Chef Paul Verica’s new venture is finally open, and we’ve never had a better reason to brave that weird intersection of 7th, Caswell, and Pecan. At The Stanley, the chef’s penchant for “funky and weird” food is on full display, and nowhere is it more obvious than in this simple (but not so simply prepared) chocolate and peanut butter dessert. The base here, of course, chocolate, but it hasn’t exactly been prepared in any way you’re familiar with.
It’s been aerated, just before being syphoned into a mason jar and frozen in little batches. When it arrives tableside, it’s served on a bed of peanut butter powder and topped with edible flowers—coreopsis and bachelor’s button, for my plant nerds out there—from Small City Farm. It’s a treat that plays tricks on you: The powder somehow turns to creamy peanut butter on your palate. The consistency of the main ingredient isn’t the easiest to describe, but it’s not entirely unlike eating chocolate… clouds.
