West End's Best
Yin & Yang Fondue
The Melting Pot, Gayton Crossing Shopping Center, (804) 741-3120, www.meltingpot.com
At The Melting Pot dessert is not just dessert. It is an experience. Decadent chocolate fondue with a wide selection of dippers is the perfect ending to your meal. The fondue comes in nine different forms, concocted from combinations of The Melting Pot’s own blend of milk, dark and white chocolates.
Owner Chad Hornik says the Yin & Yang version, which is half dark chocolate and half white chocolate swirled into the yin-yang symbol, is one of the most popular choices. Other possibilities include Bananas Foster fondue and Cookies ‘n Cream Marshmallow Dream fondue.
Each chocolate fondue has a set of cakes and fruits and different items for dipping. Diners can choose from fresh strawberries, bananas, cheesecake, Rice Krispies Treats, marshmallows, pound cake and brownies for their sweet ending.

Chocolate Punctuation Cake
Hondo’s, The Shoppes at Innsbrook, (804) 968-4323, www.hondosprime.com
You’ve just polished off your Cowboy Cut Ribeye. Now put an exclamation point on your meal at Hondo’s. Nothing will top off your perfectly-cooked steak or chop like a rich chocolate creation. Try the Chocolate Punctuation, a rich chocolate cake with a warm gooey center that is topped with chocolate sauce and served with a side of vanilla ice cream. This dessert is the perfect ending to any dinner.

Stefanie’s Ultimate Red Velvet Cheesecake
The Cheesecake Factory, Short Pump Town Center, (804) 364-4300, www.thecheesecakefactory.com
With a name like The Cheesecake Factory, it’s no surprise when you find an entire list of specialty flavors of this creamy dessert. However, one of the many cheesecakes the restaurant offers stands out from the crowd – Stefanie’s Ultimate Red Velvet Cheesecake. According to Manager Brad Peterman, this cheesecake is ordered more than any other dessert.
A slice of Stefanie’s Ultimate Red Velvet Cheesecake features two layers of moist red velvet cake and two layers of the restaurant’s signature, topped off with a special cream cheese frosting. If Red Velvet doesn’t make your mouth water, you will have no problem finding another flavor that suits your taste from choices such as Adam’s Peanut Butter Fudge Ripple, Chocolate Coconut Cream, Key Lime, Pumpkin Pecan, and Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. With so many unique choices, your biggest dilemma will be deciding on which slice to savor.

Hanover
Hot Fudge Cake
Brunetti’s Restaurant, 9167 Atlee Road, Mechanicsville, (804) 730-2339, www.brunettisonline.com
Brunetti’s Hot Fudge Cake is a dessert that has been served for twelve years, and customers still aren’t tired of it! This dessert is bound to get your mouth watering. The dessert contains simple ingredients, but the way it’s served makes it so appetizing. It’s a fudge cake with vanilla ice cream in the middle, laced with hot fudge and topped off with whipped cream. This dessert is truly the best combination of hot and cold, something your taste buds will enjoy from the very first bite. Owner Antony Taormina says, “Once one customer orders the Hot Fudge Cake and it’s brought to them, whoever is sitting around them will see it, and want one too. I’ve never had a customer complain about it. It really is our most popular dessert.” Trust me, after a really good dinner at Brunetti’s you’ll want this great dessert.

Neapolitan Cheesecake
The Iron Horse Restaurant, 100 South Railroad Avenue, Ashland, (804) 752-6410, www.ironhorserestaurant.com
The Iron Horse Restaurant is one the most well known eating establishments in Ashland, and is also known for it’s southern modern American menu. One item has finally graced its presence on their menu under the dessert category, and goes by the name Neapolitan Cheesecake. It’s only been on the menu for a little over a month but it’s in high demand! If the name, Neapolitan Cheesecake, doesn’t get your mouth watering, the key ingredients will. Strawberry puree, chocolate chips, and white chocolate, with a chocolate cookie crust are just some of the ingredients that make up this dessert. It’s served with a delectable strawberry sauce and whipped cream to top it off. This dessert is perfect! It gives the chocolate lovers their dose of yummy chocolate, the strawberry cravers their fix, and the devoted cheesecake eaters the taste of traditional cheesecake. The Neapolitan Cheesecake is like three desserts in one, yet, one of a kind!

Chocolate Pecan Pie
Hanover Tavern, 13181 Hanover Courthouse Rd., 804-537-5250, www.hanovertavern.org
The Hanover Tavern is well known for their homemade desserts, but the Chocolate Pecan Pie is a longtime favorite on the dessert menu. It’s a dessert that both nut and chocolate lovers will enjoy. It is a simple dessert filled with chocolate chips and baked pecans, but regardless of the simplicity, customers can’t seem to get enough. Of course, if you’re hesitant about ordering dessert it’s ok, because this special offered at Hanover Tavern is sure to reel you in. If you dine at the Hanover Tavern before going to their theatre, and order all three courses, then your third course—the dessert, is free! Think about it, you get three courses for the price of two, so the delicious Chocolate Pecan Pie will be yours free of charge!

Chesterfield Living
Fried Ice Cream & Fried, NY-Stlye Cheesecake
Chopstix Asian Bistro, 15801 City View Drive, Midlothian, (804) 379-8308, www.chopstixva.com
Chopstix Asian Bistro and Sushi Lounge is known for its excellent Japanese food and great service, but diners may not know about its delicious desserts. Chopstix offers fried ice cream in both red bean and vanilla flavors. For those of you who have yet to try red bean, Chopstix’s James Han explains that it’s “a different type of sweet. It’s a very natural [sort of] sweet.” The ice cream is tempura-battered and drizzled with honey and chocolate. Han says, “There’s a special cake-breading inside that wraps the ice cream." Chopstix also has a fried, NY-style cheesecake “which is tempura battered and fried; that makes the cream cheese warm and gooey and it’s really good. It’s as simple as that.” You can enjoy the sweets for six dollars apiece.

Susan DeGiovanni’s Turtle Cheesecake
Howlett's Restaurant & Tavern, Festival Park Plaza, Chester, (804) 930-1034, www.howlettstavernchester.com
If you have a sweet tooth, you have to try Susan DeGiovanni’s turtle cheesecake at Howlett’s restaurant. It’s a basic cheesecake “loaded down with pecans and mini chocolate chips and I use a special chocolate sauce with a caramel topping,” says DeGiovanni. You can indulge yourself and buy a slice for $5.49 or splurge and buy a whole cheesecake for $24.99. Howlett’s also offers key lime cheesecake, strawberry cheesecake, carrot cake, pecan pie, peanut butter pie, peach cobbler, and many more. DeGiovanni explains, “All of our desserts are homemade. I don’t make a lot and let them sit around, so they’re always really fresh.”

Tiramisu
Palermo Trattoria Pizzeria, 15717 City View Drive, Midlothian, (804) 378-7643,
Palermo’s tiramisu is to die for. Chef Marianna Merki explains that her tiramisu is “made with mascarpone and whipped cream and five different liquors. It’s made fresh everyday. People love it…it’s not too sweet; it’s just the right amount of sweetness. It [has] layered ladyfingers with mascarpone, liquor, and espresso, and then topped with shaved chocolate.” You can experience Merki’s tiramisu for $6. Also on Palermo’s dessert menu are crème brulée, cannoli, limoncello gelato, and copa spagnola. Palermo also offers toscanella – “a puff pastry base followed by a layer of crème surrounded by crème sauce and decorated with a chocolate ribbon.”

Bread Pudding
Ruth's Chris Steak House, 11500 W. Huguenot Road, (804) 378-0600, www.ruthschris.com
Ruth’s Chris Steak House is known for its succulent steaks and its atmosphere, but what you may be missing out on is its delicious desserts. Ruth’s Chris offers crème brulée, key lime pie, and “Chocolate Explosion,” a rich chocolate cake with a warm chocolate center topped with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce. The most populardessert, however, is their bread pudding. Manager Mark Ainge explains: “it’s a traditional New Orleans bread pudding. It has granny smith apples and raisins, served warm and topped with whiskey cream sauce.” Two can enjoy Ruth’s Chris bread pudding for $8.00; it’s large enough to share, though you won’t want to!