Just desserts

“Life is short — eat dessert first,” someone once said, and our area is full of cafés and restaurants where you can sample dessert first or after a satisfying meal. Dessert has probably been around since the very beginning of civilization when someone decided to brave a bee sting or two and check out the taste of honey.

Different cultures have varying ideas on what constitutes a dessert. In China traditional desserts are sometimes made with red beans, sesame, dates or lotus. In Greece honey is a popular medium. Some Spanish claim that the use of chocolate as a dessert originated with them, but the debate goes back centuries, as the Aztecs felt that their god, Quetzlcoatl, should be credited for the origin of the cacao bean. But, even if the origin of dessert is buried in the ‘sands of time’ it doesn’t mean that we can’t enjoy it!

If you like pie, the Wayside Café (507 S. Main) has homemade pies available by the slice or the whole. Perfect for a hot afternoon is the cool homemade ‘Strawberry Crunch Pie’ on a homemade crust with strawberry filling topped with whipped cream and then more strawberries.

Aquaterra at the Pala Mesa Resort (2001Old Highway 395) offers a light dessert called ‘The Bomb,’ which is an airy white chocolate mousse with a thin raspberry filling, served on a delicate graham cracker crust and topped with a dollop of whipped crème.

Estrella’s Family Restaurant (Highway 76 at Olive Hill Road) in Bonsall serves a memorable ‘Creamy Flan’ that is just marvelous! The caramel flavor is enhanced by the layer of whipped cream and topping of maraschino cherry. Some flan desserts I have tasted are thin and lack substance, but this was thick, creamy and tasty. It compares with the best I’ve had — even in Madrid!

Many bread puddings are more bread than pudding, but Le Bistro’s ‘Bread Pudding’ is just the opposite. The moist pudding is topped with a potent but marvelous whiskey sauce. Le Bistro is located in Fallbrook’s Jackson Square.

Le Bistro also serves a truly decadent dessert called ‘Robert’s Ice Cream,’ which is served in an oversized wineglass. The glass is packed with vanilla ice cream, which is hand-blended with shaved chocolate and finely chopped roasted walnuts. The crowning glory, however, is the brandied chocolate sauce, which packs quite a punch and is not for the faint of heart!

If you love ‘Crème Brûlée’ Chef Jorge Alcaraz at Da Giorgio (La Estancia Inn, 3135 South Highway 395), creates a marvelously creamy version. Chef Jorge has the arduous process perfected with a hint of lemon flavor in the custard, and the thin caramelized top is done to perfection and melted with a special torch.

The new Farmhouse Coffee Co. (622 S. Mission Road) serves a moist and flavorful chocolate layer cake, which is topped with flakes of chocolate. The slices are generous and reasonably priced.

If chocolate is your passion try Cask ’n Cleaver’s (3757 S. Mission Rd.) ‘Mile High Mud Pie,’ which is chocolate and coffee ice cream piled on an Oreo cookie crust, then drizzled with chocolate fudge and topped with whipped cream.

The ‘Fried Ice Cream’ at El Jardin (1581 S. Mission Road) is vanilla ice cream coated with something that tastes like cornflakes then deep-fried and drenched in chocolate.

Heard of a dessert called ‘Xangos?’ Rio Rico restaurant (Bonsall’s River Village) serves this dessert, which is a chimichanga filled with a delicious banana-flavored cheesecake-like filling. A unique name for a unique dessert!

En Pico at 121 North Pico Avenue serves an autumn dessert that has become wildly popular all year ’round. Their moist ‘Pumpkin Bread Pudding’ is irresistible when topped with their own homemade caramel sauce!

How can one improve chocolate? Try the ‘Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake’ at Scampi’s Simply Italian (1415 S. Mission Road). Chocolate enhanced by cheesecake enhanced by raspberries is simply delicious!