"Dulce de leche"--literally, the sweetness of milk--has become identified as a flavor unto itself. So we see desserts in all kind of restaurants defined by the present of that taste. It has a caramel quality, but also a certain condensed-milk sourness. At Apolline, this wraps around a ball of banana ice cream with a rollercoaster of thin pastry studded with poppyseeds. (The latter is there so the menu could include the currently-hip food word "tuille.")
Apolline. Uptown: 4729 Magazine St. 504-894-8881.
This dish is ranked #233 in NOMenu's list of the 500 best dishes in New Orleans restaurants. The entire list is here.