A Small Tribute to Mignardises

In a restaurant context, the term mignardises, which translates to “sweets”, usually refers to the small bite sized treats given at the end of a meal. They are typically served with coffee/tea or provided along with the check. Another term commonly used is petit four, which is French for “small oven”; this term comes from the practice of bakers making small pastries while their oven was in the process of cooling.

Mignardises are not unique to fine dining. I believe my first encounter with them was in my childhood, when Olive Garden provided Andes mints alongside the check.

(It’s been several years since I’ve eaten at an Olive Garden but for the sake of nostalgia I hope this is still their practice)

But while mignardises are not the exclusive domain of fine dining, they are a common staple at such restaurants and are typically a bit more upscale than a prepackaged mint. Admittedly they usually lack the creativity of the meal that preceded them, with many restaurants resorting to a standard combination of macarons, pate de fruits, bonbons, or tartlets. Even so I still find them a pleasant way to end a meal and enjoy even the simplest ones. So I’ve decided to highlight some of the mignardises that have been the most memorable.

Classic

The above photo was taken after a meal at Le Bernardin and you can see it follows a classical formula: mini souffle, chocolate, macaron, bonbon. Nevertheless, they were well-executed and generic though they may be I can still recall their specific flavors.

Another approach is to serve a single slightly larger treat, in this case a classic French dessert called a canele (this one from Friday Saturday Sunday in Philadelphia). The crisp caramelized exterior and the creamy cusdard-like interior make for a delicious conclusion to a meal. While my understanding is that they are commonplace in France, I have only encountered them twice in the US.

Creative bites

Some places get creative with their mignardises. The Modern served a standard macaron + pate de fruits + bonbon, but took the time to decorate them seasonally during my December visit, which was fun to see.

Torrisi, an Italian-American restaurant, pays homage to a classic Italian-American treat, the rainbow cookie.

Jungsik, a Korean restaurant that uses French cooking techniques, offers a blend of classical French petit fours and Korean treats, with a marshmallo mignardise and a macaron standing alongside a maesil (sour plum) pastry and a Korean yakgwa.

A particularly creative bite came from my first Michelin-starred meal at Noksu, where the macaron was made with coconut and, unbelievably, shiitake mushroom, giving it a slightly savory “oomph” that did a surprisingly good job complementing the rich coconut flavor.

Mignardise as a signature

Eleven Madison Park has a mignardise that’s actually become a bit of a signature at the restaurant: a chocolate pretzel, served as pictured on a little metal rack. The pretzel is made with sesame and has a nice nutty and salty flavor with a mouth-coating silkiness and not too much sweetness. The explanation card comes from Daniel Humm’s 20-year retrospective meal and explains that the pretzel is served with their house vermouth (that also comes in a very nice non-alcoholic variety) and has been the restaurant’s closing act since 2012.

The parting gift

The Korean restaurant bōm offers their mignardise as a parting gift to take home, presented in a nice little bag along with a printed copy of the evening’s menu. Parting gifts are a topic in and of themselves but it’s a nice treat for the next day.

Another restaurant that offers treats as a parting gift is Per Se, though they take sweets to another level…

Generous helpings

After laying out an abundant dessert course proper, Per Se presents you with a large selection of handmade bonbons at the end of your meal. Pictured are the 2 that I selected on one visit to their salon plus a third that my server insisted I try (their horchata flavor, which ended up being the best one; a perfect example of 3-star service).

In addition to a plate of intricately decorated petit fours, the restaurant Daniel provides their signature bowl of warm madelines as well as a boxed canele as a parting gift. Even though my official dessert with them had been a selection from their cheese cart I still felt like I received a proper amount of sweets.

The big spread

The Korean restaurant Joo ok offers an ornamental spread of Korean byung gwa, made in-house and served with sunchoke tea.

Aska, a New Nordic restaurant in Brooklyn, offers a nice spread of sweets with Nordic flavors like blackcurrant, salted licorice, and a mini Swedish punsch roll. I think this spread is intended for two but I had this all to myself (sometimes solo dining has its perks).

Final Boss: The Trolley

But of all the mignardises I have enjoyed, none can compare to the king of NYC’s petit four scene: Jean-Georges, which offers a mignardise trolley from which one can select as many chocolates and candies as one’s heart desires.

As you can see my heart desired quite a lot (yes, that’s one of each).

Mignardises are often described as an expression of gratitude, a final way for the restaurant to say “thank you for dining with us”. So I guess I’ll conclude by saying thank you to all the restaurants that offer mignardises.

Including Olive Garden and their Andes mints.