ChikaLicious

[mjc]

Went to ChikaLicious this weekend, for the 2nd time, with a large group as part of a birthday celebration. Everyone really enjoyed everthing. This is a really cool place and a great concept and I look forward to returning again.

I don't remember exactly what we had, but . . .

amuse: mango and lime salad with white pepper gelee

Dessert: Fromage Blanc Island “Cheese Cake”, Poached Figs on Creamy Polenta with Port Wine Ice Cream, Seared Plum with Vanilla Sorbet and Lime-Ginger Granita, Warm Chocolate Tart with Pink Peppercorn Ice Cream and Red Wine Sauce, White Chocolate Mousse with raspberries and (a cocoa tuile?), golden kiwis with lemongrass soup and yogurt sorbet.

Petit Fors: Coconut Marshmellow, Mini Chocolate Chip Cookie, and what i Think was an almond disk with butter cream and a caramelized almond.

Again everyone really liked their choice. I tried the fig dish which was excellent and the "cheescake" which was quite different and had a great flavor. My only critisism is that the flavors in the gelee and the ice creams are to timid for my taste--I would like them to be more bold.

Here are some pics:

"cheese cake"

figs

kiwi and white chocolate mousse in the back

[jeunefilleparis]

HI everyone, a quick word, i couldnt find the old thread so if someone could put this there that would be great,,,,,,,,,,,

So after months of hearing about Chickalicious, and then 2 visits to salivate over the menu, my friend Kelly and I went to indulge

I had seen the space before, but I d like to add how serene and cozy it is. I felt like i was in someones kitchen the whole time. It smelled like toasted coconut, which i would later eat as a petits four

so a gentleman named Don sat us and before we could even look at the menu we were served 2 tiny spoonfuls of vanilla panna cotta each were dotted with a pomagranate seed. It was rich and creamy and the seed added a touch of tartness to it.

as we gazed at the menu, I am a die hard dessert fan mind you and choosing desserts is a very important deal,,,,,,,,, we were served a scoop of thyme icecream with fresh grapes. Now, i thought that I had had every flavor of icecream but i was wrong. The icecream was very refreshing and the grapes added a nice sweetness to the icecream.

we decided on the roasted figs served in parchment paper and cinnamon icecream and the marscapone semifreddo with expresso granita and lemon cake.

Both were incredible. The figs were served right out of the oven and had a lovely flavor and sent and coupled with the cinnamon icecream, well you could not have had a more ideal pair. the warm figs melted the icecream and was just lovely on tongue!

the semifreddo was a delight as well. i love marscapne ( jefferson restaurant, wher i work, has a marscapone icecream) the semifreddo was richer and more dense but still had the nice flavor and smoothness, the expresso granita added a great texture too the semifreddo, and the bitterness of it took away some of the creaminess of the semifreddo. the lemon cake was moist, well , more like wet, and was lemony and sweet and suprisingly went along well with the other 2 flavors.

the petit fours,,,, an expresso truffle, toast coconut covered marshmellow and a poppy seed cream puff were all a lovely end to a great first "meal" at Chickalicious

Chicka and Donna were very sweet and didnt mind me chattering away about desserts!

I cant wait to go back

[Varmint]

It's my understanding that Don is Chika's husband, and a hell of a host!

[Nick]

Chickalicious... It still sounds (looks) like a fast food chicken joint every time I see it mentioned. Move over KFC.

Edited October 2, 2003 by Nick (log)

[jeunefilleparis]

It's my understanding that Don is Chika's husband, and a hell of a host!

Don was a total doll- sweet, informative and friendly!

i love that place.

[Truman Nabors]

It's my understanding that Don is Chika's husband, and a hell of a host!

Close ..

Donna is Chika's S.A.

Don is however a partner in the biz.

[Fat Guy]

According to the story in the NY Post by Cynthia Killian:

Pastry chefs Chika Tillman and Donna Ryan met at Bid, Sotheby's now-closed restaurant, where they whipped up high-end confections.

"We'd like to provide that same level of dessert, but you don't have to pay $250 to get it," explains Don Tillman, Chika's husband and the 20-seat eatery's general manager.

[Fresser]

Holly, you never use "chick" to mean "woman"? 

I call 'em "broads."

[jeunefilleparis]

well, i was craving it again, a 3 course dessert meal, so I went back to Chikalicious!

This time I was alone, so I decided to sit at the bar so that I could watch Donna and Chika prepare the desserts.

Once again Don greeted me, could he be any friendlier? and shortly after sitting down I received a pre amuse, amuse, which was a spoonful of mango puree with a small cilantro leaf. Great palette cleanser and such a great burst of flavor! I was going to get the fromage blanc island " cheesecake" but they had just added a new dessert, a semolina souffle with warm sweet potato puree and a sugar pecan tuile.

The amuse was a lemon-milk sorbet served ontop of a lemon verbena gelee. I have never been a huge gelee fan, its consistancy is a bit to close to slime for me, but the flavor was still nice and went well with the sorbet which was creamy and sort of tart at the same time.

I was told by Donna and Chika that I was the first person to try the semolina souffle, so i have to admit , i was very excited. It came out of the oven and they place in on the plate ( remember i was at the bar, so i could watch) and the souffle got somewhat stuck in the silver souffle mold ( i m sure there is a correct word for it , but since i am not a chef, i have no idea what it is) anyways,they got it out using a knife and then they poured the sweet potato puree around it.

The semolina cake itself was not very sweet, rather mild tasting actually, but combined with the sweet potato puree it was perfect. SInce the inside of the souffle was very moist and therefore dense, if it had been sweet on its on, i feel that it would have been too much, but by adding the puree, it was perfect. the sugar pecan tuile tasted like a praline. Overall it was very very good. It was almost like fancy comfort food because the warmth and consistancy of the souffle, was , well, comforting.

So, I was chatting with the chefs and I asked them if they every ahd people order more than one dessert and they told me that one guy had come from the upper west side and siad something like " i didnt come down here for only one dessert" I found that funny and well, inspiring, so I decided to order what I had originally come for, the cheesecake "island"

I have to say that I had no idea what to expect. I knew the taste of fromage blanc, and of course cheesecake, but with the island part, i kinda thought about the french dessert the "ile flottant' which means floating island and is just sweet eggwhites floating on creme anglaise! So when a simple white circular shape arrived surrounded by chopped ice that seemed to sparkle ( seriously) I was taken aback.

Oh and they poured cream on it too,,,,, So when I took a bite I think that I sighed and declared that it was amazing, bc they chefs laughed, but it was THAT good and so original. It basically has the flavor of fromage blanc with the conistancy of cheesecake and its somewhat sweet but not too much,and well, you just HAVE TO TRY IT! oh it was so good! Maybe i ll get an my birthday cake made out of just that!

the petit fours were a coconut dusted marshmellow, a mini vanilla cream puff and a green tea papaya truffle!

Also,. I watched them prepare the pear dish and the white chocolate mousee dish. Its amazing how simple they make it seem and how they do it with such ease and skill.

Once again, I cant wait to go back sometime very very soon!

[Pan]

Great report, Lauren!

I'll have to try the cheesecake island the next time I go, if it's still on the menu at that point. If it isn't, there will be a bunch of other fascinating, pleasurable creations to choose from.

[TrishCT]

My daughter and I are going to see a friend of ours perform in the American Girl play (at the new American Girl theatre near Saks) in a couple weeks. It's a Thursday, just wondering how necessary reservations are at Chikalicious because not sure what time we will be there. We just gotta try this out, I downloaded the menu, sounds sooo fun!!

Thanks!

Trish

[rozrapp]

So, I was chatting with the chefs and I asked them if they every ahd people order more than one dessert and they told me that one guy had come from the upper west side and siad something like " i didnt come down here for only one dessert" I found that funny and well, inspiring, so I decided to order what I had originally come for, the cheesecake "island"

When my husband and I went a couple of weeks ago, it was early in the evening and, though, the place was virtually empty, I said we should sit at the counter so that we could watch Chika and Donna prepare the desserts and chat with them and Don. I told them that I was an eGulleteer, and they were thrilled that their place is being discussed here and is bringing in customers.

When it came time to decide about the "main course," I ran into a problem. My husband chose a Seared Plum With Vanilla Sorbet. But I was totally hung up between the Fromage Blanc and the Poached Figs on Creamy Polenta With Port Wine Ice Cream. (I adore figs. ) I was sort of trying to talk my husband out of getting the plum in favor of the Fromage Blanc so I could taste it, , but was not having much luck, when Chika suggested that we order the Fromage Blanc as a third dessert to share. The perfect solution! It was s-o-o-o-o delicious, as was my fig dessert. I had a taste of my husband's pear dessert, and that was wonderful as well.

We were all set to go back again last week when I realized that, it being a Monday, ChikaLicious was closed.

Trish, We asked them when it gets busy, and they said that they usually start getting jammed around 9 p.m. We didn't ask if they take reservations.

Pan, The Fromage Blanc is considered Chika's "signature dish," so I'm sure you will find it on the menu the next time you go.

[alanamoana]

just went to chikalicious last night. there were three of us and as it was tuesday, it was their monday (they're closed on mondays). we ordered three prix fixe with the wine pairings and one additional dessert (my friend and i are both pc's and my boyfriend just likes to eat!).

here's what we had:

amuse: lemon verbena gelee with lemon ice-milk

pear trio: shaved asian pear tossed in syrup with toasted pecans / poached seckel pear served whole (was supposed to be warm) / prickly pear (cactus pear) sorbet

frommage blanc "island"

roasted apple with cinnamon ice cream and granny smith sorbet

chocolate tart with pink peppercorn ice cream and red wine sauce

there was a semolina souffle on the menu which we ordered, but when it was unmolded it fell and chika was not happy with it so she gave us the frommage blanc cheesecake instead. very much the perfectionist.

i enjoyed it very much. her platings are very clean, very minimalist with an asian sensibility. the flavors were also clean and well matched.

i love the concept and certainly got some ideas (as i've been thinking about doing something similar for a long time), but i there were also some things which i think could be done a little better. if you only have 6 desserts on your menu and all you serve is dessert, then the kinks should be worked out of the system before service. counter service is great (like sushi bar), but i found that being the only people in the place, it should have been easier for someone to clear our used dishes from the counter rather than having to pass them back and forth over the counter to the food handler.

i do hope that business is good enough for her to stay in business. this is an unusual niche and something that i would like to see more of in cities across the u.s. it definitely showcases a pastry chef's abilities without having to work on getting someone to buy dessert after a huge meal!

[tan319]

Alanamoana

Are they doing their ice creams with a Paco-Jet?

At the counter?

I was thinking about the Conticini article in the NYTimes a year ago or so, about Petrossian.

Also: Do you (and anybody else who want's to chime in) think that an all dessert restaurant would have lower overhead, considering the standard items that would be used?

I know yoou would have to have an considerable amount of inventory, but the day to day stuff.

[mjc]

Alanamoana

Are they doing their ice creams with a Paco-Jet?

At the counter?

I was thinking about the Conticini article in the NYTimes a year ago or so, about Petrossian.

Also:  Do you (and anybody else who want's to chime in) think that an all dessert restaurant would have lower overhead, considering the standard items that would be used?

I know yoou would have to have an considerable amount of inventory, but the day to day stuff.

Tan.

Everything is done at the counter--at least all of the equipment is at the counter.

The pacojet is there. The ice creams are not nessesarily made to order, but are made as canisters are emptied.

Next to the pacojet is an induction plate (?), a countertop convection oven, a robocoup

Below are refrigerator, freezer, rack, etc.

Don't know about the overhead--don't all restaurants have standard items? Do you mean because of less variety of items-like no fish, meat to store?

Edited November 2, 2003 by mjc (log)

[alanamoana]

tan319,

i don't think that an all dessert place would have lower overhead per se...this is new york, overhead is mostly rent and that's high no matter what.

i think you can get away with a smaller space, which would lower your overhead, but any specialty type place could do that if they were smart about their storage, usage, etc.

the one thing i mentioned, which i thought could be better was having more variety. with only six/seven menu items, and three different petit fours...it was a little lacking for an all dessert concept.

my idea to work around something like that would be to do some type of wholesale business on the side (pre-made desserts for catering, etc.).

i'm also not a huge fan of the pacojet (clarify: i don't like it for ice cream, i do like it for sorbet). i had one when i was working in san francisco. you have to tweak your ice cream recipes so much (reduce fat, etc) and they still come out a little too much like mousse or ice milk in my opinion. for sorbet, it is great. as much as i hate spinning ice cream, i'd much rather use a taylor or coldelite. of course when i was at hawthorne lane in san francisco, we had a separate room for the ice cream machine which was a $15,000 cattabriga (spelling?). that thing kicked some serious ass.

p.s. i don't think you'd need a considerable amount of inventory. depending on the deliveries from your purveyors and/or if you were even using purveyors...you could purchase at a costco type place and get smaller quantities.

[tan319]

Alamoana,

Thanks for writing.

I think the machine you're talking about is this:

http://www.carpigiani-usa.com/

I was looking at their small one, it looks boss!

They also make pasteurizers (SIC?) too, I think. I geeked on them at the chocolate loft website.

I was wondering if Chikka had a Paco on display so people could see it being made on the spot , for spectacle factor.

I was speaking about the overhead thing more in general.Ingredients, etc. NYC I know would be a piece of work, rent wise.

I've been toying with the idea of a dessert place here in N.M. for awhile now. I was thinking about continuing to do the menu items for the 2 place's I chef at now at the shop, maybe have a side business with ice cream and sorbets ( for carry out and on premises) and maybe rent some space out to a friend who's a kick ass bread maker.

I was also thinking about using students from a local culinary arts program for a lot of staff. I helped opened a rest. in NYC for someone who was using 45% students for the line at his place and it worked out well for him.

BTW, I never dreamed I would be seriously considering this kind of thing!

Edit: I would also want to avoid the Costco route if I could. I've seen enough people running around like crazy, trying to save 50 cents a gallon on milk, etc., and losing much more then that in time and labour.

Edited November 3, 2003 by tan319 (log)

[TrishCT]

I thought long and hard before commenting about my first and only visit to Chikalicious (located down the street from the 2nd Ave. Deli).

I wanted to love this place so much. A prix fix upscale dessert bar... it just seems so New Yorkish, so cool. Very reliable..coff coff...Roz...coff coff sources had commented here and elsewhere about how good it was. Our visit wasn't but maybe it's because we iz us.

When I made the reservation, the gentleman taking it was very sweet and as enthusiastic as I was. Our party of five (2 of us moms and our 3 daughters-2 15 year olds and a 12 year old) had just finished taking in a performance of The American Girl Revue, where one girl in our party debuted in a leading role. We were ready to celebrate!

When we arrived at Chikalicious, our places at the bar were set and waiting. The place is tiny and it was raining heavily. There were 4 other customers there. We were greeted warmly by the gentleman who took our reservations.

We watched Chika and another chef preparing desserts for two of the other patrons. The girls asked questions about the desserts they were making (so they could make informed decisions about their choices) and were met with curt, one word answers--mango... cheesecake... I asked what one of the customers was drinking... house cocktail.... Ummm...it looks good what's in it? prosecco, quince... (Gee, sorry to bother you)

We had questions about the menu when we ordered and again were met with short, perfunctory answers. My friend whispered to me "I don't think they want us here..." And oddly, that's what I was thinking too...

Our amuse was lavender soup with golden kiwi and yogurt sorbet. It was different-a floral syrup, very pleasant. I had never seen golden kiwi before and asked Chika where she got them, she told told me "from the market." For a main course, I had the chocolate tart with pink peppercorn ice cream... The tiny mini tart had nice flavor, the ice cream quenelle was good but had no pepper taste at all that I could discern. For dessert each of us got 3 "petits fours," a coconut marshmallow, the world's tiniest chocolate chip cookie, and a little hazlenut cream swirl on the world's tiniest vanilla cookie. Each one was half a bite or less. The house cocktail of prosecco and quince was good, even at $10.00 for a small flute.

While we were being served our main course, a party of 2 sat next to me. After they placed their order they were served an amuse in a teaspoon, some kind of jelly with a pomegranate seed... then they were served their lavender soup... For whatever reason, we weren't offered the first amuse...

And that was it... we paid, we left...

The desserts were nice, the presentation was nice, but the service and attitude were as cold as the November rain...

Edited December 4, 2003 by TrishCT (log)

[jeunefilleparis]

I was a bit shocked to hear of your experience there. I have eaten there many times now and enjoyed every visit. From my experiences, I can tell you that Chika and Donna always have answered my questiions but without being chatty. Personally, I wouldnt confuse concise answers with being unfriendly or cold. They are afterall working and that is their main focus.......

[Blondie]

I think jeunefilleparis has put it very well. I have been there several times, and found Donna and Chika friendly, but they are very focused on their work. I also got the impression that they are both a bit shy. What were your expectations of the service? Did you mention eGullet at all?

Edited December 4, 2003 by Blondie (log)

[rozrapp]

Very reliable..coff coff...Roz...coff coff sources had commented here and elsewhere about how good it was. 

Trish, Well, of course, that would be me. But then, I am far from the only one here on eG who loved ChikaLicious. Here's the previous ChikaLicious thread that proves I am in very good company.

When my husband and I arrived, I did tell them that I am an eGulleteer. Chika, Donna, and Don all said they were pleased to hear that, so maybe that made some difference in our treatment. We happened to be the only diners almost the entire time we were there. While we did chat back and forth during the preparation of our desserts, we also spent some time after we finished eating talking with the three of them and found them very friendly.

So, all I can say about your disappointing experience is .

Edited December 4, 2003 by rozrapp (log)

[TrishCT]

I mentioned e-gullet when I made the reservation. And the very nice staff person (didn't catch his name) said we should have seats at the bar because it was fun. (His words). So I guess I was expecting fun. As I said, perhaps it was us, the weather, what have you... Maybe in warmer weather I'll give it another whirl.

And for the record, I think Roz gives outstanding rec's... She is my goto Manhattan source.

Edited December 4, 2003 by TrishCT (log)

[Fat Guy]

Sorry to hear you had that experience. I do think it's safe to say you probably experienced an off-night rather than an institutional problem. But of course that doesn't change what happened.

[mjc]

I would agree that they are not usually very talkative, but I would not characterize it as rude. I've said in previous posts about the place, that I think it would be more fun if they were more engaging and talked about what they were doing. However, I have found that everyone there is more talkative when they are not "working".

[rozrapp]

And for the record, I think Roz gives outstanding rec's...  She is my goto Manhattan source.

Thanks, Trish!