THE BEST: Crème Brûlée

[Pan]

In the spirit of the previous "THE BEST" threads (see pinned linked list at the top of this forum), I am starting this thread.

Tonight, I went to the following brasserie with a friend for dessert near closing time:

Belleville

330 5th Street (corner of 5th Av.)

Brooklyn, NY 11215 (Park Slope)

(718) 832-9777

I don't remember the name of the dessert that I got, which was fine, but let me describe the creme brulee for you. It was a cardamom-pineapple creme brulee, with the absolutely perfect amount of burnt taste in the crispy caramel crust. The cardamom was a brilliant addition, and the pineapple, though perhaps not essential, was also pleasant. I can't remember when I had a creme brulee that was that good.

I should add parenthetically that desserts at Belleville are $7 and are only $11 with a pairing with a dessert wine or liqueur. My dessert was paired with a very good somewhat dry Muscat wine, and I forget the name of my friend's drink, but it had a delightful citrus taste.

What are your favorite places to get creme brulee in the Five Boroughs?

(Reminder to those of you who are seeing this thread in "Today's Active Topics" or "View New Posts": This is about creme brulee in New York, not in France or any other geographic region. If you want to contribute your thoughts about the best creme brulee in some other part of the world, please start your own thread in the appropriate regional forum. Thanks! )

Edited August 2, 2005 by Pan (log)

[phaelon56]

This one is easy. Try it at L'Ecole, the restaurant on lower Broadway that is operated by the French Culinary Institute. Creme Brulee is their signature dessert and it's been outstanding every time I've had it there (only four times but it was totally consistent).

I brought a friend there with me on my last visit. She's a Francophile and a creme brulee fanatic - declared it to be better than any she'd had in France.

[TrishCT]

The milk chocolate creme brulee at The River Cafe in Brooklyn is delicious. It comes with some mini beignets and bananas foster dipping sauce. Really good stuff. River Cafe serves a dessert/bar menu in one of its rooms so if you are nearby you can pop in just for that.

[GaijinGirl]

Ohhhh, Pan, you're making me weak at the knees! Not only is creme brulee one of my favorite desserts (not often indulged in), but the idea of pairing it with a port wine (my favorite type of wine) for only $11....? Dag blammit, why do I live in the Bronx??

--Janet (GG)

[raxelita]

May I weigh in that I experienced a really horrible brulee at Payard recently?

I mention this slightly off-topic since they are known for certain of their sweets, and I want to protect others from this most unpleasant product.

The brulee I had there recently was close to ice-cold (as in colder than a refrigerator) in the center, and the top managed to be both burnt and totally pliant. I did the ritual "taps" on top and the whole thing just caved in to the chilly core. And it wasn't even Restaurant Week...

[Pan]

Ohhhh, Pan, you're making me weak at the knees!  Not only is creme brulee one of my favorite desserts (not often indulged in), but the idea of pairing it with a port wine (my favorite type of wine) for only $11....?

←

Actually, it was my dessert, not the creme brulee, which was paired with the Port, but it is indeed a great value!

[Pan]

In the spirit of the previous "THE BEST" threads (see pinned linked list at the top of this forum), I am starting this thread.

Tonight, I went to the following brasserie with a friend for dessert near closing time:

Belleville

330 5th Street (corner of 5th Av.)

Brooklyn, NY 11215 (Park Slope)

(718) 832-9777

I don't remember the name of the dessert that I got, which was fine, but let me describe the creme brulee for you. It was a cardamom-pineapple creme brulee, with the absolutely perfect amount of burnt taste in the crispy caramel crust. The cardamom was a brilliant addition, and the pineapple, though perhaps not essential, was also pleasant. I can't remember when I had a creme brulee that was that good.[...]

←

I feel duty-bound to tell you that I joined a friend (in fact the same friend as before) for dinner at Belleville a few days ago. Dinner was OK, nothing special (though I enjoyed my onion soup), but the funny thing was, though we both got creme brulee for dessert, they came out different. Hers was in a circular ramekin, mine in an oval one. Hers had the cardamom in it but had no pineapple taste at all, while mine had no cardamom taste but was full of pineapple jam. I thought mine was OK but hers was better. But the unfortunate thing is that based on this inconsistency, I can't wholeheartedly recommend for you to go to Belleville for the creme brulee. Oh well.

[cchen]

Suprisingly (or maybe not so) I had a great creme brulee at Gennaro on the UWS.

[jturn00]

I thought that the creme brulee at Le Cirque 2000 while it was open was the best I've ever had. A lot went into cooking it just right.... I always enjoyed when there were left overs after lunch service:-)