Milk Bar: Yummy, Celery Aside

When I can taste the celery undertone, I'm not happy with my softserve ice cream. This was one of the few risks, though, for which I can't applaud the Momofuku geniuses.

Granted, I have a pretty well-honed and sensitive palate, but I don't think the problem I had at Milk Bar was my fault. Stuffing flavored softserve seemed a bizarre--but intriguing--idea. So, I used my single sample when ordering and tried a few bites of the daring treat.

Celery does not belong in ice cream. I picked out a few of the other flavors--all authentic to the "stuffing" idea, I concede--and none made me happy. They don't belong in ice cream. Not in my book.

I recently caved and tried Milk Bar, the Momofuku dessert haven. This minimalist hotspot offers some deliciously daring and inventive dishes, like the signature "Cereal Milk" softserve that tastes like the milk left in the bowl when you finish eating Frosted Flakes. It's odd. It takes a few bites. But it's strangely likable. The new caramel apple flavor joins fruit cobbler and stuffing as seasonal additions to the softserve roster and, in my book, tops the current line up of frozen yumminess. Toppings from the ordinary--candy corn--to the inventive--caramelized cornbread crumbs--can up the ante on the sensibly small but rich portions.

The cakes, cookies, and pies continue the tradition of odd combinations that often really work. I was devestated to see that the Dulce de Leche cake has been retired for the winter, but the banana cake with hazelnut crunch and gianduja fudge taking its place made me rather happy--and had similar effects on the friends I had make sure I couldn't eat the massive piece alone. Other highlights that tempt and taunt me from behind the glass include the Candy Bar Pie--caramel, peanut butter nougat, and pretzels in a chocolate crust and under a blanket of smooth chocolate. The "cornflake chocolate chip marshmallow cookie" and the special daily breads also top my list of to-try items.

Milk Bar, you're getting a rebuke for the celery. But you make up for it with your culinary risks that soar. Right into my mouth. I don't always like the results, but I really respect when restaurants take risks, and I love being here to give them a shot.