessert and petits fours, and for an additional $8, you get wine! Choices include fromage blanc island "cheese cake", white chocolate mousse profiterole with concord grape sorbet and frosted pistachio, steamed fig pudding cake with vanilla anglaise and fresh fig, and warm chocolate tart. I'm not a huge fan of dessert, so I probably wouldn't go to this restaurant, but for sweet and chocolate lovers, this is probably close to heaven.
The owner of Chikalicious is a Chika Tillman, a classically trained chef, born in Japan and trained at the French Cullinary Institute. He has worked in such reknown restaurants as Gramercy Tavern and Ritz-Carlton Buckhead, so he's had plenty of fine dining experience before turning to dessert.
New York has numerous other "dessert" restaurants, but they all serve food. Chikalicious is the only one I could find that serves dessert only. How about Sweet Revenge, a restaurant that serves cupcakes, beer and wine, and food? Quite a combination. Spot Dessert Bar looked interesting. In addition to all their desserts, they offer a brunch on Saturday and Sunday, which includes items like crispy vanilla waffles and buttermilk pancakes. This was pretty close to a dessert only restaurant. Finally, while searching the web I must mention a site that intrigued me. It's called Rice to Riches. Go to www.ricetoriches.com. They do have a location in New York, but most of their business is done via the internet. For $55 you can have shipped to your door the sumo size portion (serves 5) of about 20 different, exotic puddings. You've got to check them out and read the names of some of their creations. What will they think of next?
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