Food review: Sweet corn pudding

Restaurant: Maverick (San Francisco)
Food description: Sweet corn pudding with roasted red pimiento peppers over bed of baby lettuce and anchovy vinaigrette
Food rating: 8 out of 10
Times ordered: 1

Corn pudding is one of those simple pleasures in life that Maverick really nailed. It's California cuisine, so the secret was in the super-sweet local corn. The corn was so good, I was immediately hooked and demanded a side of grilled corn-on-the-cob to accompany my entree. Not only was it sweet, but it was also decadently creamy. I liked that the sweetness came naturally from the corn instead of adding a ton of sugar. The chef tried to balance things out with an anchovy-dressed side salad, but I felt that it was fine by itself. I did like the addition of roasted red peppers. It helped give the dish a little character. The texture of the pudding was thick and held its shape, and neither pasty nor soggy. The corn was perfectly cooked--crisp and not chewy or mushy. As a side note, this is one of the few dishes that I refrained from adding salt to. It's a shame that I rarely see corn pudding on the menu at other restaurants.

Food review: Butterscotch pudding

Restaurant: Acme Chophouse (San Francisco)
Food description: Butterscotch pudding topped with whipped cream and candied macadamia nuts, served with blonde brownies
Food rating: 8 out of 10
Times ordered: 2

This is the only desert I've had at Acme so far, and pretty much the only dessert I need to have. Normally when I see/hear/read anything regarding butterscotch, I avoid it like the plague, but thanks to a rec from my outstanding server Charles, I went out on a limb and went for it--been hooked ever since. The "butterscotch" part was actually more like a creamy caramel flavor similar to a crème brulée without the egg or the crunch. Though rather sweet, it was still light enough to polish off with no trouble. To help with the sweetness, it's served with two blonde brownies and some candied macadamia nuts. The nuts helped and added a little crunch, but I didn't care much for the brownies. They were a little dry, but also tasted slightly old/frozen/refrigerator funky. Whatever the case, they were easy enough to not eat. So overall, this dessert made for a great alternative to my usual dark chocolate addictions and just as satisfying. And if you're like me and put off by the though of butterscotch, don't be. I assure you it resembles nothing of those disgusting yellow-orange hard candies from your childhood.