Chronicle of the bread puddings I've tasted in different cities. It includes recommendations. Breadpuddinglovers, unite!
Talk about some kind of good! This was a savory BP with different types of mushrooms and fresh herbs. It was made with challah AND brioche so it was buttery tasting and flaky and fresh and crisp at the top, formed in a muffin tin. It was the size of a dinner roll and that was just right to give a hot different texture from the crisp asparagus, arugula/almond/beet salad, and sauteed spinach. I will back to Firefly Grill.
CLOSED - My first thought when I tasted this butterscotch-habanero bread pudding was, "I want to kiss the creator in the mouth." Butterscotch with a small kick of habanero is just perfect. I am so glad I finally heeded the recommendations. And the sauce, again, made me want to have sauce everywhere, on everything.
This will be a mixed review, starts low and ends high. I know this picture on the left looks like fried chicken with a piece of white bread but it's bread pudding. It was supposed to be chocolate, a debut at the Celebration of Culture, and it was a disaster. I had to tell the truck manager and learned was that there are two BP construction techniques: 1) laying slices of bread and putting seasonings in the middle, and 2) tearing pieces of bread and mixing the seasonings (my preference). Both are soaked. Well, this one wasn't soaked enough because when I put my fork in, I 
turned over a piece of white bread. Gross! I decided against getting my money back because the other dessert was so good I asked for another instead. The dumpling in the banana leaf was a tastebud happiness consolation prize.
Today's BP version was a BP with salted caramel sauce. It was just right in its approach and all the flavors were fully integrated, with some herb on top that gave it nice interest. Again, maybe it's my palate, but I didn't taste saltiness in the sauce though I thoroughly enjoyed it.
First, I was pleasantly surprised that this fancy place priced BP at $5.00. It's so fancy this was banana rye-whiskey praline bread pudding. Now, since I usually get my BP to go, I often lose the nuances of the flavors. It reminds me of one of my mother's favorite places in DC, Colonel Brooks Tavern, where they served different flavors of creme brulee but they all tasted the same. While I may not have a sensitive enough palate for the rye-whiskey, every bit of the offering was phenomenal!
