Cafe Gourmand

If you’re like me, you like a “little something sweet” after a meal. We were recently eating at one of our favorite local restaurants, La Cote D’Or (www.lacotedorcafe.com) and got into a discussion with Raymond, the owner. I wanted something for dessert, but felt like any of the tempting offerings would be “too much.” His solution is a dessert called “Cafe Gourmand” and he told us that it is a common dessert in France as well. He said that in France, restaurants were finding that people were not ordering dessert and thought that one reason might be the same hesitation that I was having, that it would be “too much.” To solve that, they created the “Cafe Gourmand” which was to make three, small, “tasting” portions of dessert, as well as a cup of espresso.

Raymond was right. His “Cafe Gourmand” is delicious and I’m sorry that I don’t have a picture of it to share here with you– I will be sure to take one next time we’re there. His dessert includes a small helping of Chocolate Mousse, a small creme brulee, and a scoop of coffee ice cream.

I have decided to make it my mission to try the offerings for Cafe Gourmand at other restaurants, here in the US and in France and I’ve included pictures of two from recent forays.

The first is in a wonderful restaurant called Matchbox (www.matchboxmerrifield.com)  here in the US and it includes three scoops of sorbet, a brownie sundae, and homemade doughnuts (as well as coffee). May I point out that, as delicious as this dessert was, it is definitely the “American” version– all three desserts were big enough to stand alone (in my opinion). Again, I’m not complaining- it was absolutely delicious, but I will say that my husband and I shared it and we STILL couldn’t finish it all.

The second one is one from a French cafe called Bar Au Metre. This one includes creme brulee, tiramisu, and an apple turnover (as well as the espresso). Again, all were delicious, and the portions were definitely smaller than its American cousin.

Aaaahhh, both experiences lead me to believe that I will have to continue this particular form of research….