Presentation:
Served in a traditional low-to-medium height ramekin on a decorative plate. Garnished with blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries. The easiest change to see initially is the change from the almond lace crust bowl to a standard dish.
Crust:
The crust has not changed remarkably. Crust is hard but not overly thick. Sweet and complements the dessert very well. This particular rendition had no hint of charring.
Custard:
The custard itself is also unchanged save for the removal of the submerged strawberries. This still stands as the best combination of strong vanilla taste with sweet taste and a very light pleasant texture.
Overall Impression:
Occasionally in life things come around that change the little things we so appreciated before. These changes are what makes one truly appreciate when those details remained in the original form. This crème brûlée is a very small example of such a change. The removal of the almond lace bowl and the slice strawberries in the bottom of the custard are small changes but remove two aspects that were the reasons I rated it so highly the first time. They were the incremental details that really made this unique. Unfortunately the inevitable drop in rating due to its more average appearance will be a slight black mark against what still is a superior crème brûlée. The taste of the custard still remains extremely fun tasteful. The combination of the crust and fruit (albeit on the side now) is still a flavor playground in your mouth. However, the small details which helped this dessert ascend to the top before will result in its drop to upper tier instead.
Rating:
4/5
1 comment:
I stopped back at the East City Grill in December 2008 to bring some friends by and let them try what I still consider my favorite creme brulee. I was pleasantly surprised to find they have returned to the almond lace crust for serving it in. There were berries distributed on the bottom instead of the diced strawberries which I think took away a bit because their size made for a bit of a crowded feel and awkward look, but overall I do have to applaud moving back to one of the signature features that originally made this creme brulee a 5. Maybe one day it will fully return to it's previous glory days.
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