Parallel 37 Has A Pastry Chef To Watch

Andrea Correa has one of the most intriguing résumés we've seen in some time.

The new pastry chef at Parallel 37 has worked in the kitchens of El Bulli, Noma, Charlie Trotter's and Yusho. We're not just talking six-week internships, but significant stints on both the savory and sweet sides.

When we learned that Michael Rotondo, the new chef at the Ritz-Carlton's restaurant, lured Correa here in March, we took note. And when we tasted our way through her new dessert menu, her talent was in full flourish.

We slowly–and then with accelerating glee–razed a panoramic display of chocolate mousses, cakes and crumbles ($12) interspersed with blood-orange gels and curds, papery-crisp orange chips sticking up here and there.

A semolina cake ($10) may have been a shade too dry, but the dots of lime gélee and lavender-infused cream surrounding it were so delicately cast that the two flavors fused in ways we'd never have imagined.

The night's chef d'oeuvre: a green-tea semifreddo ($10), garnished with candied pistachios and tarragon leaves, that slowly melted into a rhubarb compote and a pool of tart rhubarb consommé.

You can't fake that kind of experience.