Best Creme Brulee

For no reason, I just remembered one of the best creme brulees I've ever had a few hours ago.

A few years back, my dad took my family and I to Betise in Plaza Del Lago. Everything was overshadowed by the dessert, by the end of the night. The fois gras was unremarkable, as was my salmon entree. The dessert was a whole different story.

The most outstanding characteristics of this creme brulee were that it had an extremely creamy, smooth consistency and no "air bubbles" in the custard. Two qualities that are in my opinion, vital to this dessert's excellence as well as pretty difficult to find (in particular, a very creamy, smooth texture).

There were other small details that made this creme brulee shine such as crushed vanilla beans on the bottom, a very thin not-too-burnt crust on the top, and being chilled just right.

As a side note, I'd like to say that while I usually detest flavored creme brulees, the chocolate orange one I had at Keefer's steakhouse a few months ago was very good. The consistency was a tiny bit chunky, and had a few air bubbles, but I overlooked this as the hint of orange infused into the custard was perfectly done - not too overpowering. I also enjoyed the chocolate covered orange peels on the bottom of the cup in place of the vanilla beans.

Betise
1515 Sheridan Rd.
Wilmette, IL 60091-1822
(847) 853-1711

Keefer's
20 West Kinzie
Chicago, IL 60610-6392
(312) 467-9525
http://www.keefersrestaurant.com/

Hi,

I was first introduced to creme brulee about 17 years ago at a restaurant in London. I still believe that what I had that night was the finest creme brulee that I have ever had although I have had others that have come close. However, I think some of the fabulousness just had to do with the fact that it was a particularly fun evening with particularly fun people. I could've had Jello that night and I would've remembered it as the best Jello ever.

Ever since then, creme brulee is really the only dessert option for me. It's as if I'm on some sort of Holy Grail type pursuit. However, the notion of it in anything other than it's classic form truly bothers me because to me, it's the simplicity of the dish itself that makes it so good. All it needs are a few fresh raspberries or some slices of strawberry and life is good.

Kim

The best I'd ever had was at MK downtown. It was very shallow (about 1/3" or maybe less) giving an excellent crust-to-cream ratio, and had huckleberries (tiny blueberries) that just barely sat below the surface. The flaming of the sugar carmelized the fruits a bit, and overall the tart berries and cream were a perfect combo.

The best creme brulee I've had lately was at the Magnolia Cafe, 3 weeks ago. It was pumpkin-flavored, but not pie flavored. Just fresh, smooth, autumn-y pumpkin coming through the creamy and crispyness. *sigh*

1224 W.Wilson
773 728 8785

Am I sensing a Brulee-athon?

Kim

The best Brulee I've had was from Smith and Woolensky's.

It is served in a small glass dish which is covered by a matching glass lid (similar to a jewelery container). Upon taking off the lid, you will notice large pieces of chocolate stuck to the inside of the glass lid with some kind of chocolate as well. In the center of these "chocolate petals" is a divine chocolate truffle. You can use the leaves of the "chocolate flower" to eat the creme brulee, or just your standard spoon.

As for the brulee, it is smooth, with that signature flame-hardened shell on top, with faint bits of vanilla bean mixed in. The flavor is beautiful.

I highly reccomend you try it.

318 North State Street
(At the river at Marina City)
Chicago, IL 60610
(312) 670 -9900

My favorite creme brulee in the city is at Kiki's on Franklin. The chocolate on the bottom is what gets me every time.

My best creme brulee memory (maybe irrelevant now) was at Trio under Grant Achtaz. It was a flight of 5 creme brulees - each diferent. As I remember, it included coffee, cardamom, chocolate, and others I can't remember. But the serving dish that held all 5 was spectacular.

wlingjpera wrote: There were other small details that made this creme brulee shine such as crushed vanilla beans on the bottom, a very thin not-too-burnt crust on the top, and being chilled just right.

Reading wlingjpera's message with its reference to creme brulee being "chilled" brought to mind the first time I had this dish. It was about twenty years ago at a small French cafe located in the lobby of an office building in Waikiki, Hawaii. Perhaps because it was my first experience with creme brulee, it is the most memorable and the best. It was very much as wlingjpera describes, including being served chilled.

Over the years, I've had many discussions about creme brulee and whether it should be warm, room temperature, or chilled. Any opinions?

Penpoint wrote:

Over the years, I've had many discussions about creme brulee and whether it should be warm, room temperature, or chilled. Any opinions? [/color][/b]

I think it should be moderately chilled, but warm on the top from recent crusting. That's the perfect combo for me.

Also, since we're on the subject. Tre Kronor serves an interesting and delicious variant that they call milk pudding or something like that (sorry, I can't remember the name...only the taste). It has the traditional crackely sugar topping, but is served in a soup cup so that it is not very big in surface area (unlike most brulees), but it is very deep...like a cup of pudding. It was quite good the one time I had it.

Tre Kronor
3258 W. Foster
Chicago, IL
773-267-9888

Penpoint, you're hurting my eyes.

Folks, the reality is that every creme brulee in the city is made by the same creme brulee cartel, Universal Creme Services Inc., up on Peterson. Creme brulee trucks deliver it daily to hundreds of restaurants all over the city, and the crusty sugar topping is created by union torch operators from the I.B.F.D.W. (International Brotherhood of Flaming Dessert Workers). The union's rules are very strict-- every creme brulee requires a team of three torch operators, and they get a half hour break after each flaming incident, while it took six years to get permission for the first pumpkin brulee, which ultimately required the personal intervention of Governor Thompson. (And that's why there's now a casino in Aurora.)

Mike G wrote:Folks, the reality is that every creme brulee in the city is made by the same creme brulee cartel, Universal Creme Services Inc., up on Peterson.

How can you explain the difference in quality between creme brulees, then? I know for sure that some have different textures than others, and different flavors.

I was told by the waitress at Betise that the creme brulee was made on site by the pastry chef, who specializes in making the dessert.

What is the source for this information?

PS: Are you serious???

Mike G wrote:Penpoint, you're hurting my eyes.

Folks, the reality is that every creme brulee in the city is made by the same creme brulee cartel, Universal Creme Services Inc., up on Peterson. Creme brulee trucks deliver it daily to hundreds of restaurants all over the city, and the crusty sugar topping is created by union torch operators from the I.B.F.D.W. (International Brotherhood of Flaming Dessert Workers). The union's rules are very strict-- every creme brulee requires a team of three torch operators, and they get a half hour break after each flaming incident, while it took six years to get permission for the first pumpkin brulee, which ultimately required the personal intervention of Governor Thompson. (And that's why there's now a casino in Aurora.)

Does this mean the the Milk Pudding/Creme Brulee at Tre Kronor is scab brulee since it obviously isn't made at the same factory as the others??? Say it ain't so.

You guys are so silly.


I think the best creme brulee is made at home. Much easier than you'd think. I watched Jeff Muldrow (Va Pensiero, Evanston) put one together in minutes this summer at the Botanic Garden. He used a stainless mixing bowl over a pot of hot water heated over the equvalent of a camp stove to to make an amaretto zabaglione. He spooned the zabaglione, still warm and fluffy, over fresh berries in a gratin dish, sprinkled it with turbinado sugar, and torched it with a 25-buck propane torch from Home Depot. Seriously fabulous. I bet it'd be just outstanding over dead-ripe pears or figs right now - add a pinch of cardamom and allspice to the zabaglione.....mmmmmmm!

Best creme brulee (of the few I've had) was at La Sardine. No bubbles, perfectly smooth, not too sweet. With a couple of berries for garnish.

Perfect.

I think Shannon turned me on to themon the Chowhound forum.

Thanks, Shannon!

The best creme brulee I've had in Chicago was at the Speakeasy Supperclub. They call it "hot chocolate creme brulee" and that's exactly what it tastes like... kind of like a creme brulee version of the Vosges Chocolate Aztec bar... creamy chocolate that turns from sweet to spicy in your mouth. In a word, phenomenal. I never had anything like it before or since.

Inspired by this thread, I ordered the creme brulee when we went to La Sardine last night for the prix fixe dinner*. It's an interesting variation. They use a very flat dish--less than an inch high but maybe four inches across. The result, of course, is a much higher-than-usual proportion of that union-made (union maid?) sugar crust to the custard. It strikes me as a classic accommodation to American taste, which I'm sure generally ranks candy ahead of custard. And, let's be honest, I'm American. Nam, nam.
Ann

*inspired by the cabbage post, I also ordered the pork loin in orange sauce with braised red cabbage and chive mashed potatoes. Also very good.

And the mussels. Just fine, but not as exquisite as the ones I had a few months ago at the South Water Kitchen.