Worst Dessert. Ever.
So, I just got back the other day from my vacation in Chicago. It's amazing there and I can't wait to go back. The food and service was incredible. And dear god, Morton's Steakhouse is amazing-I'd go back for the Ceasar Salad alone. But I digress. We went out to a restaurant where we had a delicious appetizer and dinners. Then, we decided to order dessert-Chocolate Molten Cake. I was pumped. I could not have been more disappointed. It tasted like they forgot to add sugar. I thought I must have been wrong-so i took another bite. The same result. AWFUL. I could not eat another bite. My BF thought it wasn't that bad and he ate the whole thing. He admitted it wasn't the best but thought it was at least edible. I just couldn't do it. Has this ever happened to you? Have you ever made or ordered a dessert and were so excited only to be left completely deflated? Would you ever go back to that restaurant? It does leave a bad taste in your mouth-literally and figuritively...
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28 Comments:
why didn't you just send it back and ask for something else?
cybercita at 10:02AM on 08/28/08
We ate at this great place once. I was also all pumped because I saw napoleon on the dessert meu. I love a good napoleon. The fondant on top was spot on the pastry good and crisp and the custard was fake whipped cream with no flavor. I thought for sure someone could have made some custard. This was an 8.00 napoleon. Well I sent it back with 2 bites missing. The manager came over and I said to him how dare you use readiwhipped topping on pastry. He made some lame excuse like it is a new baker etc. Dessert remorse sucks. I personally would like to just be remorseful of the calories and fat not the botched baked goods.
JerzeeTomato at 11:40AM on 08/28/08
Yeesh, I've never had a Napoleon with whipped cream. It's always been custard. :(
This was more stupidity on my part, but I ordered some dessert that consisted of fruits steeped in marsala wine. I don't recall what this restaurant called it, but it wasn't very obvious. I just thought hey, fruits! This would be a great cap.
When I got my dessert, I was sooo disappointed. For one, I can't stand the flavor of alcohol. That was all this was - a parfait glass filled with marsala wine and fresh fruits. lol I ate as much as I could tolerate and didn't say anything. What could I say? I wouldn't be able to do that now, I'd be on the floor after the 2nd bite.
The one other not so positive dessert experience was at another Italian restaurant. I ordered spumoni and it came to me very gritty. When I dipped my spoon scoop, the spumoni separated into thin layers. Very disappointing.
Otherwise, I've pretty much survived w/o trauma when it comes to desserts.
Oh, unless you count durian shakes. I know there are die-hard fans of durian out there, but jeez. This does comes from someone who hates garlic and onions, so I'm sure that's why I can't stand durian desserts and shakes. :)
The unfortunate thing about being served a bad dessert is that you could have had a wonderful meal with decent service, but the last taste in your mouth is what you often remember.
Cassaendra at 12:05PM on 08/28/08
Hi there, nice to hear you had such a lovely trip!
I've had the worst experience ordering creme brulee at an otherwise spectacular restaurant. The burnt sugar part was completely missing!!! It looked like it was made from a boxed Jell-O pudding (the funny thing is, I never had a boxed Jell-O pudding, at least not until that night), and probably tasted the same - it wasn't light and custard-y, it was just... Jell-O pudding-y?
I didn't say anything, because I enjoyed the meal otherwise, but I think I should have. It did surprise me that the waiter didn't ask why my dessert was barely touched - half a teaspoon was all I "ate".
Once I had a bad dessert experience in Israel - the cheesecake I ordered was awfully sweet and I couldn't eat it. It was my conscious decision not to complain about it, as I reckoned that tastes differ and perhaps it was a local thing, not a badly prepared dessert. However, the waitress who came to clean our table asked me why I didn't eat the cheesecake. I replied that it was too sweet, which wasn't to my liking. She apologised profusely and asked if I'd like to have anything else. At that point I didn't - my dessert-craving moment must have passed:-). The cheesecake was removed from my bill, without me ever having to ask or complain. While it may have been a bad dessert experience, it was certainly a wonderful service experience, as far as I'm concerned.
brooke29 at 12:20PM on 08/28/08
That has happened to me often. I think a lot of restaurants don't put very much emphasis on the quality of desserts, which is surprising considering that the profit margins on desserts are supposedly higher than other non-beverage menu items. After a wonderful meal at Postrio, I was served a bland, icky-textured dessert that made Snack-Pack Pudding seem attractive by comparison. On the other hand, at Petrossian, I had an unbelievably delicious dessert (blinchik baicale) that erased the memory of a mediocre dinner (also the memory of most other restaurant desserts).
juliec at 12:29PM on 08/28/08
There was a time when, if you found tiramisu on a menu, it was going to be good. Then there was a time when everyone had it on the menu, and it was hit-and-miss as far as what you were going to get, and whether it would taste good or not. I'm not a stickler for form when it comes to something like that, but when you get some crumbled cookies topped with instant pudding sprinkled with powdered instant coffee, it's not so good.
dbcurrie at 1:29PM on 08/28/08
@cybercita: I didn't ask for another dessert because my BF was going to eat it and did. I had a couple bites of the Ice Cream that was next to the cake. That was fine with me.
@Cassaendra: I agree! Don't know if I could go there again even tho the app was good and dinners as well. There's so many restaurants to try anyway, I'm sure it won't be missed. Just completely disheartening.
@Brooke29: Hi there!! :) That was nice of them to take the cheesecake off the bill.
All this talk of desserts is making me hungry...
Butrflygirly at 2:06PM on 08/28/08
Sounds like you got a mouthful of a dessert made with chocolate that was one step above 100% cacao. While a handful of people enjoy 80-90% cacao, some palates read it as completely unsweetened. I personally can't have more than a mouthful of anything that potent.
I also second sending it back. If the chef gets enough of them, he or she will stop trying to blow people's head off in a chocolate obliteration.
therealchiffonade at 2:07PM on 08/28/08
Here's the question: Do think that someone in the kitchen screwed up the recipe and it was made incorrectly, or do you think it just wasn't made to your liking?
If you think the kitchen made an error, you absolutely should have spoken up. Kitchens make errors. I once had a bakery deliver a tray of muffins to a meeting, then call an hour later to confess that they'd just realized the baker used salt instead of sugar. (We'd already figured that out, but just hadn't gotten around to calling because we were still in our meeting.) They admitted to making a mistake, and we happily continued to buy muffins from them. More recently, I went to dinner with friends and one of us was served a piece of cake with a long hair baked into it. We pointed it out to the waiter, who comped part of our meal. The next morning I got a personal phone call from the chef/owner (since I was the one who made the reservation) apologizing for what happened and inviting me back to the restaurant. So if the restaurant made an honest mistake, I'd absolutely go back.
But we've all had restaurant experiences where it's obvious that someone in the kitchen--or multiple people--doesn't know how to cook. If it's just bad dessert service, but everything else is terrific, I'd go back and go elsewhere for dessert. If it's a place with a great reputation, but the entire meal seems off, I might give it a second chance. If it's a place with no word-of-mouth reputation and the meal is lousy, I'm not going back.
chgoeditor at 2:12PM on 08/28/08
In recent years it's become more and more common for me to not like desserts in some upscale restaurants -- I find that they're usually either spectacularly good or pretty terrible. Often they're just overwrought -- too many ingredients, too much going on. I think simple flavors (made with the best ingredients, of course) are so much better for dessert, especially if you've just had a complex meal.
Places where I've had great desserts in NYC in the past few years were Daniel, Per Se and Blue Hill at Stone Barns. Not so hot were the Modern, March (which I think is gone now) and wd-50.
CookiePie at 2:25PM on 08/28/08
i once ordered a fried cheese cake... you know, along the lines of a fried ice cream. It's was awful!!! I could not take more than one bite.
MadelynRodriguez at 2:46PM on 08/28/08
@therealchiff: I thought that may be the case. So, I asked the waitress if I could see the menu again-thinking I may have missed it was made with that type of cacao. It wasn't stated, so I asked her if it was made with that and she did not know. I didn't want to go further with it, so I didn't ask/press her to speak to the chef.
@chgoeditor: From your name it sounds like you are from Chicago. I am jealous! I love that place. And I thought I liked NYC. Frank Sinatra is quite right. Anyway, it may be I just didn't like the way it was made but my BF even said it wasn't that good. He's just better than me and could eat it.
A little side note: we ordered Chocolate Molten Cake the next night (hey, we're on vaca-and we do enjoy that dessert) and it was heavenly. I even tried that night to put a little salt(I remembered reading salt could make it taste even better) on top of my bite. WOW. I don't think I can eat choc cake w/out salt again. YUM
Butrflygirly at 3:01PM on 08/28/08
I do not eat desert often, so when I do, I want it to be spectacular. I would go back to someplace with okay food but wonderful desserts, I would not do the reverse.
KarynMC at 3:01PM on 08/28/08
The problem with a lot of restaurant desserts is that they are bought-in. Food service suppliers all offer extensive lines of dessert items. Restaurant owners look at desserts as a way to jack up sales without making the same effort they put into entrees.
beth1 at 3:41PM on 08/28/08
We ordered a dessert, a mixed berry crumble, at a restaurant that's part of a concert and lacture venue. It arrived frozen in the middle with raw crumble on top. We told the server, who took it away from the table. It came back a few minutes later and I think the only change was that it had been put under heat lamp or something because there was liquid on top of the raw crumble. It was gross. We haven't been back.
Stufsocker at 3:55PM on 08/28/08
I don't eat desserts often but there has been a few times that the cupcakes or cakes are such "eye candy" that I could not resist. With that said it can be a hit or miss with me. They either are as pleasing to the palate as they are to the eyes. OR they suck, suck and SUCK!! Too sweet frosting, dried out cake, boxed cake. Cookies and brownies also have been a problem with me, I bite into them and they are so dried out they become a crumbly mess.
pjracz10 at 4:16PM on 08/28/08
This wasn't the worst dessert ever, but totally unexpected. I was in Costa Rica and ordered what was described as a tart with fresh fruit. What I got was tapioca pudding and very good fruit. I don't know how tapioca pudding and a tart could be considered one in the same, but I was still satisfied so I didn't complain.
AliNC at 4:20PM on 08/28/08
Cassaendra--I don't like alcohol either, except for a very rare glass of wine, and hate alcoholic desserts, and I so totally relate to the feeling of being all keyed up for chocolate and getting a mouthful of bitter spirits...or wanting to taste pure buttercream and getting whipped cream instead.
I miss the old days of dessert carts, where you could see what you were getting beforehand, like if you ordered say, Black Forest Cake, the cake on the tray looked like something that would resemble said pastry.
Carrot cakes are another frequent disappointment--too sweet, not dense enough cream cheese icing, and insufficiently sturdy cake.
HeartofGlass at 8:25PM on 08/28/08
a few weeks ago, i had lunch in a small french bistro by my neighborhood. after some delicious french onion soup and a fairly decent sandwich, i ordered a creme caramel for dessert. next thing i know, i have caramelly-hard boiled eggs in my mouth.
fatphish at 10:57PM on 08/28/08
@fatphish Oh *gag*!!!
This happened to me at my Bridesmaid's Luncheon at a very nice restaurant known for French cuisine. Chocolate creme brulee was one of our dessert choices and a few of the girls had never had it before. So, of course, I'm talking up how yummy it is and the best part of course is cracking that burnt sugar top.
How disappointed and embarassed I was when they delivered us chocolate custard with shaved chocolate curls on top. I was actually a bit pissed off to tell you the truth. I asked the lady how they could call this creme brulee and she just shrugged and said that is how it has ALWAYS been made.
Erinay77 at 1:56AM on 08/29/08
Where was this from? Morton's? And it's interesting that your boyfriend loved it but you hated it.
Chew on That at 3:39PM on 08/29/08
a really embarrassing situation .... had a couple that came to dinner a few times and though they didn't cook much, wanted to reciprocate by inviting me for a home-made dessert.
well, when i got there they were raving about the dessert they had made especially for me and my boyfriend. TAPIOCA PEARLS~! the type you cook for hours and hours in milk or cream, or whatever.....
it's probably the only thing i can't eat. i can't even look at it. i did apologize and they probably thought i was rude -- and we never saw them again!
i just have an aversion to tapioca/rice pudding (it's a texture thing, for me the creamy - chunky thing throws me off)
SORRY!!!! why couldn't they have just baked brownies!
pooch at 3:52PM on 08/29/08
Speaking of worst desserts... I don't think I'll ever fully recover from the awful lemon/thyme ice cream at Gotham Bar and Grill.
caviarandcodfish at 3:55PM on 08/29/08
@Chew on That: It wasn't at Morton's. That was the second place we ordered Molten Cake and it was heavenly. That place does nothing wrong. The restaurant we went to for the bad dessert (to me) was Devon Seafood. I gave my BF props for eating it. He made me feel better when it said it wasn't the best one he had but at least was edible.
Butrflygirly at 7:23PM on 08/29/08
We went to a tiny hole in the wall restaurant run by 2 tiny OLD sisters and they made everything from scratch and super fresh so we ordered several desserts as the meal was so awesome we assumed the desserts would rock our world. They were ALL so nasty!!!We were so disappointed. My hubby eats anything i cook (even if I burn a tiny bit of it :) he wouldn't even try them all as the first was so bad he wanted nothing to do with it.
organic mom
love2cook at 8:02PM on 08/29/08
Whenever I get back to the US in summer I love to indulge in strawberry shortcake. mmm. So imagine my horror when I ordered it in Florida and got spongecake with frozen whipped topping, defrosted frozen strawberries and stale vanilla ice cream. I felt like asking for a refund on my air ticket.
chari at 10:53AM on 08/30/08
went to a snazzy expensive restaurant with some college friends who were in town visiting their parents. We had dinner at her Mom's house, then went to this snazzy place for drinks and dessert.
i've never had a worse creme brulee. the custard part was tasteless, and the carmelized part was about a half inch thick. i was picking it out of my teeth the next day. i expected better from that restaraunt.
redhead at 12:50PM on 09/01/08
I worked as a pastry chef at a well known restaurant, and found that not another cook there had ever been taught any pastry skills - not even the executive chef. Before I left, I had to teach him and his sous chef how to make the desserts on the menu because they were planning to replace me with someone off the line. And that is why desserts in most restaurants are iffy!
eatingoutwest at 2:21PM on 09/01/08