Russ and Daughters

Russ & Daughters is a famous Lower East Side provider of bagels, cream cheese, smoked (and non-smoked) fish, and other such delicious brunch essentials.  Unbeknownst to most, it also sells chocolate.

It sells bon bons:

It doesn't take them that seriously.  They don't make them themselves, and the people who worked their did not know where they got them.  But they were totally serviceable.  They sell chocolate covered pretzels:

... which are honestly pretty hard to mess up.  But the star is this:

Chocolate bagel bread pudding.  Like regular bread pudding, but with bagels instead of bread.  And chocolate chips.

At first bite, you'll be like, "This isn't chocolatey enough.  But I better have another bite."  At second bite you'll be like, "This still isn't chocolatey enough, but I'll have another couple bites."  And pretty soon you are just shoveling it into your mouth like you have not seen food in six weeks.

Bottom Line: This isn't chocolatey enough, but I'll take a dozen.

Chocolate Croissant Bread Pudding from Maialino

David and I went to Maialino for dinner this weekend. We definitely did not need to get dessert there, as I had been baking cookies and hamantaschen all day, eating dough as I went, and after dinner we had plans to taste a bunch of chocolate bars from Istanbul.

But then we saw chocolate croissant bread pudding listed on the menu, and, as David pointed out, "How often are you out Maialino?" And so there was dessert.



This was listed on the menu as being accompanied with hazelnut gelato, by the way. Obviously we subbed in chocolate gelato instead.

Here is what we said while we ate this dish:

DAVID: "I am so far from having regrets right now. What is the opposite of regret?"
LEILA: "I don't know, but right now all I am experiencing is delight."

DAVID: "This dessert is literally so good that it makes me feel like I've wasted the rest of my life until now."

LEILA: "Jesus Christ. This thing. How is it like this?"

Here is what our plates looked like when the waitress came to collect them:



BOTTOM LINE: Don't waste your life. Eat this dessert.

Extraordinary Desserts, San Diego

So I came from San Francisco and New York, two of the world's greatest chocolate cities, to San Diego, a city not known for its chocolate at all.  My friend Nick took me to Extraordinary Desserts, saying that it was one of the best places in San Diego.  I wanted dessert, but I was not expecting much.

WOW.  Chocolate croissant bread pudding.  Who would've thought?  You guys.  It was incredible.  I can't even explain.  It was so good, I ordered a slice of the "Au Chocolat" flourless chocolate cake to-go:

Even eaten later, out of a to-go box, it was delicious.  Just look at that -- you can't go wrong.

Bottom Line: Do not underestimate the less famous chocolate cities!  There are gems everywhere!

Hudson Clearwater

I went to Hudson Clearwater for dinner last night. I ate this:

Here is how the menu describes it: "Chocolate-Banana brioche bread pudding, Strawberries, dark chocolate drizzle."

Here is how I describe it: delicious. Nice banana undertones without being too banana-y, great texture, top-quality chocolate. Some of my dining companions asked if I wanted to "split it." I was like, "No."

BOTTOM LINE:: It's not cheap ($9), but if you're already eating at this restaurant, you would be a fool to skip the dessert.