Today was Leah’s birthday and we celebrated the special day by going out as a family to Leah’s favorite restaurant in Manhattan, Noi Due.

Don and I had never been to Noi Due and we were delighted with the food selection, presentation and taste.  Although we were all too full to have dessert, we felt compelled to order at least one dessert to share so that we could sing “Happy Birthday” to Leah.

Leah ordered her favorite dessert in the whole world: cheesecake.  Simple New York-style cheescake.  Not Italian-style cheesecake.  Not the in-house prepared tiramisu.  Not anything else.  Just plain cheesecake.

And, when the dessert was served, Leah was delighted.  And so was everyone else.

Ju-Ju eyed the confectioners sugar.  Avigail eyed the whipped cream.  Don was hoping to share the cheescake.

I just admired the plating…..and asked Aaron S. to take a picture for the blog.

Because, I loved a creatively plated dessert.  And, this dessert was cleverly and beautifully plated.

Here is what I loved about the dessert plate:

Beautiful plating is in the simple details
A simple piece of cheesecake was embellished with powdered sugar, whipped cream and some chocolate syrup. all simple ingredients that together yielded something extraordinary

There were many textural elements to appreciate
This plate allowed us to enjoy the ruffled whipped cream, decadent sauce, creamy cheese cake slice, the handwritten birthday note and the powdery sugar

It was original
They took the time to write “Happy Birthday” with a flourish and a dose of whimsy.

There was plenty of white space on the plate
The elements of the dessert were not crowded and left the diner with a feeling of space to appreciate the details

Happy Birthday, Leah!