1. morningrufh
Biscuits with chocolate works. So there's
bacon gravy, $6.50, Co­ some flour in
Founder Ari Weinzweig, there, but it's still
lingerman's Roadhouse, a lovely texture.
Ann Arbor, Mich. It's not as bread-y
RECIPE, p. 98. as a crepe can
be-it has more
of an omelet texture." She's also found a
chocolate work-around for nut allergies.
"I'll use chocolate nibs instead of nuts.­
she says. "People ask, 'is it an almond?
What is that?'" Chopped up and sprinkled
on top of parfaits or crisps, they add the
same crunchy texture as traditional nuts.
That kind of substitution and experi­
mentation led to Chef Pichet Ong's skillet
souffle pancake with bananas and choco­
late ($12, recipe, p. 96), a dish he serves
at New York City's Spot Dessert Bar. "1
like pancakes in general," he says, "but
sometimes I find them to be a little bit
heavy. [ feel like it should be something
like a souffle-which is a lot lighter." Ong
pipes the batter into his cast-iron skillet
right before he puts the dish in the 0 'en.
and finishes the dish with maple syrup.
SWEET BREADS
Ong also adds a chocolate touch to his
breads, including the chocolate focaccia
($2.50, recipe, plateonline.com) he serves
"If you say chocolate, everybody wakes COCOA-ENHANCED CLASSICS in a breakfast breadbasket. A fan of more
up," says Barbara Passino. The chef Passino manages to incorporate choco­ savory desserts, he says, "I like olive oil
behind the chocolate-themed breakfast late throughout her brunch menu, from with chocolate." The texture comes off as
at Napa Valley's Oak Knoll Inn firmly chocolate tacos filled with fresh fruit to a a cross between a brioche and a sticky
believes the ingredient-in all its forms­ chocolate omelet with blueberry sauce bun. "It's kind of crispier from the high oU
deserves a place at the breakfast table. that can be made ahead of time and content," he says.
"It does kind of signify a departure," assembled qUickly in the morning Chocolate also rises to the occasion at
she explains. For guests at her bed-and­ (recipe, plateonline.com). "I tend to think Bread Craft, Alex Eliades's Roanoke, Va.,
breakfast, chocolate in the morning is "a about what standard [breakfast] things bakery. He's perfected a chocolate cherry
gateway into a world of relaxation." And are, and how I could make a chocolate sourdough ($4, recipe, plateonline.com)
she isn't alone. While breakfast menus take on that. I started thinking about that gathers its strength from a wide
typically relegate chocolate to kid cereal omelets one day. I didn't think I'd like a range and depth of ingredients.
and pancakes, cocoa, cacao and dark chocolate omelet with "It's one of the more com­
chocolate are making inroads-the 2011 straight-up eggs, [solI made plex flavored breads we
San Francisco Fancy Food Show organiz­ it a little crepe-ier, used some have," he says. "It has honey
ers even listed chocolate for breakfast as of the citrus to brighten the in it, as well as tart cherries.
one of the year's top five trends to watch. flavor-then the chocolate It's got vanilla, we use a good
FOR RECIPES AND MORE, VISIT ploteonline.com MAY/JUNE 2011 plote 49

2. morningrufh
that Weinzweig's gravy isn't all that
sweet, but rather a home run into that
middling territory between dessert and a
savory dish.
A BALANCED BREAKFAST
And that, says Bongo Room co-owner
John Latino, is the key to a great choco ­
late breakfast dish. He's been whipping
out pretzel pancakes with white choco­
late sauce for years at his Chicago break­
fast-and-brunch spot ($9.75, recipe,
plateonline.com); the dish is so popular,
he can't take it off the menu.
"When we make the pancakes, rather
than putting the pretzel pieces in the
batter, we actually sprinkle the top
of the pancake right before we're ready
to flip," he says. "Those pieces kind
of form a crust, so when you actually
eat the pancake, part of it is still crunchy.
That's part of what's so good-the
salt factor." A fan of the buttery taste
of white chocolate, Latino mixes it
with cream cheese and heavy cream
dark chocolate, so there's a tinge of bit­ "It's one of those cult things," he says until he hits the perfect mix of sweet
terness too." Eliades enjoys pairing the of the biscuits with chocolate bacon and savory. "The cream cheese helps
power of a sourdough with the luxury of gravy ($6.50, recipe, p. 98) he's made for balance that out," he says. "It acts as a
chocolate. "Anytime you have an extend­ Zingerman's Roadhouse in Ann Arbor, sweetener, but it almost gives it a bit
ed fermentation," he notes, "there's more Mich. "It's not half a grape- of tang. We use cream
flavor." So while it can be a challenge to fruit. You've got to be in CHOCOLATE cheese in almost every
entice customers with the odd-sounding the mood for some fat and one of our sauces."
in the morning
concoction, Eliades has found he just has some rich textures." Chocolate isn't just for
is "a gateway
to offer them a taste with their morning Culling intriguing pain au chocolat and
coffee to create a fan for life. "Once we do recipes from the past,
into a world of Cocoa Puffs anymore. As
that," he says, "It's an automatic sell." says Weinzweig, is infinite­ relaxation. " chocolate makers create
ly more appealing to him original varieties of their
THE GRAVY TRAIN than hopping on, say, the bacon-dipped ­ specialty, it's an ingredient chefs can uti­
Chocolate gravy is a down-home creation in-chocolate trend. ''I'm more interested lize on many levels. "If you're a chef and
that's long tugged on the heartstrings of a in it when it has roots, and a story," he it's strawberry season, you can find a
small segment of the population, congre­ explains. "Gravy in [the] Midwestern way to put strawberries into everything,"
gated mostly in the southern foothills of mindset is what you serve with turkey. compares Passino. "If you start thinking
the Appalachian Mountains. When There [down South], gravy's going on about chocolate, it presents its own
Zingerman's co-founder Ari Weinzweig biscuits, it's going on everything." We opportunities. "
started researching the regional mystery think of chocolate as a sweet, he says,
sauce, he discovered a love for the dish ­
but like Eliades, he's had customers who
think it's just plain weird.
"but the truth is, cacao is not sweet.
It's only sweet when you add the
sugar to it." Customers soon find out
for chocolate croissants. *
Amber Matheson has a special place in her heart
For recipes from
this article and more, visit plateonline.com.
50 plate THE CHOCOLATE ISSUE FOR RECIPES AND MORE. VISIT plaleonline.com