Sweet of the Week: Chocolate Pudding at White Oak Tavern & Inn

When it comes to simplistic, homey comforts, you'd be hard-pressed to find something that can outpace chocolate pudding. Whether made from an instant package or lovingly poured over by mom, chocolate pudding is quintessentially classic and deeply soothing. It's the dessert version of chicken soup for the soul, if you will. And while other childhood-rooted comforts seem to transcend generations, such as chocolate chip cookies and apple pie, chocolate pudding is something woefully resigned to the annals of dessert lore far too often. But as restaurants like White Oak Tavern & Inn strive to unearth wholesome American pastimes in modern, fresh new ways, desserts like chocolate pudding get their deserved time in the spotlight. And not only that, but the snazzy chocolate pudding at White Oak Tavern & Inn could easily go down as one of the prettiest puddings to ever grace a table.

 

White Oak Tavern & Inn
Chocolate pudding at White Oak Tavern & Inn



The main composition of the chocolate pudding looks simple enough. It's when all the accoutrements get layered on that things get downright glamorous. The idea was indeed to modernize the classic instant chocolate pudding we all know and love. But in this case, "modernize" is a wild understatement. The pudding itself is rich, creamy, and cooly refreshing. It gets heaped with a smattering of tangy buttermilk morsels, housemade Oreo crumbles, and other "crunchy stuff," as the menu reads. And let's not forget the beautiful edible flowers, a nice aesthetic update on the typical puddings I was used to as a tot. Altogether, this is a textural and flavorful masterpiece; a thoughtful, respectful ode to a dish entrenched in nostalgia. By keeping things simple yet refined, whimsical yet mature, White Oak Tavern & Inn is able to make chocolate pudding the centerpiece it deserves to be. 

- Matt Kirouac 

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