Icing on the Cake

It's the sweetest part of any meal, and for that reason few restaurants neglect to feature a special dessert or two. Some, though, actually specialize in the traditional last course, making them specific destinations for those seeking the sweeter things in life.

Among them is Jerry's Famous Coffee Shop at Jerry's Nugget, 1821 Las Vegas Blvd. North in North Las Vegas. Actually, Jerry's doesn't have a dessert menu per se. It has a dessert catalog -- several copies of a loose-leaf binder filled with photos of some of the more than 120 desserts the restaurant has in its repertoire.

Cindy Ferris, marketing director at Jerry's Nugget, said the binder was almost a necessity, "just because we have so much variety, it was difficult to put that into one menu."

"When anyone thinks of Jerry's Nugget, the first thing they think of is desserts, the second is prime rib" -- unless it's a big meat-and-potatoes person, in which case the order is reversed, she said.

There are pies and cakes and pastries of all manner, including several original creations by the family that has owned Jerry's Nugget for 45-plus years, she said. One is the strawberry ring, which is made of cream-puff pastry filled with fresh strawberries, pastry cream and heavy whipped cream. This year, pastry chef Raul Villa enhanced it with chocolate-chocolate and white-chocolate toppings, she noted.

And she said Villa is making his own mark on the dessert catalog, with things such as cheesecake lollipops and a chocolate mousse raspberry parfait, a towering concoction of cream, dark chocolate, raspberries, cake and syrup.

As far as prices, the strawberry ring is $5, a large slice of cake is less than $5 and a piece of pie that Ferris said is "darn near" a quarter of a pie is $3.50. Whole cakes and pies also are available, for $9.99 or more.

Across the valley at The Melting Pot at 8704 W. Charleston Blvd., managing partner Zac Black estimated conservatively that 20 percent of his customers come in just for dessert, which by definition is some type of chocolate fondue. Most popular: the Flaming Turtle, which is milk chocolate and caramel, flambeed with pecans, and bananas Foster, which is white chocolate and finely diced bananas mixed with dulce de leche cream, flambeed and sprinkled with cinnamon.

The fondues come with various dippers. Black said fresh strawberries are the most popular, followed by Rice Krispie Treats and Eli's Cheesecake from Chicago.

Black said most dessert-only customers tend to come in toward the end of the evening. To accommodate that, the restaurant offers a happy-hour special during the last hour of business -- from 9 to 10 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays, 10 to 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays -- with four cocktails or a featured bottle of wine, cheese or chocolate fondue ("most people do chocolate") for $30.

Following are some of the top dessert restaurants in the valley:

■ Bagel Cafe, 301 N. Buffalo Drive: pastries and desserts.

■ Bouchon Bakery, The Venetian: pastries and desserts.

■ The Buffet, Wynn Las Vegas: pastries and desserts.

■ The Cheesecake Factory, multiple locations: cheesecakes and specialty desserts.

■ The Cupcakery, multiple locations: designer cupcakes.

■ Freed's Bakery, 4780 S. Eastern Ave. and 9555 S. Eastern Ave.: pastries and desserts.

■ Ghirardelli Chocolate Shop, Harrah's Carnival Court: sundaes and chocolates.

■ Jean Phillipe Patisserie, Bellagio and CityCenter: pastries and desserts.

■ Layers, 2708 Green Valley Parkway, Henderson: pastries and desserts.

■ Le Creperie, Paris Las Vegas: various sweet (and savory) crepes.

■ Luv-It Frozen Custard, 505 E. Oakey Blvd.: cones, sundaes and shakes.