Too bad that Elvis has left the building. The guy would have flipped over the Peanut and Banana Napoleon at db Bistro Moderne in New York City.
Unlike the King, I’m not a fan of
PB&B sandwiches. I’m actually not a
Napoleon fan either. (The soldier or
the sweet.) But I flipped over pastry chef Ashley Brauze’s rendition of the
gossamer Gallic classic – a lovely layering of banana cream, shiny and
sumptuous; rum-glazed bananas; crackly feuilletine, an impossibly fine milk chocolate
and peanut disc; and the coup de grace, spiced chocolate ice cream perched in
crushed wafers. (Brauze cooked at El Bulli in Spain and Per Se in New York
before settling down in the Daniel Boulud empire of haute cuisine.)
I’ll tell you exactly how good this dessert was.
So good that it stood out on an evening that could best be called Sensory Overload – that would be a performance of the outrageous Book of Mormon Broadway show and a dinner entrée of Daniel Boulud’s renowned, over-the-top sirloin burger filled with braised short ribs, foie gras, and black truffles, served on a parmesan bun with pommes soufflés on the side.
Yet, still, it is Brauze’s remarkable dessert that I’m dreaming about months later.
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