Vol. 5 No. 2, February 2008
RSS Feeds
Just Desserts
For lovers, Valentine’s Day is the most important day of the year. How better to fulfill romantic fantasies than by savoring decadent sweet treats? For scrumptious desserts served with flair, consider these local restaurants.
THE MELTING POT 2112 Atlantic Avenue, Atlantic City, NJ • 609-441-1100
Open since December, the Melting Pot will appeal chiefly to chocolate lovers. Owner Charlie Haney serves nine sweet specialties with a dark, milk or white chocolate base. They can be served with separate “dippers:” fresh fruit, cheesecake, marshmallows, pound cake and brownies.
Haney calls fondue the ultimate romantic dessert. “Couples love the long fondue forks, because they can lean over and feed each other,” he says.
His favorites are the original milk chocolate fondue with a swirl of crunchy peanut butter and the Flaming Turtle (milk chocolate, caramel and chopped pecans, all flambéed tableside). Desserts are available in two sizes (serving two for $17, or four for $34). Desserts may also be ordered a la carte at the bar, which has its own cooking burners.
TRE FIGLIO 500 West White Horse Pike, Galloway Twp., NJ • 609-965-3303
Since opening in 1989, Jack and Toni Cordivari’s Tre Figlio has been a family affair. Their son, Chef Jim, does most of the baking, and specializes in some delicious desserts.
“After each meal, we offer a sample tray of our homemade desserts,” says Toni. Among the favorites is tartuffo, a blend of vanilla and chocolate ice cream with a macaroon and cherry center covered with a chocolate shell. Spumoni, which layers ice cream and fruits, also is popular.
Almond biscotti and ricotta cheese pie are staples on Tre Figlio’s La Dolce Vita dessert tray. Other choices for Valentine’s Day include cannolis, peanut butter cheese pie and rich banana cream or Chambord cream pie, both served partially frozen in a graham cracker and chocolate crust. Specialty coffees with whipped cream also tempt the palate. Tre Figlio desserts are typically priced at $7.
KAREN & REI’S 1882 Route 9 North, Clermont, NJ • 609-624-8205
Rei Prabhakar calls dessert an “important finish” to a fine meal. The menu at Karen & Rei’s includes an “Encyclopedia of Desserts” with four sections: The Land of Chocolate, Karen’s Classic Cheesecakes, Other Desserts and Unbelievable Tortes.
Karen Nelson prepares dessert in small batches daily, so they occasionally run out. However, diners will always have 16 to 18 choices under $7.75, from fresh apple pie and fruit tarts to homemade ice cream, peanut butter and toffee delicacies, and the popular Coeur au Chocolate, created for Valentine’s Day 1999 and kept on the menu.
Karen & Rei’s will offer a separate Valentine’s Day menu, with a new sweetheart dessert for two. Rei says it’s a secret, but guests can be sure it will be freshly made and feature plenty of chocolate.
RAM’S HEAD INN 9 West White Horse Pike, Absecon, NJ • 609-652-1700
The venerable restaurant makes dessert specials every day. Servers wheel a three-tiered dessert cart to each table, filled with a tempting assortment of cakes, pies, crème brulee in different flavors, fresh fruits and berries. All dessert items are $7.
A theatrical treat is Bananas Foster, flambéed tableside. Fresh Grand Marnier-flavored whipped cream is always available as a garnish for any sweet treat. The Ram’s Head also offers a variety of homemade cookies.
Pastry chef Rich Keen is developing special Valentine’s Day desserts, some for sharing, with chocolate as a key ingredient. And General Manager Dan Anderson says Keen has perfected the art of the cheesecake.
“The many flavors are moist, rich and taste great,” he says. “Rich has his cheesecake preparation down to a science.”
Hot Eats - Chef's Corner RSS 2.0 Feed
Hot Eats - Chef's Corner Podcast Feed
