[Ann Arbor] La Dolce Vita
La Dolce Vita | Main Street Ventures
Address: 322 S Main St (Inside Chop House), Ann Arbor, MI 48104
Verdict: Don’t get dessert at the restaurant you are eating in (unless you’re already at Chop House or Gratzi). Come here.
Will return: Definitely
What to get:
– Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee
– Chocolate Melt Cake
Look, I like my dinner and dessert. I have to have both. Luckily, so do my friends. Dolce is one of two default dessert spots for us (the other being chocolate fondue at The Melting Pot) in Ann Arbor. We have been here many, many times.
You don’t have to eat at Chop House or Gratzi to get dessert here. There is dessert seating at the back of Chop House or downstairs in the Cigar Lounge if you want to feign sophistication.
There are nine desserts on the menu. I have tried six. There is also gelato but I don’t think it’s worth getting alone because most of the desserts come with a scoop of gelato anyway. The desserts below are listed in order of preference.
Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee ($7.95)
Someone at the table always gets this and it is good every single time. You can do no wrong with creme brulee. This is one of my favorite creme brulees so far in life and definitely the best in Ann Arbor (better than the ones at Real Seafood and Palio even though they are all part of Main Street Ventures).
Chocolate Melt Cake ($8.95)
If you are in the mood for chocolate, get this. The Bailey’s cookies and cream gelato is delicious.
Tiramisu ($7.95)
This is really chocolatey because they use chocolate shavings and Kahlua sauce as garnish. The tiramisu itself is really really good and I usually take most of the chocolate shavings off. The slice is humongous. As with any tiramisu, just make sure it has been adequately defrosted or it will still be frozen in the center.
New York Style Cheesecake ($7.95)
This is a fairly small slice relative to the size of the other desserts but because it is so rich, it will fill you up. In theory, New York cheesecake is more creamy and rich compared to non-New York style cheesecake. The texture and flavor of this cheesecake was perfect and better than Zingerman’s cheesecake. There is significantly less crust (none on the side, just on the bottom), which is also a plus for me. It comes with a little bit of cream on the side which is a nice addition even though the cheesecake tastes great on its own.
Chocolate Caramel Torte ($8.95)
One person ordered this intending to eat it alone and it took four people to force feed ourselves to finish it. This thing is ginormous (that is a standard size scoop of chocolate malt gelato as a comparison). Got diabetes on the spot.
The cream on top is cream cheese frosting and yellow piece is hard caramel. The actual cake is chocolate cake with vanilla cream layers.
Winter Trio (Seasonal $13.95)
Chocolate peanut butter ball with bacon bits, chocolate caramel bar, s’mores cake. I wouldn’t recommend this over the chocolate melt cake or creme brulee. One time, we (as in my one friend and I) got this on top of the chocolate melt cake and creme brulee because we were being stupid thought we could finish everything.
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| (L-R): Chocolate Caramel Bar, Chocolate Peanut Butter Ball w/ Bacon, S’mores Cake |
Winter Trio [1]: Chocolate Caramel Bar
This tastes just like a Twix bar. It is my favorite of the trio. I actually ended up getting it by itself during another visit.
Winter Trio [2]:S’mores Cake
Not that great. If you want s’mores, go to The Melting Pot and get their chocolate s’mores fondue.
Winter Trio [3]: Chocolate Peanut Butter Ball with Bacon Bits
I hate peanut butter and I agreed to get the trio on the condition that my friend had to eat this part. I tried some and I still don’t like peanut butter.
