[Photo: Kathy YL Chan]

The velvety, eggy Creme Catalana ($9) is what this Casa Mono dessert is named after, but it's the Buñuelos that will have you talking. Buñuelos is the Spanish name for fritters, fried sweets. Here they come five to an order, shaped like leaves, and with good reason. A fresh bay leaf is dipped into the fritter batter and deep-fried, finished with a dusting of sugar.

Bite and the fluffy, tender dough will slide off, leaving the essence of bay leaf on your tongue. The leaf isn't mean to be eaten; the herbal-y sweet fragrance it imparts to the buñuelos is statement enough. Alternate with silky spoonfuls of the Creme Catalana, the surface of burnt sugar evenly torched, just a dance of vanilla and cinnamon beneath.

Casa Mono

125 East 17th Street, New York, NY 10003 (map)
212-253-2773
casamononyc.com

About the author: Originally from Honolulu, Kathy YL Chan writes A Passion For Food, where she chronicles her eats and travels adventures between Hawai'i, New York and beyond. She firmly believes that there is always room for dessert.