BEST DESSERTS

There's not a molten chocolate cake (the tired dessert that has been erupting on restaurant tables since the late 1990s) anywhere in sight here. Just an inventive variety of goodies including a giant cloud of cotton candy accompanied by truffle-filled popcorn balls; pints of handmade ice cream and bowls of hot fudge, nuts, and cherries to make your own sundae; an Eiffel Tower-tall chocolate layer cake; and the one retro-style sweet that is rarely seen on any menu but begs for a comeback: baked Alaska. At Barton G, though, the toasted meringue and ice cream concoction is called the Freedom Chimp, a nod to the restaurateur's beloved late pet Sabrina and to the sparkling chocolate simian that cheerfully announces the dessert's arrival at your table.