I grew up making s’mores around campfires. Without fail, I’d set the marshmallows on fire and end up wearing more of the chocolate than eating it. Still, I loved the process. As an adult, I’ve traded in making s’mores myself for s’mores others make that I love. S’mores seem to be popping up on menus all over the place in Jackson.
Snake River Brewery
As far as I know, the brewpub was the first place in the valley to have a s’more on its dessert menu. I feel like the s’more has been on the menu here since the last millennium.
It’s the simplest and the most like the ones I tried to make as a kid. And it’s my favorite. (Trio is a close second though.) A thick homemade graham cracker on the bottom (but not so thick as Trio’s, which is why I prefer this one), an entire Hershey’s bar in the middle, and a layer of marshmallow on top.
Simple. Perfect. Simply perfect. So good, why get anything else?
Trio
Created by Trio sous chef Adam Lassiter, this s’more only slightly tweaks the classic.
Sitting at Trio’s bar, I watch my s’more go into the restaurant’s wood-fired oven. It’s already fully cooked; it’s going into the oven to be heated and made gooey.
Less than five minutes later, it’s sitting in front of me, oozing all over its cast iron crock.
There’s a fabulously thick graham cracker cookie on the bottom. It’s almost the thickness of a brownie. On top of that is a double chocolate brownie — a brownie with chocolate chips folded into it. Topping everything is a single, giant house-made marshmallow.
Snake River Grill
I love the Grill for many, many reasons. One of the biggest reasons is the restaurant’s Eskimo Bars, which are only on the menu in the summer. Because these bars are so good, I knew it might be hard to be a fan of their S’mores Chocolate Parfait, too.
The dessert is pretty, but the same night I tried it I tried some of their butterscotch pudding. The pudding was so superior to any dessert I’ve eaten this winter that I had a hard time noticing the s’mores alongside it.
I got no graham cracker-y goodness in this s’more parfait, although the description says “graham cracker-hazelnut “crunch.” The chocolate in this iteration is a milk chocolate mousse. The marshmallow comes via a “toasted marshmallow cream.” I like that the Grill was thinking outside of the box, but in this instance, classic is king.
