La Sauvagine, Montreal, Quebec

La Sauvagine is a standard French cuisine restaurant in the heart of old Montreal. A selection of wild game is available for dinner.


Presentation:
Served in a circular deep ramkin on a small saucer. Garnished with fruit and sprinkled with powdered sugar.

Crust:
The crust was moderate in thickness. Standard flavor and sweetness.

Custard:
The custard was warm toward the top and graduated to cool on the bottom. The taste had strong vanilla flavor. The density was light and almost on the verge of being liquid.

Overall Impression:
Overall a good but unexciting crème brûlée. The density could have been a bit firmer, but the taste overall was good.

Rating:
2/5

Da Toni, Sherbrooke, Quebec

Da Toni is an upscale French cuisine restaurant near downtown Sherbrooke.

(My camera phone seems to be having problems and so I've lost the pictures for the last three posts.)

Presentation:
Served in a low circular ramekin on a small plate. Garnished with 2 light crisp cookies.

Crust:
The crust is of medium thickness and has a peculiar tackiness.

Custard:
Custard is served warm. The density is light and the consistency is fluffy and almost liquid. It has a moderate vanilla taste.

Overall Impression:
This is a classic crème brûlée. I am not a big fan of crème brûlées that have liquid consistencies, so that is a major flaw. It seems to have high quality ingredients and tastes just right. Other than that I would say it's good, but not unique or outstanding in anyway.

Rating:
2/5

Olive Street Bistro, Shreveport, Louisiana

A popular and highly recommended north Italian bistro. It's privately owned an built in what was once a house. Apparently it's not uncommon to find celebrities reserving their private rooms. Couples on romantic, candle-lit dates are a staple.


Presentation:
The presentation couldn't get much simpler as it is served in a round medium height ramekin on a small saucer. No garnish.

Crust:
The crust is thin and delicate but still crispy. It has a general sweet taste.

Custard:
The custard is room temp towards the top and graduates toward cooler on the bottom. The density reminds me of something just thicker than a moist marshmallow (although the taste has nothing to do with marshmallows). The taste is a creamy, rich custard with a slight hinting of vanilla.

Overall Impression:
Overall this is a generally good crème brûlée with a classic taste and style. The density and texture are generally pleasurable. The taste is average overall.

Rating:
3/5

Red Rock Grill, Shreveport, Louisiana

Standard hotel restaurant in the Shreveport Hilton hotel.



Presentation:
Served in a deep square ramekin on a long rectangular plate with a small half circle of chocolate cake as a garnish.

Crust:
The crust for this crème brûlée is almost the central aspect of the desert. It is extremely thick and hard. It almost looks more like a topographical map of Western Colorado instead of a normal crème brûlée crust.

Custard:
No custard is very light in flavor overall, it almost more present in temperature and texture than it is in flavor. It is served cool to cold. The density is light.

Overall Impression:
This is a generic crème brûlée, but the chocolate cake actually steals some of the spotlight due to its terrific flavor. The crust is the most remarkable aspect of the crème brûlée due to it's hard, crunchiness. However due to the flavorlessness of the custard the desert it becomes very easily forgettable.

Rating:
2/5

Biaggi's Ristorante Italiano, Maple Grove, Minnesota

Biaggi's is a fun, casual, white-tablecloth restaurant that offers an extensive menu featuring a full selection of house-made and imported pasta, soups & salads, pizza, seafood, fresh fish, chicken, veal, steaks and desserts.


It might be argued that this deserves 3 postings since it's actually 3 different crème brûlées, but since you pay for it as a single dessert it will remain as one.

Presentation:
Each crème brûlée is served in a small rectangular ramekin placed on a long rectangular ramekin. The raspberry crème brûlée is garnished with a strawberry. The chocolate has powdered sugar sprinkled on top. The vanilla has a typical leaf garnish.

Crust:
The crusts are all relatively similar and delicate to soft with a very smooth texture.

Custard:
The raspberry custard is very sweet and tart. The chocolate is rich and creamy milk chocolate in taste. The vanilla is equally rich in vanilla taste. All are served cool to room temp. The density is medium as well as the weight. The taste overall for all three I would say is a touch too sweet and takes away some from the overall flavor.

Overall Impression:
I think the heavy favorite at the table was definitely the raspberry flavor. However all three are quite enjoyable. I also found the garnish of a strawberry on the raspberry crème brûlée to be a bit odd. By far the best aspect of this dessert is the variety you get. The ability to try three flavors of crème brûlée is quite an enjoyable flavor party. However, I think the only one that starts to transcend crème brûlée mediocrity is the raspberry flavor. Their score is based almost purely on the fact that you are given the three flavors to try and the overall experience as opposed to any of the individual desserts being individually remarkable.

Rating:
3/5

Mi Piaci, Dallas, Texas

Mi Piaci is Italian for “it pleases me.” An upscale eatery featuring fine Northern Italian cuisine.


Presentation:
Served in a medium height ramekin on a small saucer. Garnished with fresh fruit.

Crust:
Medium hardness. Sweet crust. I couldn't tell if the maple flavor that accents this desert is infused in the custard or the crust, but I'll get to that later.

Custard:
Cool in temperature. Very consistent smooth texture. A touch of vanilla taste and the aforementioned maple flavor accent. The weight is moderate to dense but not bothersome due to its smooth texture.

Overall Impression:
This is a fun crème brûlée while being mostly classic. You'll find it on the menu as Crèma Italiano, but don't be confused it's really crème brûlée. The hallmark is the maple flavor accent that as I mentioned before wasn't able to ascertain whether it came from the crust or the custard. The friendly server assured me that the maple is in the custard and I'll take her word for it. It otherwise is a classic and high quality crème brûlée. The custard is consistent in quality and overall the dessert works well with all it's parts.

Rating:
4/5

Mezcal Restaurant, Worcester, Massachusetts

A small warm Mexican hot-spot in downtown Worcester. The house specialty is guacamole and tequila and I can vouch that the guacamole is second to none I've tried. They offer a Jericaya for which is described as a Mexican style crème brûlée.


Presentation:
Serve in a deep circular ramekin on a square plate. No garnish.

Crust:
Brown sugar crust which is very hard. Slight charring in the middle. The brown sugar definitely comes through in the taste of the crust.

Custard:
The custard is warm towards the top and graduates toward cool on the bottom. The density slightly lighter than average, and extremely smooth. I has a noticeably spiced taste which overpowers the vanilla.

Overall Impression:
I think this is the best crème brûlée I've had that I don't particular prefer the taste of. I regularly do not find spiced custard favorable in these desserts. However, the custards smooth texture and density of the custard is enjoyable. I think the crust is a bit too hard, but that is expected when using brown sugar.

Rating:
2/5

East City Grill, Weston, Florida - Part Deux

Still the same modern style dinner restaurant. With a destinctive flair and many exciting options. This is a second entry because the apparently the pastry chef has changed at East City Grill and with the changing of the guard so has crème brûlée.


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

Ciao Bella, Boston, Massachusetts

A casual, chic Italian restaurant in the heart of downtown Boston. It can be found among the lively restaurants and shops along Newbury Street.


Presentation:
Served in a medium height round ramekin on a dinner plate. Garnished with fruit.

Crust:
Medium crust with classic sweet taste.

Custard:
Served warm. Very thick density. There is a very curious taste within the custard of this dessert. It almost tastes like a hint of cookie batter or something similar to that. There is no vanilla taste to it.

Overall Impression:
In general, I do not prefer the taste of the custard so that really reflects on my review. The taste of the custard was really the only thing that stood out to me. The crust and garnish are unremarkable. The texture and density did not combine well in comparison to many other crème brûlées.

Rating:
1/5

InContro, Franklin, Massachusetts

A warm Italian restaurant with a cozy interior and billiards hall.


Presentation:
Served in a large medium height oval ramekin on a dinner plate. Garnished with two sigaretta cookies and drizzled with warm chocolate and powdered sugar.

Crust:
Thick crust with a grainy texture. There is a bit of charring in the center.

Custard:
The custard is served cool. It has a medium density. It has a strong custard taste and no real hint of vanilla except the vanilla shavings on the bottom of the dish.

Overall Impression:
While mostly a classic crème brûlée, the charring on the crust and the lack of vanilla in the custard stand out as significant drawbacks. On the plus side, the chocolate drizzled on the top serves as a nice accent. The cookie garnishes are also pleasant. Overall this creme brulee suffers from severe mediocrity. You do get a large portion on the plus side.

Rating:
2/5