Three Plays on the Pancake

Pancake Soufflé at Pitt’s

It’s arguable that this dish, the flagship dessert at chef Jeremy Salamon’s proudly kitschy Red Hook restaurant, isn’t actually a pancake: no pan, no cake. But it evokes pancakehood in an extraordinary way, by exploiting a soufflé’s essential egginess. Generally, in a soufflé, the notes are masked by punchier components, such as boozy chocolate or sharp cheese. Here, as in a proper pancake, the round, custardy flavor of egg is a keypiece of the over-all story, along with white-sugar sweetness and an edge of buttery-toasty flour. Upon arrival at the table, a server dramatically slashes into the top of the quivering soufflé and pours maple syrup into the crevasse, letting it seep into all the airy puffs and bubbles of the tender interior. It’s the best kind of clever hybrid—one that doesn’t get bogged down in its own cleverness, and which playfully illuminates the fundamental joys of both pancakes and soufflés. Pitt’s is open for dinner only, so this is, by necessity, more of an evening pancake; pair it with the restaurant’s take on an espresso Martini, punched up with notes of coconut and blood orange, for a complete brunch-after-dark moment. ♦