- All right Steven, it's our
last Worth It episode for now. So, what better way to
conclude our run of episodes, then by having some dessert? - Everybody has room for dessert. - For our dessert analysis today, we're going to be actually
having entire meals at each restaurant, and
then trying their desserts. Then we have the proper context
to assess these desserts. - Desert! (upbeat music) Is it worth it? Make it worth it. Make it worth it, worth it, worth it. - Today on Worth It, we're going to be trying three
desserts at three drastically different price points
to find out which one is the most worth it, at it's price. - For our first dessert,
we're going to El Cochinito, where we're going to
meet pastry chef Emma, as well as chef owner, Daniel. Daniel also operates Cafe
Tropical, another Cuban spot just down the block, where
Emma makes many of the desserts and pastries for both restaurants. We're gonna be trying
some other Cuban classics El Cochinito, and then eating for dessert, the Arroz con Leche. (gentle music) - [Daniel] I really consider El Cochinito sort of a time capsule. My grandmother started it
very adamant about keeping the recipes the same and
sourcing the ingredients, and just making things the way she did, and for her it was always about
how you felt making the food kind of transcends to like
how people feel consuming. She was very big on cooking with love. So that translates to the plate. - How do the two restaurants
compliment each other? - [Daniel] El Cochinito has
always been home-style food, but Tropical kind of allows
us to expand and really cover like coffee, desserts, pastries. All the ingredients we use are raw. Nothing is refined. Everything is fresh. - What are the cornerstone
dishes from El Cochinito? - [Daniel] Ropa Vieja is
certainly very traditional. It's considered like Cuba's national dish. It's basically slow cooked flank steak, traditionally served with
rice and black beans. - [Andrew] Your sandwich is
award-winning is that right? - Yeah. (Andrew and Emma laugh) - Could you tell us a
little bit about that? - Yeah, I mean the Cuban
sandwich has always been part of El Cochinito's history. And it's one of those like
Cuban American things. You wouldn't actually find it in Cuba, the way we see it today. - [Andrew] Right. Here's the thing, Cuban sandwich, probably my favorite sandwich. I mean everything about it, the flavors, the shape, look
at the compression, the layers. (upbeat music) So good. - That was actually a perfect bite. You know, the most important
part of a sandwich, the bread, the texture,
crispiness, the softness. - Which we saw getting baked this morning. Can you imagine the smell
when a whole pallet of these things comes out of the oven? So we also have the Ropa Vieja. Look at that. (cheerful music) - [Steven] Mmm. - So the Arroz con Leche, where
does that recipe come from? - That's definitely from my grandma. She doesn't have any recipe, but she knows this is how
high you fill the pot, this is how many scoops of sugar. She had relationships with
her pots, and her pans, and the stoves. For me, Arroz con Leche's
like very homestyle thing. The way we remake it, it always just feels good, feels right. It just brings you back
home, it's nostalgic. - What is Arroz con Leche, and what does that taste
that you are describing and looking for? - Arroz con Leche translates
to, rice with milk. Think of it as like a
rice pudding in a way. I use Carolina rice. It's a single origin, so it's a shorter grain
than like a Jasmine rice or anything else. I wash it until the water
barely starts coming out clear. Cause I want a little bit of the starch, it'll help thicken it up. I cook it until the water
is up the line of the rice, it starts puffing up just a little bit. And then I add condensed milk. Milk and then I make a
sachet of orange peel, cinnamon, and vanilla bean. And I drop that in there and some sugar. And then you just start stirring it and cooking it until it's done. It's cinnamon-y, it's light,
but rich it's a little sweet. - Is there anything unique, do you think, about having a dessert
that's that consistency and flavor as the close to a meal? - [Daniel] I think the simplicity of it. Nothing here is very complicated, but it's thoughtful, and Arroz
con Leche is all of that. It's simple, it's not
a lot of ingredients, it's nothing really fancy, but taking the time and attention
and focusing your passion and love towards creating things. And so like, rice pudding,
if you do it right, it speaks volumes. - [Andrew] And is it like a meal closer type of situation here or? - It's the mic drop. (all laugh) - Definitely not expecting
this specific plating. - More of a mugging, in fact. - Need a mug cheers? (soft music) - Mmm, oh that's good. The consistency is more surprising than I thought it would be. - It's like not liquid-y, it's not solid. - No, I thought it would be more pudding-y but it's actually more thick saucy. - I grew up eating a lot of rice. Like, a lot of rice. Very- - Like how much rice? - Like a lot of rice. - Okay, gotcha. - And I can't remember the
time I ate it as a dessert. What are we doing? The thing that it does
have, is it's refreshing. - Which is, I think
another important feature of a great dessert. After a meal, do you want
to get wrecked by a dessert? Some people like that, but I think Arroz con
Leche is more of like, a tapered down dessert. - [Andrew] Absolutely. (cheerful music) - This is really good. - All right Steven, it's time to learn a
little bit about desserts. - [Steven] Dessert Fact! - Eating a small piece
of cheese after a meal, can help neutralize the
acidity of the mouth caused by foods like sugary desserts, and therefore help prevent tooth erosion. - Oh brother. - Wow. - So you're telling me, I don't need to brush my teeth anymore. - You just need to eat some cheese. Here's my question though, if
you ate a cheese cake though- - Ohh. - [Daniel] Is that better or worse? - Net zero. - Net zero. All right Steven, for our next dessert, we're going to be seeing
Keith and Mel at Alta Adams, and trying the Pineapple
Coconut Upside Down Cake. - What? (groovy music) - Tell us, what type of
restaurant Alta Adams is. - It is a California soul food restaurant. We took traditional dishes
that I grew up with, Southern dishes that my
grandmother brought from Alabama, and reframed it using California love, and local ingredients. - [Andrew] Before we
have this dessert though, what are we gonna eat
to prepare our stomachs? - [Keith] So we'll be
doing the fried chicken, oxtails, and collard greens today. And the collard greens is
something that we do our own way. Taking neutral oil, and
smoking it, and fusing the oil with this smoke flavor, whether it's Hickory, apple mosquito. Pulling the meat out of the greens, you have these vegan
greens that tastes as if they have the smoked meat in it. - All right. Sometimes you just know
it's gonna be good. Cheers Steven. - [Steven] Cheers. (chicken crunching) (upbeat music) Oh no, oh no. - It's good. - How did they make it so perfect? - How about some oxtail Steven? - I love oxtail by the way, is the best. - I'm just gonna pick up
a little nugget like that. Mmm, look at the softness
of the meat here. - [Steven] That's the secret
to these kinds of like, do-like they're. - [Andrew] Right on the edge
of no longer being a salad. Here's the thing Steven,
we need to eat this- - Right. - To be prepared for eating the dessert. It would be irresponsible not to. We need to try some of
this collard greens, 'cause this has the smoked oil. That is the coolest thing I've ever heard. - I don't think I've heard of this before. - So there's no meat
here, but it tastes like I'm eating a bowl of meat. This is some of the best food
we've had on Worth It ever. (groovy music) We're drawn to your Pineapple
Coconut Upside Down Cake. Could you tell us about that
dish where it comes from? - It comes from many places. One being the Southern Coconut Cake. We took the Coconut Cake sponge and made a Upside Down
Pineapple Cake with it. Traditionally you'll take the
Upside Down Pineapple Cake and you'll make it in a skillet. You put the sugar down,
and your pineapple, and your cherries and put
your cake over the top. And when it cooks over that open flame, for one, that cast iron presents
the butter from burning, but it also caramelizes the sugars, and gives it this caramel
and this nice color on top. Using a cake pan we aren't
able to capture that. So we take the sugar and
caramelize it separate. - [Mel] Meanwhile I'll usually
cut our fresh pineapple into these cubes. In terms of the layering, we've
got the caramelized sugar, and then we have the pineapple chunks, and then we placed the batter on top. - [Keith] And then we bake it in the oven. I started off baking
it like any other cake. 350 degrees for about 35 minutes. Mel has a whole nother technique, where she goes through the science. - [Mel] I started tinkering
around with the temperature because I get very obsessive
about these things, and I was just observing every time, and seeing how they came
out and the texture, and the way that they looked. And so, it actually was
an accident and there- (Mel and Keith laugh) And there was a temperature difference, and I was like, oh okay this works. - [Keith] And when it comes out, you get that nostalgic
taste as if it was baked in a cast iron skillet. - [Andrew] What is great
about ending a meal with a great dessert? - The most important for
me, is the first dish, and the last dish. The first thing that tastes my mouth, dictates what my experience is
gonna be the rest of the way. And the last thing that
I'm walking out with, is what I'm carrying, that memory, right. So, desserts are very important to me. If I've had a great meal, I don't even chance it with the dessert. - Oh really? - [Keith] I don't know. - That's interesting. - Just that touch of the desert, it can really just take
everything, wrap it up together, like a trilogy, it's got to
feel finished and that's how a really good dessert can make you feel. (upbeat music) - So we got our pineapple cakes. We also had to get some
buttermilk vanilla ice cream. - [Steven] Which they make in-house. (soft music) It has like the tartness
of like lemon in there, but there's no lemon, right? - It's almost like, Cheesecake ice cream. - It is. - Cheers Steven. - There it is. Oh man. I mean, I knew I was gonna like it, oh. - You get sort of the
bitter caramel taste, like at the end of the bite. - That's nice. - I love that. - It is a cake, that gives you everything that you've ever wanted
in cake, in one cake. Like, do you want caramel-y, or do you want like fluffiness of a cake? You want a fruit cake? - For my taste, this dessert
is the best level of sweetness, which is not too sweet. - People say like, you
have a sweet tooth, right? But they should really be saying like, I have a not too sweet tooth. - A not too sweet tooth, yeah. All right Steven, before
we go to our final dessert, we're gonna be taking a little
bit of a dessert detour. I don't know how familiar
you are with this concept of cheese for dessert. Apparently, the French traditionally eat cheese after dinner. To learn more about this, we're gonna be going to a place called Agnes Restaurant in Cheesery. Where we're gonna be
speaking with Vanessa, and learning about the dessert cheeses that they serve there? - [Steven] Oh man. - Can I ask you about the name Cheesery? Is that a commonly used term for an establishment like this? - It's something of our own
invention as like, you know, when you think of fromagerie,
which is the French word for a cheese shop, or a bakery. We wanted to make a play on words so that it's not linked
to anything French per se, 'cause we're not a French restaurant, we're not an Italian restaurant. So we just wanted to make it a
Cheesery, which is, American. - Could you tell us about
what is dessert cheese? 'Cause it's honestly something
that I've always heard of as a concept, but never
really experienced for myself. - Dessert cheese is a misnomer as people might think that it's a
sweet cheese, but it's not. And it actually comes from French origins, where French people don't
eat dessert right away after the meal, it's its own course. So after you finished the main course, you have a cheese course,
and then you go into dessert. And the idea is that it kind
of helps you tail off your meal and go towards desserts. As opposed to being a really
savory into really sweet, it kind of brings down
the palette a little bit, cleanses it, and gets you
ready for the final course. So these are some of the options
that we serve for dessert. What I've done here is La Tur, cow, goat, sheep blend from Northern Italy that is broulade and then served with pinot cherries, creamy, tangy. Get the tartness of the cherries to help kind of balance it, but
you can see where it's like, bringing a really savory
meal down to a point where, if you just had this, you would be okay. - For sure. - Definitely. - It's like a pie. - [Vanessa] So now Sagittarius. This one is a cow and sheep blend from Shooting Star Creamery. - Mmm. - [Vanessa] And then when
you add a little bit of jam, pair it with some texture. - Whoa, the jam is good. - Whatever category this falls into, this is like my favorite. - Sweet and salty. Lastly, we have Shropshire
Blue Cheese from England. It has a lovely, bright orange colors. We're serving it with
Rangers chocolate caramel, and then on an Effie's Oak cake. So the pungent-ness of the blue cheese, will marry nicely with the sweetness of the caramel chocolate. - Wow the chocolate is so interesting. - This is crazy. - It's almost like I'm not
even tasting the chocolate, I just have like chocolate
perfume in my mouth as I'm eating cheese. - Yeah, I am definitely
eyeing that one though. (all laugh) - [Andrew] You're gonna eat
that whole thing, no cracker? - [Vanessa] Wow. - Choose your own adventure. - Okay, wow. (Andrew laughs) - Oh my god. - All right Steven,
before a final dessert, it's time to learn one
more thing about dessert. - [Steven] Dessert Fact. - The word dessert comes from
the French word desservir, meaning to clear the table, as the tables linens were changed before the final course of fruit. - No way, that's so cool. I like that the etymology's
not even based on the food, it's based on the surrounding activity. - Right, it's like, what
was that food that we ate? Oh, the food that we ate
when we changed the sheets? Yes, let's call it that. - Yes. - All right Steven, for our final dessert, we're going to Spago Beverly Hills. Which we've been to before on the- - [Steven] Truffle pizza episode. - [Andrew] Truffle pizza episode. - [Steven] Flashback, baby. - [Andrew] And we're gonna
be seeing Della and Ari. Ari is gonna be making some of Spago's incredible savory dishes for us. And Della is going to be doing
a special set of desserts. - [Steven] All right, Spago. It's a little bit of a homecoming for us. - So far we've had desserts
that round out a meal, but these desserts are starting
you on a new dessert journey at the end of your meal. (gentle music) - [Della] So we do offer
at Spago a tasting menu, along with all the other desserts, and all the other dishes on the menu, we'll do a special like chefs tasting focused around California,
seasonal fruits and vegetables. What I'm gonna do today is
focus on what's in season, which is apples, and I'm
gonna do an apple tasting, or a study of apples, for the last part of the Degustation menu, or the tasting menu. So Ari is going to be
making the savory portion. One thing I think is pretty unique, was how he actually
incorporates pastry techniques into his savory dishes as well. So it kind of like, brings
the whole thing together. - [Ari] Della and I talk a lot. We talk about like, what we're seeing at the market. What's inspiring us. We try to not step on each other's feet. We really play off each other in that way. So there's harmony in the menu
and you're not doubling up. That's part of the creative process in the beauty of our art. The more people you include of it, I think the better the picture becomes. - What are you trying to do with the first dish that you give diners? - I want them to be wowed. To be like, I just sat down for something that's gonna be really good. Like, ahh. (Steven and Andrew laugh) You're gonna start with like a piece of our amuse-bouche,
it's an English muffin, stuffed with Santa Barbara sea urchin and a little zest of Yuzu. - Look at this little guy. - I can't wait to eat this, this is crazy. Who starts off their meal
with something like this? - It's like Ari said, we
need to start with a bang. - Oh, I got some Yuzu in there, cheers. (gentle music) - So much flavor, such a little package. - That was just filthy,
filthy in a good way. I don't know if people
would be caught that. - [Andrew] Yeah filthy in a good way. - Some of the dishes
are inspired by dessert. The next dish will be the Caviar Malfoy. It's layers of caviar with egg yolk jam, lemon custard and caviar. - [Steven] A clear
inspiration from dessert. - [Andrew] Oh, and now I have
to be the one to destroy it. - It's an egg yolk jam,
that's what that is. (gentle music) - I really like that. - Oh, I used the word filthy last time. This is like disgusting. (Andrew laughs) - That's caviar cake. - Exact- thank you. - [Ari] The next dish is gonna
be Hokkaido Scallop Ceviche. Add Thai flavors, so cucumbers I just got
from the farmer's market, a couple chilies. - [Steven] I'm gonna one slice. - Oh, oh. - I'm gonna do a little dip. (gentle music) - [Andrew] That is, excellent. - What is it with these dishes, that makes me want to
use the negative word to describe the positivity? 'Cause this is nasty. (upbeat jazzy music) - [Ari] You're gonna
have a charred Sunchoke. And to me, a charred
Sunchoke almost tastes like marshmallows, crispy on the outside, kind of burnt flavor and
really creamy on the inside. - Oh, I like that peanut on there. - Certainly marshmallow-y. - Having had the discussion
about the shape of the menu, I understand now that
we're transitioning away from the bright flavors,
and this is sort of the introduction of heat. Like now we have this charred exterior, which says to me soon, there will be meat. - Pain Purdu, with sauteed
matsutake mushrooms. - [Andrew] A savory French toast. I like this dish a lot. - Is this a savory dish or dessert? The answer is yes. - And then the last dish
I'm gonna prepare for you is Sonoma, Liberty farms duck breasts, with glaze and a gastric with
smoke, parsnips and persimmon. - Oh my gosh so tender. Mmhm, I do have a word for this. - Yeah? - I can't say it. Riser duck. (Andrew laughs) - The Chile thousand
percent flavor, zero spice. - It's now time our main
focus, which is, desert. - What is it that you're thinking about when you're designing
a really good dessert? - Well, I call it The Yummy Factor. So it's gotta taste really good. And a lot of times people
want something familiar, something that's like apple pie like, or here it would be apple strudel. And so for example, the Hasselback apple, its kind of got the ingredients
of an apple strudel, but it's made in a more modern way. So the first course is
kind of like a bridge between savory and dessert. I've created a shell of
a white chocolate oyster, which is edible. And then underneath is a
celery root Pana Cotta. And then with that, maybe some
things that you would find with like an oyster, like a mignonette, but I've made it with
caramelized shallots and apple. And then I've incorporated
an apple sorbet. It's sweet, but it's got a
little tastes of savory in it. - So it resembles an oyster actually? - It does. - But I can eat the whole shell? - You can eat the whole thing. - [Steven] Whoa. - [Andrew] Finally a
fantasy of mine fulfilled. (Della laughs) It's so realistic. - Yeah. - [Andrew] But this is chocolate. - [Steven] It's all chocolate. And it has like the gnarly texture. (gentle music) Oh you went in. Look at the texture of this right here. It looks like the texture of oyster. - Yeah, it's so interesting
to have shallot in a desert. It's like 90% of it, I'm like
yes, desert, desert, desert. And then suddenly, it's like
huh, what are you doing here? - For the next course,
it is actually a play on something savory, which
is the Hasselback potato, but I've made it a Hassleback apple. The apple is very thinly
sliced and I've arranged it in a little bake-able mold, and then kind of put
caramelized apple juice and apples in it and we're baking it. And then we're putting toasted
cinnamon bread crumbs on top and some little apple strudel shards, and then it's served with
Fromage Blanc and Apple Sorbet. (upbeat jazzy music) - Oh wow. - Oh my gosh this is good. - You're basically eating an apple pie. This is mad good. - I also really like how, it's
a good amount of bitterness. One thing people complain about is like, oh man, my dessert is too sweet. - Yeah, but this, I could
eat a whole dinner worth of this, you know. - What is it that you're thinking about when you're designing
a really good dessert? - Well, balance is the key. Something that's sweet, maybe
something that's balanced with a little acidity,
a little bit of salt, a little bit of caramel. Something that's got a
little bit of pull to it so that it tastes interesting. You know, everything that
you wanna eat on the plate, you wanna keep eating it, not just take one bite and be finished. The last course is based on two things that are coming in, in
season, chestnuts and apple, which is a classic combination. And the apple I'm using
is a Pink Lady Apple, and I'm making a Chestnut souffle. The texture of a souffle
should be very light and airy, and kind of creamy in the middle. So it's really important that you don't over bake the souffle. We typically will put like
a whipped cream on top, because I think that
cold on the hot souffle really matches well together. And it's served with a
white truffle gelato. I've created a white chocolate truffle that looks like a white truffle
and we're gonna shave it over the souffle. So that'll be the last course. - [Steven] We're sure that's not truffle? - [Della] It is not truffle, but the gelato is truffle. - [Steven] The gelato is truffle. (suspenseful music) - Shall we? - Yes. - I'm gonna go straight into the souffle. - I'm gonna watch you
do it first, oh my gosh. - [Steven] Oh my gosh. - [Andrew] Oh, it's so light. - [Steven] Oh my gosh. - Cheers Steven. - Cheers. (upbeat jazzy music) For a moment, I was just like floating. - I don't think I've ever
had a souffle like that. - Me neither, this is white truffle, ice cream, ice cream? (upbeat jazzy music) - Oh my god, what? The souffle on its own, was unreal. These little bits of
shaved white chocolate that resemble truffle- - Yeah. - Like, the best white chocolate
flavor I've ever tasted. And then I come over here, to what I think is just gonna
be a plain little side dish of ice cream. It's straight up, a truffle bomb. This is probably the best truffle thing we've ever eaten on this show. And this is the finale. - Having the souffle
with the white truffle. - This is the apple souffle,
this is the white chocolate, and this is white
truffle in the ice cream. - You guys are eating and not me. (Andrew and Steven laugh) That's how you stay skinny. All right, enjoy. - All right, thank you so much. - [Steven] Thank you. - It's time to pick our
dessert Worth It winners. Now of course, every
restaurant that we feature on this show is worth it. We're merely picking
our favorite experiences from the episode. So we had the Arroz con
Leche from El Cochinito. The Pineapple Coconut Upside
Down Cake from Alta Adams. And we also had the
Autumn Apple Degustation at Spago Beverly Hills. - We had a lot of dessert. - This is one of the first
times that we've had an episode that was based on complete experiences, not just single dishes. So maybe before we do that, we should decide our favorite savory bite. I'll go first Cuban Sandwich, no question. Favorite sandwich, probably top five foods for me personally. - [Steven] Wow. Just to mix it up a little
bit, I'll say the Oonie. - [Andrew] The Oonie English muffin? - [Steven] Yeah. - [Andrew] Oh yeah. Adam, what was your favorite savory bite? - The fried chicken at Alta Adams. - Oh my god, that was super good. - I would love for you to go first. Andrew, which dessert was
the most worth it to you? - A lot of delicious foods were consumed. My Worth It winner is, chef
Della's Degustation menu at Spago Beverly Hills. The way that those desserts
carried through the rest of that menu and the flavors that were there, were so interesting and delightful. I feel like I was being delighted without just being exposed to sweet stuff. - My Worth It winner today, gonna have to be that Pineapple
Coconut Upside Down Cake. I'm not like a cake, aficionado. I love cake, but I ate a slice, I'm not like a full cake guy. But that cake, may have converted me to being a full cake guy. - All right Adam, who
is your Worth It winner? - Arroz con Leche, the hint of orange. - [Andrew] And of course a
special shout out to Agnes, the Cheesery. - All hail the Cheesery. - [Andrew] I will say, that's the place that I
want to go back to, soonest. So that has been our
Worth It dessert episode, and a wrap on this series of videos. Steven, thank you so much for joining us. - Thank you. - Well, we're sure to
do more in the future. - Yeah. - If our audience has any
suggestions, we'd love to hear it. Shout out to everyone who
makes this show possible. - [Steven] And, yeah. - [Andrew] Cheers to our audience. (upbeat cheerful music)
