BOSTON, part II

some time ago, i saw a brief story on Food Network (i think?) about the "lobster tail." not the crustacean, but a pastry item vaguely reminiscent of a lobster tail's shape, made of a sweet cream filling surrounded by crisp, concentric rounds of pastry. hopefully this picture helps clarify my half-assed description:

up until this week, i'd never seen one of these in the wild, and IIRC the point of the Food Network story was that hardly anyone makes 'em anymore, since the recipe is such a pain in the ass...

anyway, i was at Faneuil Hall when one of the bakeries in Quincy Market just put out a fresh tray of lobster tails. they were kinda pricey ($4.65) but i figured, when was i ever going to stumble across one of these babies in San Diego?

well, i'm glad i bought it because it was DELICIOUS. the pastry was exceptionally crisp and buttery, lightly sweetened from a dusting of powdered sugar, and provided brilliant textural contrast to the fluffy innards. recipes i've seen on the web seem to indicate that the filling can vary, from something ricotta-based, like a cannoli, to just whipped cream. this version of the lobster tail was filled with a light vanilla pastry cream (probably cut with whipped cream?) but still dense enough to be extremely satisfying. one of these is more than enough to fill you up for an afteroon, so $5 starts to seem pretty cheap...

if you ever get the chance to try one of these suckers, do yourself a favor... but you might want to share with a hungry (and not diet-conscious) friend!

BOSTON, part 1

ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls: prepare yourself for an epic recounting of one of the premier dining events of my life. yes, yes, after years (well, months?) of whining, i finally had occasion to go to the chocolate bar at cafe fleuri in downtown boston.

i think i've mentioned it like a billion times on this blog, but basically the chocolate bar is a rather fancy sweets buffet. calling it a "chocolate" buffet is somewhat misleading, as there were plenty of other items available (even if many of them did prominently feature chocolate...)

before i dive into specifics, let me mention some of the cool stations at the chocolate bar:
* Chocolate Martini Bar
* Crepe Station, with all sorts of wacky fillings (M&Ms, marshmallows, sprinkles, whipped cream, and, of course, chocolate)
* "Make Your Own Chocolate Bar" Station, where you could pick a bunch of things to toss into tempered chocolate, and then it set up into your own customized creation-- more of a chocolate puddle than a chocolate bar, though :)
* Cotton Candy Station, made to order (that is to say, made while you wait, even though cotton candy pretty much always ends up looking the same...)
* Chocolate fountain, perennial brunch favorite featuring pretzels, marshmallows, biscotti, etc
* Penny Candy Station, where visitors could fill up little bags of ice cubes, langham-branded chocolate squares, peppermint patties, charleston chews, chocolate covered pretzels, etc and take with them when they leave! cute!

so, besides all of this cool stuff, there were all sorts of fancy cakes, cookies and candies. i believe they say there are over 125 unique items, but i don't know how they arrive at that number... regardless, i made a concerted effort to try as many of the items as possible before i got too sick to continue (see the sacrifices i make for you, gentle reader??)

here's what i had (i swear, i ate every last bit of this stuff! and even though most of them are small, appetizer-sized portions... i think this list is still pretty impressive/revolting)
Peanut Butter & Jelly Cup - tiny chocolate shell filled with PB mousse, a thin lining of grape jelly, and a small grape on top. quite tasty!
Macaron - not the coconut cookie, but the delicate french cookie made of egg whites and almond flour. two varieties, dark chocolate and mint chocolate. the mint chocolate one was delish, but the dark choco macaron was kinda dry and not quite as impressive.
Chocolate Mint Toffee - rather than the crunchy butter toffee that i was expecting, this was more of a minty caramel. nice undertone of burnt sugar, the mint follows on the back end, leaving a pleasant aftertaste. this one's subtle-- perhaps too subtle for a guy like me. i would've preferred crunchy.
Chocolate Whoopee Pie - did not care for this at all, it was REALLY dry with not much filling (although i suppose that might be what a whoopee pie is like, i've never had one in the wild...)
Pink & White Cookie - like the fabled black & white of jewish deli fame, except the dark chocolate is replaced with pink, strawberry-flavored chocolate. lovely. i could see serving this with tea at the country club.
White Chocolate Carrot Cake - the cake was moist, very straightforward in its flavors; no weird abundance of pineapple or raisin or orange juice. just a pleasant, mildly spicy chunk o' cake... i'm not sure if the frosting contained cream cheese at all, since it was EXTREMELY sweet. personally, i prefer the classic frosting.
S'more Spoon - this was a dollop of chocolate pudding in a chinese soup spoon, topped with graham cracker crumbs and a torched bit of marshmallow cream. not bad, but mostly just tasted like decent homemade chocolate pudding.
Marshmallow Crunch Cup - thin dark chocolate shell, with a lump of chocolate'n'krispies mixed together, topped with marshmallow creme and drizzled with more chocolate. i liked this, although it was quite hearty and one was plenty.
Hazelnut Dacquoise - a dacquoise is made up of layers of delicate meringue and buttercream. this one was rich as hell-- i mean that in a good way
Cappuccino Cup - a cute little chocolate cup (with a lip!) filled with chocolate ganache and a beige, coffee-flavored whipped topping, dusted with cocoa powder. yum.
Chocolate Lavendar Torte - thin alternating layers of cake and chocolate ganache, with a hint of fragrant lavendar (and dried lavendar sprinkled on top!) i liked this, but it was rather floral and i can see how someone might not appreciate flowers in their chocolate. one piece was enough to get the idea.
White Chocolate Berry Cup - a thick white chocolate shell, with a medallion of white cake at the bottom, filled with whipped cream and berries. simple, but f'in tasty.
Mint Cookie Mousse - an oreo topped with a molded mint chocolate mousse, holding a tiny reservoir of chocolate sauce. i enjoyed the textural contrast, and i can't imagine the headache of making hundreds of these things...
Chocolate Risotto - very light and fluffy, i thought this would be like chocolate rice pudding but it was strangely not at all sweet.
Chocolate Banana Tart - a tiny cookie shell holding a dollop of chocolate mousse and a sliver of banana. good, if you like bananas.
White Chocolate Cremeaux - wtf is a cremeaux? i just looked it up, and i'm still not sure. it was like a slightly bouncy white chocolate mousse, sitting atop a chocolate wafer cookie. ultra creamy texture, i very much enjoyed the flavor (although i admit to really liking white chocolate, so i'm sure that helps...)
Dark Chocolate Panna Cotta - this was a fairly big portion of rubbery panna cotta on a shortbread leaf, with a puddle of caramel goo on top. i thought this was perhaps a little too stiff, and the flavor was a little watery.
American Opera Cake - the traditional opera cake is flavored with almonds, coffee and chocolate. this one had peanut butter mousse and... orange?? i don't think these flavors go together at all; maybe the only thing i tasted that kind of made me do a double take...
Chocolate Ginger Angel Food Cake - a lot denser and moister than you expect from something called angel food cake... the chocolate and crystallized ginger work well together.
Chocolate Caramel Popcorn Ball - just what it sounds like... perfect for halloween
White Chocolate Cheesecake - a really nicely-made cheesecake, very smooth and creamy without being too dense or heavy. topped with berries to balance the sweetness.
Chocolate Tres Leches - a round tumbler filled with chocolate sauce, tres leches cake and topped with chocolate mousse. REALLY wet for a tres leches (as if i'm an expert) and rather sweet, but enjoyable. of course, by the time i got to this i was pretty much sick of sweets. and they said it couldn't happen...

anyway, i am between working cameras at this point but i did snap some craptacular pics using my cellphone. EDIT: updated with pics!

all in all, a monumental chocolate experience... i'd encourage anyone who finds themselves in the area to give it a try, although i think most people will be overwhelmed by a meal comprised entirely of sugary confections... cafe fleuri's chocolate bar is open every Saturday between September and June and costs about $40 (including coffee, not including liquor or tip).