Best Desserts
Coffee Etc.
READERS' PICK: Okay, so they aren't baked on location (not even local!) but come from Epicurean Delights Bakery in Phoenix. Nevertheless, the desserts at Coffee Etc. stun the palate and get the readers' nod. The incredible richness of the Chocolate Bostonian or Triple Chocolate Mousse is rivaled only by the wholesomeness of their apple pie. Of course, they all tremble before the vast armada of chessecakes that adorn the dessert refrigerator. If you are in the mood for something sweet, try the etceteras at Coffee Etc.
2830 N. Campbell Ave.
6091 N. Oracle RoadREADERS' POLL RUNNER-UP: Le Bistro is better than any casually serious eatery you'd find in the north coast provinces of France. After all, it's here. And it's very, very good. Succumb to the sugar-crusted fresh plum and custard tart; it caught our eye in the dessert carousel upon entering one day. But we were torn between that or the fresh berry tart. Enter Le Bistro, 2574 N. Campbell Ave., and you will be sorely tempted by the desserts seductive selections. Before you start for your table your eye may be drawn by a veritable castle of chocolate, Le Concorde, constructed from dense chocolate mousse, light-as-air chocolate meringue and towers of chocolate curl. The portion is large enough for two, perhaps three.
STAFF PICK: If the crab-stuffed chicken, breaded and sautéed and finished with a demi-glace cream, didn't get you at Vivace Restaurant, the desserts will. They'll stalk you from the moment you walk in. And if you want the most sinful, you'll have to order it in advance. That's the individual chocolate truffle cake, served with a slice of spumoni. There's also chocolate macadamia nut tart, a chocolate fudge in a sugar-dough cup, topped with caramel. The most popular dessert here is crème brulée, caramelized brown sugar crust on top, the custard soft, airy and smooth as it lingers on the tongue dropping tastes of fresh vanilla bean. Chef Daniel Scordato's personal favorite is the lemon mousse, served as a Napoleon, very thin, crisp almond-studded butter-sugar tiles separating layers of airy, foam infused with lemon scent. Once a Vivace dessert has caught you, you're in its talon-clutches 'til the very last bite. Vivace is at 4811 E. Grant Road.
CAT'S MEOW: Cup Café's pastry chef, Bill Roberts, is an undisputed master of the oven, and the things he pulls from it are nothing short of remarkable: muffins, cakes, pies and scones, tasty baked goods in an embarrassing abundance. Roberts's chocolate mousse cake will add years to your life through sheer good vibes, and his key lime and berry pies are, as they say, to die for. The Cup Café is at 311 E. Congress St.
CAT'S MEOW: For those interested in true sin, there are Café Terra Cotta desserts. Donna Nordin has been called one of the five best pastry makers in North America, and that legend still holds sway over the Terra Cotta menu. Her Aztec torte of chocolate cake, nut meringue and mocha chocolate buttercream is a sumptuous use of chocolate, the god Queztalcoatl's gift to humanity. Nordin's dessert choices change about three times a year. More recent selections have included a chocolate mousse pie, one of the best vanilla creme brulees in the city, and if the Queztalcoatl himself came to Terra Cotta, he'd have chosen the Southwestern Banana Split, with lightly jalapeño-spiked vanilla ice cream, chocolate fudge, bananas dipped in chocolate coating, the whole sprinkled with chili-spiced pecans. This fall, look for a Nordin variation on the apple tart and a cocoa-pumpkin cake. Café Terra Cotta is at 4310 N. Campbell Ave.
CAT'S MEOW: The menu at KingFisher is a celebration of great American flavors. No less the desserts. Recent desserts include a double-crusted caramel nut pie, with walnuts, pecans and hazelnuts mixed into a caramel, topped with a sugar-crust and served with whipped cream. For chocolate lovers, there's the chocolate silk glacé, a nut-and-sugar crust with a rich chocolate mousse poured over, chilled in a spring-form mold, then cut like a slice of heavenly cake and topped with espresso-flavored whipped froth. For a taste of sinuously dark spice, there is a deeply moist, ginger-spice cake topped with a caramelized pear sauce, the burnt butter caramel emboldened with the perfume of poached Bartlett and Anjou pear slices. The old standby, KingFisher bread pudding, is always a favorite, this time its flavors heightened with ruby tang of dried cranberries, served warm with a bourbon custard sauce. KingFisher is at 2564 E. Grant Road.
