308 E. 10th St.
READERS' PICK: At Coffee, Etc. dessert isn't just a meal; it is an experience. The dense array of cakes, pies and tarts is sure to tantalize even the pickiest sweet tooth. Dessert aficionados will be impressed with the generous portions and rich textures, from classic New York cheesecake to warm apple pie à la mode. So go ahead and indulge. With that mind-boggling selection available 24-hours a day, Coffee Etc. ensures the font of dessert in our desert will never run dry.
Some have been known to stop dead in their tracks at the desert case at The Cup, stock-still with their eyes agog and mouths agape. Until recently, those rotating shelves were a downtown icon, moving at the speed of lust with a dozen creamy cheesecakes, crusty fruit pies and dense chocolate tortes. Boston cream pie, fresh banana poppy-seed cake with cream cheese frosting, peanut butter chocolate cheesecake, double-chocolate pudding with whipped cream and cinnamon.... Nothing here is shipped frozen from the company commissary in Dubuque -- we're talkin' all homemade, and always fresh. Desserts here are so good, we've actually seen a few shameless diners order two at a time.
READERS' POLL RUNNER-UP: Le Bistro, 2574 N. Campbell Ave. If you're the sort who likes to have the ol' cake and eat it too, consider Le Bistro your royal privilege. The contemporary French restaurant features some 14 towers of flour in its revolving dessert case: tiramisu, cheesecakes, meringues, fruit tarts, and a changing array of layered chocolate mousses and crèmes, to name a few. All are served with style in the bistro's dimly lit, atrium-like dining room with festive garden lights. It's a dessert venue serious sweet tooths would be remiss not to indulge in from time to time.
