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VUE | Spring 2020

The Digest | New Jersey Magazine

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t Faubourg, skipping dessert would be a grave mistake. One that you would surely never make again aer tasting pastry chef Melissa Rodriguez's creations. e standouts to note are her tarte aux pommes fine and chocolate coulant—classic, traditional French desserts that she gives a contemporary spin. e tarte aux pommes fine, in simplest terms, is a glorified apple pie. Rodriguez starts with buttery puff pastry and tops it with fanned out layers of thinly sliced fruit. During baking, the apples get slightly caramelized around the edges and are finished with a shiny glaze and edible gold. e chocolate coulant, on the other hand, is what American's know best as a molten lava cake—a firm exterior giving way to a runny center. While small in stature, this cake is not to be underestimated in terms of richness. Rodriguez pairs her coulant with more edible gold and a quenelle of salted caramel ice cream, a tactic to bring out the true chocolate flavor of the cake as well as scale down the sweetness of an otherwise overindulgent dessert. Everything from Faubourg's prime real estate to its food has reassured me that, yes, Monclair did need to add another eatery to its already ballooning restaurant scene. With seats packed every weekend (and even a rather large crowd during a Friday lunch rush), it seems that diners are responding quite well to Paulin and Muller's "casual-elegant" approach. Putting to bed the notion that dining out on French cuisine has to be a strictly luxurious endeavor. C H A N G E YO U R LO O K , C H A N G E YO U R L I F E 1 7 U N I O N P L A C E , S U M M I T, N J 0 7 9 0 1 ( 9 0 8 ) 2 7 3 . 9 6 5 8 • W W W. Z O K U S A L O N . C O M V U E N J . C O M 113

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