DineOut

by Tim Brookover

SWEETS GO WEST

Dessert Gallery stakes a claim in the Galleria area

For as many years as any of us can remember, Sara Brooks’s Dessert Gallery has won her category in OutSmart’s Gayest & Greatest reader survey. She deserves the best-desserts accolades. From her emporium tucked at the rear of a commercial building (3200 Kirby Dr., 713/522-9999), Brooks and staff have long turned out scrumptious cakes, cookies, and other sweets. Now she has opened a second Dessert Gallery Bakery & Café in the swank Galleria-area district.

On first glance, the location—wedged between a James Coney Island (80 years of dogs in 2003!) and a Mama Ninfa’s—might not seem so tony. But the spot (1616 Post Oak Blvd., 713/622-0007) does lie just up the road from the Galleria and other mercantile destinations. Think of Dessert Gallery as a calming retreat during the coming frenzy of holiday shopping.

A recent visit reminded me that Brooks offers a menu of salads and sandwiches. And who can resist the Seussically named Ham I Am? Still, the desserts remain the stars. The carrot cake, studded with pineapple chunks and nuts, is the best you will find. The lemon vacherin, a sweet meringue filled with citrusy mousse, is still a decadent pleasure. The per-slice price may jar ($5.25 for a wedge of pecan pie?), but no one can dispute the quality.

As a cookie monster, I gravitate to the little treats. Lemon squares, white chocolate Macadamia nut, oatmeal raisin walnut, chunky peanut butter, sand tarts—who can resist? The website, www.dessertgallery.com, offers plenty more yummy ideas, including a selection of food gifts.

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