The half baked cake

Is this often in life that one falls in love with a half baked cake?

It was my farewell dinner on one of my visits to my brother in Nashua, recently in February 2008 in New Hampshire and we had gone to dine at this place called 'Michael Timothy's' - very unlike Nashua, this place was very lively, the roads were more crowded and friendly and of course we could see people even if it had snowed in the afternoon. There was an element of life and sound in this place and I started liking it even before I got off the car.

Finally we disembarked and walked towards MT's and inside, hanging our coats and overcoats in the cloak room upon entering and waiting to be seated. We sat at one cosy corner with just another couple behind where we were sitting, very lost in talking and busy with each other. We soon got lost deciding on the appetizer and what to drink. It was Mom, my brother Shiv and I.

We zeroed on shrimp and escargot in melted butter and garlic and a bottle of Pinot Grigio, white wine. All the while that I enjoyed the escargot I thought it was a special kind of mushroom till Shiv told me that it was a kind of a small animal. Upon research in google, this is what the confirmed report is "Escargots, in French cuisine, is a dish of cooked land snails, usually served as an appetizer. In France, escargots are typically only eaten on festive occasions". So here I was, the most orthodox food taster ever eating snails and enjoying it! Thank god, it tasted like mushroom :)

Mom and I opted for a shared entree since we were almost done so enjoyed a plate of swordfish in lobster sauce on a bed of risotto. It was mind-blowing while Shiv ordered for a beef something which was equally good or better. I was waiting to finish as I had caught a glimpse of the elaborate desert menu during my ordeal deciding on the appetizer right at the beginning and now the time had almost come. Soon the smiling waitress came and asked us if we wanted desert, I was trying to look like we were done but was dying to taste one of their mind blowing sweet something.

There were around 10-12 choices, pretty elaborate I would say, they were a mix of ice creams, cakes and cooked desert. One that caught my eye was the 'HALF BAKED CAKE'. Sounded very incomplete but very interesting. It said that the cake was half baked or half cooked and bought to the table piping hot.. Once at the table our hostess would give it her special touch....this apparently was the only half baked cake which would leave a lasting impression with people who savored it. I wanted to give it a shot though I had my apprehensions but what the heck, we ordered for it and asked her to bring 3 spoons since we were too full for one each.

In a few minutes the smiling hostess was back at our table with the half baked cake. On the large tray she had a plate with the cake, in a scooped kind a bowl were sliced strawberries and in a small jug was fresh creme and there was a sprinkler like a salt dispenser that had a dark powder. She came and said that this was her favorite desert from the entire selection of the deserts there were. She put the cake in the middle of the table still balancing the rest on the tray in her hand and with a sharp poke punctured the middle of the cake and out oozed the hot chocolate syrup flooding the slightly deep plate and filling up the roundness with a force and the smell emerging was of tranquil. I just kept looking.

Finally the thick chocolate syrup had filled up the depth and circle of the plate and settled down. Then it was time for the hostess to 'dress it up' so she first garnished it with all the strawberries she had in the bowl and added the fresh creme flavored with cinnamon onto it...then she took her powder dispenser and sprinkled till the color of the entire desert was chocolate, red, white and now little dark brown dots all over. A happy 'enjoy your desert' and I was all set to start! Now what followed was a feeling of satisfaction, and all feelings associated with satisfaction. I did not know that a half baked cake could do wonders like this.

I did maximum justice to the desert and not only were my sweet senses aroused but it was a feeling of 'deja vu' - one of complete satiation and till you taste the Half baked cake you will never know what I mean. The half baked cake will stay in my mind till I go back to MT's again. So not all things coming a full circle in life is the best, there are half baked things in life that can give you equal amount of satisfaction if not more!

20th February, 2008
11.09 am