DCDesserts: Brasserie Beck: Gateau of Chocolate

Josh

First a disclaimer... While I pride myself on my impartial journalism, ironically my very first entry to DCdesserts comes via a restaurant that a close friend works at. Nonetheless, it is my civic responsibility to report the truths about said desserts in the hope that our new-found blog will act as the checks and balances for the local culinary faire. Wild Bill and I share a passion for the sweeter things in life, in his case brownies and red velvet cake, and in mine milkshakes and donuts (quite exotic, I know!) To begin my inaugural voyage into the craft of food critiquing I was lucky enough to have been a VIP of sorts at the restaurant, who through my friend was given a few courses gratis! Dessert actually came as a surprise, sent out by the kitchen staff, to commemorate the pre-anniversary of my upcoming October 1, 2011 wedding. In terms of appealing to both mine and Wild Bill's tastes, they couldn't have chosen better...

The gateau of chocolate was a very brownie-like dessert. It had a very nice presentation, highlighted by what appeared to be an artistic usage of fruit sauces. The gateau was rather tasty, with a strong hint of rasberry chocolate in the center... The highlight for me was a base layer of hardened chocolate that accentuated each bite with a crunch. This offset the natural gooeyness that is not typically my favorite aspect of any brownie-like substance... For perspective, imagine a brownie that appears to have true density to it, only to discover that in fact it is a lot more souffle than brick... The worst part of the experience occurs when you insert the fork for the first time, only to realize that the structure and mass are far less pronounced then they appear.

While tasty, and certainly appreciated, the raspberry seemed to overpower the milk chocolate base as each bite went along, and I grew a little weary and bored with it...