|
Angela Tustin When Angela Tustin was in high school, she worked at Dunkin Donuts, delighting in every opportunity to dip pastries in pink icing and roll them in multicolored sprinkles. It was a kids dream come true. When she grew up, her taste matured, thanks to an education in some of Philadelphia's most respected culinary establishments. After graduating from the Restaurant School with an Associates degree in Pastry Arts, she secured an internship with the acclaimed Bobby Bennett at Le bec-Fin, and worked in the kitchen of the Four Seasons' Fountain Restaurant and Swann Lounge, under the tutelage of the reknowned French Master Chef Jean-Marie Lacroix and his executive pastry chef, Eddie Halos. Then she was lured by David Mantelmacher to work alongside Executive Chef Tom Harkins as Pastry Chef at Circa, a restaurant/nightspot along the city's famous restaurant row. But despite her exposure to the rarefied world of gastronomic sophistication, Tustin has not lost her childlike sense of fun. And if you doubt that for a minute, you only need to see the dessert menu she has created for Plate - Mantelmacher's new eatery at Suburban Square in Ardmore - where once again, she has been paired with Harkins. The menu at Plate is best described as contemporary comfort food, a seamless blend of home style and sophisticated ingredients to produce unexpected dishes as calamari in rice crispy crust and baked macaroni and barbecued shrimp. Tustin's desserts compliment the savory specialties specialties with an equal measure of imagination. Take her Painter's Palette of Ice Cream, an assortment of flavors in homemade cones, served with chocolate sauce, and of course, sprinkles. Everything is made from scratch at the restaurant, including the ice cream. And what flavors! White chocolate raspberry. Strawberry cheesecake. And wonderful variations on fruits in season. She also offers doughnuts in a bag, a tasty affair containing doughnut holes sprinkled with cinnamon sugar and served with a coffee dipping sauce. And talk about comfort: her fruit cobbler is served warm from the stone-fired oven with vanilla ice cream and fresh berries. Naturally, there's plenty to delight the chocolate lover, including the PB&J Bar, which features chocolate wafers layered with peanut butter cream, raspberry jelly and chocolate mousse. While desserts remain her forte, Tustin and Harkins are occasionally exchanging toques, with the pastry chef now engaging in the preparation of savory foods, and the executive chef dabbling in desserts. It promises to be an exciting time for the restaurant's menu - and especially for it's patrons. By keeping the kid inside of her, Angela Tustin is delighting the child in all of us. |