5 replies to this topic

[EatNopales]

Is it just me... or are fine dining restaurants (at least in the U.S.) increasingly pawning off desserts as savory dishes?


Whether it is the Michelin starred restaurants in the Bay Area, haute joints in Hawaii, Seattle & other places... the Foie Gras PBJs, Molasses Short Ribs, Sugar flavored with Pork Bellies are taking the joy of out of every f_ing fine dining meal I've had in the last 5 years and the trend seems to be getting disturbingly worse... and on top of the junior high school vending machine equivalent sugar load of the dishes they try to pair them with Sauternes, Rieslings etc.,


Is it just me... are anybody else noticing the trend, and put off by it? I really can't get excited by any haute joint now.

[Tri2Cook]

Maybe it's a backlash to the "Oh, I don't like my desserts sweet" or "I'm featuring a dessert of mullet tails and ostrich tongue" people? Take the sugar out of the dessert and put it in the other courses. If that savory course is on the sweet side, that savory-based dessert will seem even less sweet.

[pastrygirl]

I'm with you. It seems like every chef these days thinks they invented the sweet and savory combination, then takes it too far. Maybe it started with candied nuts on salads 10 years ago and has grown. I'm down with salt or spice in my dessert but I don't want my entree sweet. It's something I constantly have to remind myself to watch out for to avoid disappointment. Bacon jam might sound good because it's bacon, but I'm not going to be happy when it is on my scallops and is more sweet than salty. I don't want all of my food to taste like candy!!!

[EatNopales]

I'm with you. It seems like every chef these days thinks they invented the sweet and savory combination, then takes it too far. Maybe it started with candied nuts on salads 10 years ago and has grown. I'm down with salt or spice in my dessert but I don't want my entree sweet. It's something I constantly have to remind myself to watch out for to avoid disappointment. Bacon jam might sound good because it's bacon, but I'm not going to be happy when it is on my scallops and is more sweet than salty. I don't want all of my food to taste like candy!!!

Yeah it is not just a few dishes.. I recently had a tasting menu where every single dish was sweet... I felt pretty disgusting after it was all done.. it went:


Burrata with Sweet Corn remoulade & Blue Berry reduction

Frog Legs with Coconut Curry & Teriyaki greens

Roasted Quail with Carmelized Figs & Lavender served with an giant inverted Baklava (walnut crusted exterior, honey delight on the inside)

Misoyaki Pork Belly with Sweet Potato & Plantain Tempura

Short Ribs with Molasses BBQ & Napa Cabbage-Apple Slaw

Brie Cheesecake with cheese platter accouterments

Assorted Brownies, Cookies & Chocolates


Maybe there is a right way to execute such a menu... but overall it was a very unbalanced, unsophisticated let me throw it on the wall & see if it sticks type effort.


Maybe the Chefs are just responding to consumers & I am the one who is out in left field.

[mkayahara]

That menu certainly sounds like a train wreck. I don't have any problem with chefs incorporating sweet elements into savoury dishes (or vice-versa!). I loved my meal at Tailor, back in the day, which was characterized by this "blurring of the lines." Any one of those dishes sounds like it could be fine on its own, but there has to be balance not only within each dish (which is hard enough), but also within the menu as a whole. IMHO.

[EatNopales]

That menu certainly sounds like a train wreck. I don't have any problem with chefs incorporating sweet elements into savoury dishes (or vice-versa!). I loved my meal at Tailor, back in the day, which was characterized by this "blurring of the lines." Any one of those dishes sounds like it could be fine on its own, but there has to be balance not only within each dish (which is hard enough), but also within the menu as a whole. IMHO.

And then they throw sweeter wines into the mix on top of that...