ile flottante

ile flottante at flo nice

i have to admit that i've maintained somewhat of a vendetta against french food most of my life. many of you will be happy to hear that this opinion was shattered during a trip to nice a couple of years ago...yes, a couple of years ago. i have been waiting that long to write this particular entry. i discovered something there so special, unique and fun that i felt i had to find a version of this dish stateside before i could write and share it. because what fun would it be if you had to travel to france to experience it for yourself? okay, maybe i'll take that one back...

imagine this: you walk into a large restaurant to the sight of an army of waiters, half of them with one arm lifted high above their head with a white bowl perched on top. in each bowl is a giant white glowing orb. i might as well have yelped like a small child and asked the first person i could find what THAT was. then i not-so-patiently sat through an entire (glorious) meal, waiting until the moment i could experience the magic orb in all its glory.

ILE FLOTTANTE! essentially, this dessert is a meringue ball/cube/other shape floating in a bowl of creme anglaise. yum. but as you can see, the presentation is quite remarkable. especially when you have a giant ball of meringue in front of you that is practically as large as your face. if you're headed across the atlantic, i'd recommend the version at flo brasserie. but as for the rest of us, a similar version (although not quite as grand in appearance--i promise it makes up for it in taste), can be found at bouchon.

ile flottante at bouchon in las vegas

for all practical purposes, let's discuss the actual flavor makeup of our good ol' u.s. of a location. bouchon's version was a little different because the meringue had a bit of a denser consistency which made the taste a little richer. the winner here was the salty carmel sauce drizzled on top. good thing they provide you with an entire dish of it (and not just what's drizzled on top). momma zo and i practically drank the rest of it. seriously dangerous. in the best way possible of course...