#75 – WILKINSONS at HENRY PUBLIC

Once again Time Out New York released their Top 100 Dishes of the year and once again, I’m going to eat my way through every one. And no price point or subway delay will stop me. In no particular order, here’s my take on their Top 100.

I didn’t set out to celebrate the 3/4 mark of the list. For number 50, we splurged on a big dinner at ABC Kitchen, one (if not the hottest restaurant in the city right now). But I think I lost count by number 75 and I didn’t really plan anything special. Yet the universe must have helped me out because the 75th list item was truly special all on its own.

The Wilkinsons at Henry Public were one of the best dishes on the entire list this year (so far) and one of the best things I’ve tasted in a long time.

We were here last year for another TONY list item, the much raved about Pulled Turkey Leg Sandwich. I was a bit underwhelmed and while I liked the ambiance at Henry Public, I found the drinks watered down and disappointing.

Well, this time we had dinner down the street at the impressive Bocca Lupo and came here strictly for dessert. I was worried that the waitress would be resistant to us not ordering anything else on a busy Saturday night, but we found a table in the front and had no problem ordering their only dessert option.

So let me begin by telling you what these things are. The wilkinsons are round little balls of dough that are fried, dusted with sugar, and served with a rum caramel sauce. But I haven’t even mentioned the most amazing thing yet. These are made with pancake batter. Can you imagine how delicious that makes them?  They’re called Wilkinsons after the consulting chef, Shannon Wilkinson, and they’re a play on ebelskivers, which are like little round Danish pancakes.

These were warm and fresh. Like the softest, airiest doughnuts. A few of the bites were slightly undercooked in the center which gave them a creamy, battery flavor. I loved that. They were eggier than doughnuts and much more complexly flavored. The rum caramel sauce was out of this world and puts any maple syrup to shame. At brunch, they’re served with jam.

I was amazed at what we discovered in the least likely of places. I had very little expectations for these Wilkinsons, but they blew me away. What a wonderful thing to happen for my 75th list item!

Would Henry Public’s Wilkinsons make my Top 100 of the Year? I can safely say yes since they get a 10 out 10 thanks to perfect execution and a wonderful hybrid of two innately delicious things: pancakes and doughnuts.