Meet the Waffogato; How Do Mathematicians Cut Cake?

Happy Wednesday. It has come to my attention that an unassuming cafe and bakery in San Francisco is serving a Belgian waffle topped with vanilla ice cream and a shot of espresso. I write about food for a living so I'm extremely jaded when it comes to food mash-ups, but I cannot hate this concept. Whenever I eat bread-y pastries like croissants or brioche I like to dip them into my hot coffee. This habit started in Paris, where bowls of café au lait make ideal dunking vessels. I also love the affogato al caffè, an Italian dessert in which espresso is poured over ice cream, yielding an extremely sensual temperature contrast on the tongue. But espresso after dinner guarantees I'll be up all night; instead, I regularly spike my morning coffee with vanilla ice cream.

Delish.com

So here, now, finally, someone on the same wavelength as me has created what might be my quintessential breakfast: The Waffogato. It's sweet and a little salty, milky and bread-y and tempered with the flavor of bitter coffee. (This is not to be confused with Dominique Ansel's version, which was waffle-flavored ice cream molded into the shape of a waffle drowned in espresso. That's more dessert than breakfast.) Have you had it? Have you made it at home? Does it repulse you? Does it fascinate you? Please tell me everything. There is a comments section below.

In today's food news:

— How do mathematicians cut cake?

— Baskin' Robbins is operated by Dunkin' brands so it is shocking that the two brands only today decided to pair off and sell doughnut ice cream sandwiches.

— Condé Nast Traveler snagged an interview with lauded French chef Alain Passard of Arpège about his forthcoming stint on Netflix's award-winning Chef's Table: "I think of myself like a couturier — we too have our tools, needles, and scissors with which we work. Vegetables are the fabric of food. Like a great designer with haute couture, a great chef also has the seasons. When a top designer releases his winter or fall collection, so does a cook with his menu. Just as with painting and couture, with cooking, it's exactly the same process, where color becomes an inspiration."

And on whether he might open another restaurant Passard says: "I learned cooking here 40 years ago with another great chef. I like my home. I like to be here, I like to use the pans. That's a lot already. I am not growing weary or restless. I am a cook."

— Starbucks is anthropomorphizing the Pumpkin Spice Latte. Now you can talk to it via a Facebook bot.

— One of the 100 desks in the U.S. Senate Chamber is full of candy.

— Finally, here's where ramen noodles come from: