Mindy's Hot Chocolate - Brunch

I have been to Mindy's Hot Chocolate several times, and have really liked what I had, but I have neither been since Mindy Segal won her James Beard Award for Best Pastry Chef, nor have I ever been for brunch, so I thought it was a good choice for my monthly brunch trip.  Very shortly after Mindy Segal won her James Beard Award, she closed the restaurant for a few weeks to do some redesign work.  Walking in, I tried to notice what had changed.  The first things that I noticed were that the sign had changed.  It is now a rusted steel sign with the long, thin letters that were ground through the sign invoking the look of dripping chocolate.  The front of the restaurant was a glass window wall that was framed to fold in several sections and open to the street.  Inside, the layout has remained the same with the bar to the right and the kitchen in the back so it wasn't a radical redesign.  The colors have changed, the room used to be brown on brown but is know an off-white with a brown trim.  Some of the seating has been changed as well.  There was some low lounge seating near the front of the restaurant where there is now a communal table that would seat 10.  The brunch menu frequently changes based on what is seasonal.  The standard omelettes, skillets, French Toast, and skillets are there, but what is used in them changes based on what is in season.  There is also coffee, juice, cocktails, and the Hot Chocolate for which the restaurant is named.  There were seven hot chocolates on the list ranging from light to dark.  I went with a mixture called Half & Half which was actually kind of like a Caffè Mocha.  It was half Espresso and half Dark Hot Chocolate and it was very good.  It was hot (of course) and pretty bitter from the Espresso and the 72% French Chocolate but it was also pretty rich and had a sweet finish.  There was also a Housemade Marshmallow that was served with it that was a world better than any marshmallow you will find in a grocery store.  While I generally split my brunch between sweet and savory, I figured that the hot chocolate, which everyone ordered was sufficient to fulfill the sweet side.  Mindy Segal creates some amazing sweets but there is also some very good savory food here, so we had to plan for that.

For my savory side, I went with some thing that seemed to have a vaguely Asian twist to it.  I had the Brunch Fried Rice which came with Hanger Steak, Broccolini, Green Eyes, Pea Shoots, English Peas, Carrots, a Fried Egg, and, of course, the Rice.  I tried it and it had a very fresh and green flavor.  It wasn't bad as it was, but it was much better after having added some Sriracha.  I really liked brunch here, but I think the dinner (and dessert) is better here.  I was going to grab a bag of cookies to go as well but I forgot.  It just means that I will have to return, but this is not a problem.

Alinea

I first heard about Alinea about 9 years ago when I was out at a volunteer event.  I happened to meet a girl who was a waitress at this new restaurant that had gotten a huge amount of preopening buzz and had just opened.   I had seen a little about it but I really wasn't familiar.  The girl said that the chef had come from a place called Trio in Evanston which I had heard of, and had heard very good things.  I had not gone there but it was on my short list.  I did eventually make it to Trio, but by the that time, there was a different chef.  It was still very good but it wasn't the chef that opened Alinea.  After talking, I decided to investigate and discovered that this was a very high end restaurant that served degustation menus featuring what became known as Molecular Gastronomy.  Coming here was going to be an event that had to be planned for.  Due to circumstances, it took me 9 years to eventually get here.  It could have been sooner but they initiated a ticketing system that made it very difficult for an odd numbered party to go (You have to buy tickets for all seats at a particular table).  I find it difficult to ask a friend to spend the amount of money necessary to go to a restaurant like this so it was difficult to make a reservation/buy tickets.  Eventually though, a friend asked me if I would be interested in going and I said of course.  The restaurant is located in a modern looking charcoal colored 2-flat in Lincoln Park.  There is no sign, but there was a guy standing outside in front of the enormous door.  He opened the door and I entered into a hallway with dim purple lighting that tapered in width as you walked into the building.  I walked back and didn't see anything so I was a little confused until an automatic sliding double door opened in one wall.  I walked through to a host's station where I was greeted.  I noticed the kitchen to my right (further into the building), a staircase in front of me, and a dining room to my right.  As I was telling them who I was, my dining partner came out of a waiting area and we were seated in the small, ground floor dining room which contained 5 two tops.  There are also three dining rooms upstairs for a total of about 60 seats.  We were seated at a corner which was great because it gave me a great view of the room and allowed me to see the action without turning my head.  I was seated against the wall at a dark banquette that had a yellow throw pillow.  Our table was dark, as were the other tables, there was a grey carpet on the floor and the walls seemed to be grey as well with several small modern art paintings for decoration.  The lighting was hidden in the walls and seemed a bit dim, but was sufficient, for the most part, for photography without a flash.  Above all of the tables was a Rhubarb Stem.  It seemed a little odd, but we assumed there was a point to it and that it would come into play later in the evening.  We started out with some water and some Rose' Champagne before our first course came out.  We were presented with a couple of what looked like a couple of goblets with the stem mostly removed.  It would roll on its base if the side was pushed.  Inside was a light, tart, and savory treat.  It consisted of Banana Puree on the bottom which was topped with some Arctic Char Roe, Ginger, and ultimately with Passionfruit Foam.  It was fresh, flavorful, and a great start.

The next course came out in large covered crocks that looked vaguely like coral and had steam coming out of them.  When the server removed the covers, we saw a lot more steam with a large scallop shell in the center of the crock.  When we opened the scallop shell, we were supposed to see that Ceviche had been prepared inside the shell.  There was so much steam in my crock though, that it was difficult to see anything until I blew it away.  The steam was from some dry ice and water under the seaweed that the scallop shell was resting on.  When I finally was able to see it though, it was an attractive visual.  There was Roe, Seaweed, Scallop, a fish of some sort, and Red Onion that I could identify.  The menu that we received at the end of the meal featured Citrus Aroma which came from the Lemon Juice in which the ceviche was prepared, and Thirteen Textures.  With the wide variety of ingredients, there were a variety of textures, but I didn't stop to count them.  I did like the intense sour flavor and the variety of ingredients used, which provided the different textures, though.

The next course visually was a relatively standard fine dining presentation although there were some surprises.  The dish featured Lobster which was fresh and perfectly cooked.  The lobster was set in Carrot Puree on opposite sides of the plate.  Around the plate, were various other accompaniments for the lobster.  At the top of the plate there was a small pile of what looked like roe but what was actually Grapefruit.  Also on the plate was Melon, Cauliflower, Earl Grey Tea, and Coconut, and in the center of the plate was a Lobster Puree.  This was very good and was a lot of fun trying the various accompaniments.

At this point, they brought out a piece of slate with some logs stacked for burning, set it in the middle of our table, and lit it.

They then brought out our next course which seemed to have nothing to do with the fire.  It was an Asian-Inspired Salad with Ebi (shrimp), Celtuce (Stem Lettuce), Sea Beans, Grapes, Wasabi, Carmalized Miso, and Yuzu.  It was a small dish, but it was very flavorful with flavors of brine, shrimp, and Wasabi, with a little sweetness from the Yuzu and Grapes.  It also had a lot of fresh crunch.

After this dish, the server came and put the fire out and removed it to a serving tray he set beside the table.  He then opened a couple of logs, which turned out to contain a slice of very marbled Wagyu Beef  and a Parsnip.  These were presented on a charred log which was used as a plate which also had a Black Trumpet Mushroom covering a Parsnip Puree, and a Kombu (Edible Kelp) Puree.  This was very savory from the beef, the mushroom, and the kelp, with the parsnip providing a moderating element.  The Wagyu was very tender and the parsnip root was very crunchy.  It was a very creative and surprising dish that was also very good.

Our next dish was a very simple palate cleanser.  Frequently, I have seen sorbets used as palate cleansers because they are simple and the tartness does the job.  This dish, while not a sorbet, did fall into the simple and tart category.  It was served in a clear glass dish and consisted of Lily Bulbs, Rambutan (an Asian fruit similar to Lychee), and a Distillation of Caviar Lime (Finger Lime cells distilled).  Palate cleansers aren't meant to be much abut I liked the sweetness and the tart of this and it would have been nice to have more.

 At this point, the hanging Rhubarb came into play.  We were brought out a very cool glass bowl containing a salad containing Celery Branches, Celery Root, and a coating of Licorice along one side of the dish.  The fresh Rhubarb was sliced over the salad.  It was light and refreshing with bitterness from the celery and licorice which was moderated by the tartness of the rhubarb.

 After the palate cleanser and the salad, it could be thought that we were starting our meal over again.  This course was an entree as would be expected, but it definitely looked like we were taking a step down into Chinese Takeout.  I like Chinese Takeout and think there is a time and a place for it, but this was obviously a joke.  While we were presented with a Chinese Takeout Container, and the food that was contained inside was in an Asian Style, it very definitely was not a step down.  The container held Sweetbreads, with Orange, Ginkgo Nut, Mustard, and Cilantro and we ate it with Chopsticks that were actually Cinnamon Sticks that were lit on one end to imbue the dish with a cinnamon aroma.

We kind of stayed on an Asian theme with the next dish but it also kind of had a woodsy, natural theme to it.  We were served a Wood Ear Mushroom with Allium, a strip of Pig Ear, Parmesan Cheese, and Black Garlic.  It was chewy, savory, and very good, and one of those dishes it would have been nice to have a full plate of.

 The next dish was interactive again and the most popular dish in the restaurants history.  It has been on the menu from the beginning or if it leaves the menu, it quickly returns.  It's a small dish in a small round bowl called Hot Potato, Cold Potato.  It consists of a Cold Potato soup in the dish, over which hangs a slice of Black Truffle, a Hot Potato, a Chive, a small cube of Butter, and a slice of Parmesan Cheese which are skewered by a pin that runs through a hole at the edge of the dish.  The trick is the pull the pin, causing everything to fall into the soup, and then quickly pour it into your mouth so you can quickly experience the temperature and textural differences.  It was a lot of fun to eat and it tasted very good too.

 With the next dish, we were given very little explanation as to what everything was but that was part of the surprise.  The main part of the dish was Duck which was served 5 ways: Confited, Pulled, Roasted, and Pate which were served with a Duck Gravy, and a Duck Liver Mousse on a Cracker.  In the center of the table was placed a platter with 60 accompaniments.  Our instruction was to when we took a piece of duck (slice it in two or three pieces), take an entire accompaniment to eat with it.  That way each of our experiences would be individual.  We were not told what was on the platter, it was our job to figure that out ourselves if we desired to know what it was other than whether it tasted good or not.  Some items like the Pecan, the Fried Onion, and the Olive were fairly easy to figure out visually, and some were pretty easy to figure out by taste like the Pea Puree, the Apricot, and the Plum, but it was a lot of fun picking and choosing.  I ran out of duck before I ran out of items to to taste, but that didn't stop my tasting and we did finish everything that was on the platter.

The duck was the last of our savory dishes and we then began with desserts.  We started with a Pistachio Dessert which started with Pistachio Gelato and Pistachios, and continued with a Strawberry Marshmallow, a Black Walnut Gellee, Mascarpone Cheese, and Lemon Curd.  It was bitter, sweet, sour, and tart, with a variety of textures.  It was very good and played back into the emphases of the variety of flavors and textures in each dish.

The second dessert reprised the idea of the interactivity of many of the dishes.  It was a pretty simple dish but it was also very interactive, tasty, and fun to eat.  We were each brought a balloon.  I was then told to remove my glasses because the balloons were a course that we would be eating.  We were told that the best way to eat it was to suck out the top and more or less let it collapse around your face as you are eating it.  The balloon and string were Sour Apple Taffy and were filled with helium.  The whimsical would use the helium to talk funny but that didn't happen with everyone.  I think that I commented that it would be fun trying to get it out of my moustache.  It wasn't that bad, but there was some picking.

 For the final course, they brought out a silicone mat that covered the table top.  Chef Grant Achatz, the Executive Chef and Partner at Alinea, then came out with a round frame and several bottles and dishes and built our dessert on the table which we were to eat off of the table.  The course was beautiful and contained Milk Chocolate, Caramel, Butterscotch, Meringue, Violet, Hazelnut, and Blueberry.  It also tasted very good and was fun to eat.

I am very glad that I went to Alinea.  It is very definitely a world-class restaurant.  The food was very good and was fun to eat, the space was clean and modern, and but for an irritation that was not completely there fault, the service was exemplary.  I can have a tendency to talk loudly when I get excited and I was told that I was disturbing another diner.  I did try to tone things down but I was told a second time.  This is not a church or a library it is a restaurant and a very good restaurant.  Because of this, people will get excited and might talk with an elevated volume.  I was not shouting, so telling me to tone down the volume was an irritation to me.  Other than that point, the service was fantastic, I liked my experience, and I would definitely recommend it to those people that might appreciate it.  

The Purple Pig

There are some places that are foodie destinations.  This does not necessarily mean that the place is outrageously expensive and exclusive.  What it does mean is that it is a place that is very creative and different and operates at a high level.  The Purple Pig is one of these places and it has been on my list for several years but for a variety of reasons, a major one being the fact that they don't take reservations and the wait times can be extremely long.  Several of my friends have asked me if I have gone but I would have to say I have not been there.  Recently however, circumstances played out such that I am now able to say that I have been here.  A friend recently came to town and was staying at a hotel a block away from the restaurant so I decided that it was time to go.  The plan was to go for dinner and meet with my friend after.  Unfortunately I was unable to get there as soon as I would as I would have liked and by the time I arrived the wait time was an hour and 45 minutes.  I really had no desire to wait there for that long but they did allow me to leave my name and number and they would call me when the table was ready so that is what I did.  I met my friend (and his family) and hung out until I was called.  My friend joined me.  While the address of The Purple Pig is on Michigan Ave, the only thing on Michigan Ave. is an archway with a sign.  There is a walkway that leads to the entrance which is actually above Illinois Street and closer to Rush Street than Michigan Ave.  There is a covered patio for outdoor dining with a fire burning (because it was rather chilly on the evening that I went).  It was full though and we dined indoors.  The dining room looked had high ceilings with a large L-shaped bar and a vintage look.  As it is very popular, it was crowded and pretty loud.  As The Purple Pig is known for their Cheese, Swine, and Wine, we decided we had to have some of all of these.  They have a large charcuterie list and many of the meats are self made.  The menu has something called The Purple Pig Platter which includes a few slices of all of their cured pork.  As this place is called The Purple Pig, we decided that this was a necessity.  On the platter was Lingua Agrodolce, Cacciatorini, Catalonian Fuet, Chorizo, Testa, Coppa, Tartufo, Jamon Serrano, Prosciutto di Parma, Prosciutto di San Daniele.  This was all sliced thin, and prepared well.  I liked most of the slices especially the ham (Jamon and Prosciutto) and the Lingua Agrodolce (tongue) but the Testa was a little too gamy for me and I don't know if I would order it on it's own.

If you are going to have charcuterie, it's a given that you also have to have cheese.  For our cheeses, we went for delice de bourgogne,a cow's milk triple cream cheese from the Burgundy region of France, Caveman Blue, a cow's milk blue cheese from Oregon's Rogue River Creamery and an unlabeled smoked Gouda.  The cheeses were served with Fig Jam and Toast and were very good on their own or combined with the charcuterie.

With the cheese and swine, we also had wine to fulfill our "obligation" to go for cheese, swine, and wine.  We had a bottle of Syrah, but what specifically we had, I could not say.  I could say however that it was good.

We decided to continue with the swine after the charcuterie and cheese and had a couple of prepared dishes, one of which was a house specialty.  We had a Milk-Braised Pork Shoulder with Mashed Potatoes and Milk Gravy.  The waiter told us that this was a specialty and I can see why because this was amazing.  The pork was fork tender and amazingly flavorful.  The mashed potatoes were very creamy and the gravy was essentially the braising liquid for the pork.  It was creamy of course, but it also brought with it a good bit of pork fat and flavoring which tied the mashed potatoes to the pork shoulder.

Our other entree was a Pork Secreto with Roasted Red Pepper, Leeks, and Pickled Watermelon Rind.  It seems that the secreto is exactly as it sounds, secret.  It is a little used cut of pork located close to the pork belly.  It has a bit of the pork belly flavor and while it is tender and has a bit of bacon flavor, it isn't as fatty.  It was very good in any case and the red pepper, leeks, and watermelon rind that were served with the secreto kind of reminded me of the red pepper sauce that is served with Ćevapi.

For dessert, I had what were essentially Greek doughnuts.  I don't remember what they were called and I forgot to take pictures of them but they were fluffy, sweet, and like everything else that we had, very good.

Dinner at The Purple Pig was great and I am glad that I finally made it here.  The food and drink was very good, the space looked very nice, and the waitstaff were very friendly and helpful.  It was very loud here, but as it is a very popular place, and it was crowded, it was to be expected.  I will definitely have to find my way back here some time because there were some dishes that I still have to try like the pig tails and the pork jowls.

  

Blackbird

Blackbird is a celebrated restaurant which was the first restaurant of James Beard Award winning chef, Paul Kahan. While Kahan is still the Executive Chef, David Posey is the Chef de Cuisine and handles the day to day operations. It is a very popular restaurant and it has been on my list for a long time but I finally came here when it was open for lunch for Restaurant Week. While Blackbird is normally open for lunch and they normally have a prix fixe for lunch, it is located downtown and I work in the suburbs so I really don't have a chance to come for lunch normally. It's also open for dinner but as I said, it is very popular and isn't easy to just walk in and takes some planning if I were to want to come here.

Despite the name, Blackbird is not black. As a matter of fact, it is actually very white with a glass front wall. The restaurant is long and narrow with a bar on one side and banquette seating on the other with a semi-open kitchen at the back of the restaurant. It has a very clean and simple design with white tables and chairs, a white bar, and brushed aluminum trim.

My dinner started with a Confit of Baby Octopus with Fennel, Chestnuts, Finger Lime, and Chilis. I like octopus and the confit preparation made it more tender and savory. The fennel looked like celery and added a celery crunch and licorice flavor. The chilis were lightly used but added a very nice spice to the mix. The chestnuts added a nice crunch and the finger limes with their citrus taste I thought were individual cells. It was a very good dish as could be expected from a restaurant of this caliber.My second course was also a confit. In fact, it was a confit of my favorite meat, duck, specifically, Pekin Duck. It was served with Fuyu Persimmon, Red Wine Braised Radishes, Black Beans and Sesame. The duck was good. The skin was crunchy and the meat was very tender. The persimmons were both sweet and a little spicy. The radishes added a nice crisp texture but the black beans and the sauce that were with them were ridiculous (good). While I did what I could to get everything, if I thought I could have gotten away with it, I would have licked the plate.
I was very excited for dessert. The dessert/pastry chef for Blackbird is Bryce Caron. He is a young and creative chef who combines sweet and savory into some beautiful dishes. I have a soft spot for dark chocolate (as do many people) so that is where I went. I got a Bittersweet Chocolate Creameaux with Cashews, Butternut Squash, and Bergamot (a citrus fruit that isn't as sour as lemon or bitter as grapefruit that is used for its oil). I was wondering how the butternut squash would combine with the dish. It was used as a puree that was similar in texture to the creameaux. The bergamot (oil) was used in the chocolate bird's nest presentation and the total dish was as good as I would as I would have expected.

I really liked Blackbird and am glad that I found a time when I could go even if it was just for lunch. The service was excellent as was the food. I hope I can manage one day to come for dinner.

Girl &the Goat

There have been many thousands of words written about Stephanie Izard and her new restaurant, Girl & the Goat, the vast majority of them raving. Most people who know who she is know her as the Season 4 winner of Top Chef though Chef Izard does have a significant history before Top Chef. Born in Evanston, IL and raised in Stamford, CT, she developed a love of food at an early age. Before entering the culinary world, she earned a BS in Sociology from the University of Michigan. Shortly after however, she decided to she had to follow her muse and with her parents blessing, went to Scottsdale Culinary Institute and received a culinary degree. Working her way up in the kitchen she worked at La Tache and as a Sous Chef for Shawn McClain at Spring before opening her first restaurant to critical acclaim, Scylla, in Bucktown which she ran for 3 years before selling to Takashi Nagahashi in 2007 and entering Top Chef. With the help of Rob Katz and Kevin Boehm of the Boka Group, she opened Girl and the Goat last summer and is now in the running for Best New Restaurant from the James Beard Foundation.

I made a reservation to celebrate my birthday with a few people but it was a tough reservation to get so it was a week later. Because it was a tough reservation to get, even though I had several cancellations, I wasn't going to give it up and ended up going by myself. The space is very big and airy feeling with an open kitchen and high ceilings. There is a lot of reclaimed wood on the walls and the furniture and a big flame oven in the kitchen. The restaurant has a nice but not overpowering smell of wood smoke as you walk in.

The menu is divided into 3 sections, Vegetables, Fish, and Meat to designate the major focus of a particular dish. This is a shared plate restaurant so everything is served family style and everything is fairly reasonably priced. I decided that if I wanted to get a feel for the food, I should try something from every section.
For my vegetable course, I went with the Kabocha Squash Ravioli with Broccoli, Brussel Sprouts, Shiitake, Trumpet, and Baby Portobello Mushrooms, and Raisin Ragout and a Mushroom Creme Fraiche. It was very good and if I thought I could have gotten away with it, I would have licked my plate and the serving bowl.

My fish course wasn't actually fish and it did have a significant meat element but that was fine. I ordered Lamb Sausage Stuffed Calamari. When I saw it on the menu, I was put in mind of an old Mom and Pop Italian Restaurant near my hometown in Michigan that has since closed down. I remember once seeing veal stuffed calamari on the menu and ordering it with out really knowing what to expect. What I received were the bodies of the squid that were stuffed with meat kind of like big pasta shells. I remember that it was a bit annerving the first time I saw it but it was pretty good. This dish was very similar except that it used lamb instead of veal. Lamb does have a stronger taste than veal and some people do have a philosophical aversion to eating lamb so I could see how someone might not care for it but I like lamb and thought that this was very good.My final non-dessert course could have been a pretty simple dish (in theory) but the complexity added to the dish. The dish was a sugo over pappardelle pasta. Pappardelle is a very broad fettucini and sugo is a traditional Italian sauce using tomato sauce, guanciale, and pecorino cheese. This dish replaced the guanciale with pork, veal, and goat much in excess (there was a lot more meat than sauce) and added yellow cherries. This was a very good dish that I think any meat eater would have liked.At this point, I could have finished and been satisfied but I figured that since I was originally coming for my birthday, I needed to have dessert. I mentioned this to my waitress and found that she was celebrating her birthday on that day. So when she brought my dessert out, it had a lit candle in it. I have mentioned before that I like to challenge myself and if I see something that sounds really weird, I have to try it. I had heard that savories were used in the desserts here and looking over the menu, I saw that was the case. There was something on the dessert menu that employed a savory item in such a way that it sounded so weird that I couldn't pass it up. I don't remember what the main portion of the dessert was called but it was a bittersweet chocolate cake that seemed part lava cake and part brownie. It was served with a shiitake gelato and a salted caramel sauce. It was sweet and very creamy as a gelato should be but it had a very mushroomy aftertaste which would probably have been offputting if I hadn't expected it. Combining it with the cake, it brought a richness and earthiness to it that was very good.

Overall, while I thought that the menu would be difficult for a timid eater, the flavors were excellent. Her food really reminded me of Shawn McClain's food who I think is one of the top innovators in American cuisine today. I will be happy to come back here to share with others if I can manage to get a reservation.

Mindy's Hot Chocolate

Mindy's Hot Chocolate has been on my list for a while but the fact that a friend gave me a Restaurants.com gift certificate for Christmas pushed me to go. Unfortunately, the date that I picked was a day that I couldn't use it so I definitely have to go back (I did know this before I went so it wasn't a surprise or a really big deal). I loved my dinner there so it doesn't bother me a bit that I have to return. The building is brown and the name on the window is kind of stretched as if it were dripping. The entrance is on the right side of the building as is the bar which stretches toward the back. There is a lounge/waiting area in the front and the kitchen is in the back. The room is done in various shades of brown and was lit in candle light. The two top tables were set along the wall opposite the bar and the tables for four were angled and in the center of the room. Hot Chocolate is listed in several places as a dessert bar and with a five time James Beard nominated pastry chef running the operation (Mindy Segal) it very definitely is that, but it is much more than that. While there is no question about having dessert when you come here, you shouldn't neglect the savories as they are very good as well. I came here on February 12 so it was pretty cold so I started things off with one of the six hot chocolates, which was served with a house made marshmallow. I had a Medium which had a touch of dark chocolate and a hint of caramel. For my appetizer, I had shrimp and grits and it was savory beyond belief. I like shrimp and I like grits but I didn't expect it to be as good as it was. The grits were very creamy, the shrimp were Tiger Shrimp but it also contained Cremini Mushrooms, Red Onions, bacon and smoked tomatoes. For my entreem while there was duck on the menu (I always order duck if it's on the menu), I went with the pork chop. It was breaded, brined and grilled with housemade pork sausage with sauerkraut, apples and fennel. I don't think I have to repeat that it was very good but I will anyway. If I hadn't been at Hot Chocolate, I might have said that I had a very good meal and skipped dessert. As this place is known for it's dessert though, it wasn't an option. I ordered a box of cookies to go because I had heard they were very good. I did consider saving some to share but after seeing and trying them, this wasn't an option either. The box came with about a dozen cookies of several different varieties. All of the cookies were different so I couldn't try one and save another, I had to try them all and because I had to try them all, there was none to share. All of this though happened in the next couple of days after I went there. My dessert that I had there was called Thoughts on a Peanut Butter Cup and I wish I had thought about taking a picture of it because it was something to see. I did find a picture on the web of it so here it is. It contains peanut butter mousse and "peanut butter cup", milk chocolate hot fudge, Concord grape syrup, with peanut butter cookie dough truffles. After that meal, I have to say that I am glad that I was unable to use my discount coupon because it gives me an excuse to go back.