Coconut Banana Bread Pudding Always the Favorite at The Mezzanine Restaurant—5/1/06
The Mezzanine—the chic restaurant with palate-pleasing, succulent cuisine in the Paramount Hotel New York in the middle of New York's Times Square and Theater District—offers one of the city's best homemade banana bread puddings with coconut milk for a rich, full flavor (recipe featured below). The restaurant has several specials, and on any given day, a dozen delectable sweets make dessert selection a mouth-watering process. Plus The Mezzanine boasts an extensive international coffee list.
Favorite desserts include Apple Tart, Black & White Mousse, Caramel de Light, New York Cheese Cake, Chocolate Soufflé, Chocolate Raspberry Ganache, and Tiramisu. In addition, an array of fine coffees, espressos and teas round out any meal or dessert.
According to Andrew Tilley, General Manager of the Paramount Hotel, where the restaurant is located on the mezzanine level, "The Mezzanine is the perfect place to stop for dinner on the way to theater, or for dessert and coffee before going home."
Mezzanine specials, available from now until the end of May, include:
Monday & Tuesday: Enjoy one breakfast buffet and get the second at 50% off (available from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m.).
Monday & Tuesday: Enjoy one luncheon entrée and get the second at 50% off (available from noon to 4:30 p.m.).
Wednesday: "Broadway Day" features a prix fixe pre- and post-theater 3-course menu for $35, plus tax and gratuity. (Prix fixe menu could include mesclun salad, insalata caprese, Penne Alba Chiara, Poulet Limône, salmon agrodolce, the famous banana bread pudding or tiramisu.)
Following is the recipe for the Mezzanine's beloved warm Coconut Banana Bread Pudding with raisins, caramel and vanilla coulis on the side.
Coconut Bread Pudding
2 cups dry bread, cut in cubes
4 tablespoons coconut milk
4 tablespoons butterscotch topping
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
2 medium bananas
1 egg
1 tablespoon melted butter
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ cup milk
3 tablespoons raisins
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Sauce
1 teaspoon butter
1 teaspoon brown sugar
½ ripe banana
Dash of banana liquor
2 teaspoons cold water
Directions
Preheat oven at 350 degrees. Puree bananas, add in all dry and wet pudding ingredients. Mix well. Pour into baking pan. Bake for 1 hour. Remove from oven and let cool. Cut bread pudding in 4 servings. Slice the ripe banana on top. Mix sauce ingredients, sautéing together. Spoon the sauce on top of the banana. Garnish with fresh fruits and confectioner’s sugar.
The Mezzanine features continental cuisine and is located overlooking the dramatic silver leaf stair case lit by a cascade of small candles in the lobby of the Paramount Hotel New York at 235 West 46th Street, just steps away from Broadway. The Mezzanine is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.
For more information, visit NYCparamount.com or call the Paramount Hotel at 212.764.5500.
