The case for long dessert menus

January 17, 2020 by
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The offerings of most restaurant dessert menus – if there is even one to begin with – are not the stuff of dreams. Most eateries do not put much time or thought into curating an offering of sweets to end the meal. Perhaps this is due to cost concerns, as having a pastry chef along with dedicated refrigerator or preparation space for offering desserts is expensive and restaurants run on razor-thin margins in the best of times. Another problem is that too few people actually order dessert to make it feasible to have complex last courses. But when there is a good dessert menu with numerous options, it can be divine, says Grub Street’s Nikita Richardson.

Richardson argues that people feel more passionate about their favorite dessert than they do about most mains or sides. Restaurateur and former pastry chef Alex Stupak agrees. “Desserts are the toy department,” he says. “It’s the one time that human beings eat purely for pleasure.”

Being presented with a long dessert menu can make you feel like a kid again, says Richardson. It evokes the joie de vivre that often escapes us when we mature and have to think about bills, jobs, and other soul-crushing things that come with being an adult. Richardson profiles the dessert options at some of her favorite restaurants, and I was jealous when I read them.

I recently ate at a moderately upscale restaurant and had a light meal, so when the server asked me if I was interested in dessert I jumped at the chance to peruse the menu. The interesting options on the restaurant’s dinner menu made me hope for similar creativity in the desserts. Unfortunately the menu offerings did not inspire. While none of the options was bad, per se, I had wished for more interesting items along the lines of what Richardson described in the article.

Although the desserts were not inspired, they were well-executed. Vanilla bean crème brûlée may be passe, but there is a reason it continues to find space on dessert menus like this one. The silky custard contrasted with a perfectly proportioned and caramelized sugar crust. Served with fresh fruit alongside as a counterbalance to the rich custard, it was a lovely ending to a fine meal. What is the state of restaurant desserts in your neck of the woods?

Photo of Fanny Zanotti’s creme brulee from Observer Food Monthly Magazine

Category: Antipasto

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6 Comments

  • leilx  on  January 18, 2020

    There is a restaurant in Laramie that used to have about 10 things on its dessert menu all the time—all really good, and most changing regularly. They had 3 cheesecakes, a cobbler and a pot de creme and then other items that rotated. Since their original dessert chef left, they are down to about half of that and much less interesting and imaginative options. I am regularly really disappointed that restaurants with good food have boring desserts. I also really don’t understand why more don’t offer small desserts to tempt the appetite.

  • dmco6863  on  January 18, 2020

    Many places I have been to offer only three. Mostly the usual cheese cake, tiramisu and sticky date pudding or a cheeseboard.

  • matag  on  January 18, 2020

    I can always pass on the same old chocolate mousse but offer me something I don’t make at home and I’m yours…whether I’m still hungry or not. Recently I was offered an ice cream sandwich… a split cinnamon roll stuffed with vanilla ice cream, coated, deep fried and served with a whiskey sauce. Yes , I ate it and would do it again!

  • sir_ken_g  on  January 18, 2020

    This immediately makes me think of a restaurant on the square in Avignon, France. A dessert consisting of three different flavored creme brulee.

  • mishmash1  on  January 18, 2020

    Lovely….I do love a pudding…

  • MarciK  on  January 18, 2020

    I wish more restaurants would offer smaller dessert options for when you just want a taste of something sweet at the end of the meal, and not a meal in itself. If you are going to go all out for dessert, I recommend Topolobampo in Chicago.

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