The last time I visited The Parlor, I skipped dessert. The reason? I was just over the line of a parking space and my car slightly blocked someone’s garage. A police officer came in the restaurant to get me because someone saw me go in for pizza and told him where I went, thankfully. I stopped the tow as I ran down the street with a slice in my hand, but still got a ticket. After that fiasco, I needed a beer, which was purchased by a table of nice folks who felt bad for me. But while we know the pizza and beverages at The Parlor are damn good, you should really get a sweet treat after the savory stuff.
To that end, while back, we posted a video of Chef/Owner David DiBari putting together an after-dinner treat called the Dough-wich. It’s a whole pizza “puff” of sorts that’s basically made into a mega-sized ice cream sandwich. It feeds four or more people, so for me, or for anyone looking for a manageable but creative ice-cream concoction, the Dough-wich is likely out of the equation. One day while scouring Instagram, I noticed The Parlor had an alternative that looked doable: the Dough Cone, kind of a younger sibling of the Dough-wich, with the same ingredients but on a handheld scale.
I was recently invited to The Parlor, where Chef DiBari let me watch him assemble one, which involves baking a triangular piece of pizza dough in a wood-fired oven till it rises, gets pulled out and cut at the top, and then filled with creamy Jane’s vanilla ice cream. Finally, it’s topped between each scoop with a mixture of Nutella Crunch (think Nestle Crunch but with Nutella and chocolate), homemade bacon-caramel corn, and chocolate sauce. The process is simple, but no doubt perfected over time, echoing DiBari’s mantra that, “Desserts should be fun but simple.”
After the Dough Cone was put together, I pulled up a bar stool, grabbed a plate (you might need one), and indulged in this whimsical dessert. It transported me back to those messy-faced days of childhood as small splashes of melted ice cream, chips of the caramel from the crunchy popcorn, and sticky chocolate sauce found a home in my beard and on my fingers. The slight chew of the pizza cone holds up perfectly throughout, too.
Sometimes, a little mess is a good thing, so roll up your sleeves, take an imaginary, nostalgic time machine, and take on this new age Nutty Buddy. No sharing either, as you’ll likely eat the whole thing.
The Parlor
14 Cedar St, Dobbs Ferry
(914) 478 8200; www.theparlordf.com
Check out the Dough Cone creation process below.