Q: Where are the best places for coffee and dessert?
Tom: This question comes up a lot, and that’s a good thing because the answer keeps shifting. As always, 300 East has been putting out showstopper desserts for years. The dessert program is now being run by Ashley Boyd’s latest padawan, Lex Druhan. Rosemont Market & Wine Bar on 7th is open all day, offering a number of specialty coffee drinks with a short but quality dessert list. Sometimes, I roll the dice and try to squeeze into The Fig Tree as service is winding down to grab one of the excellent desserts there. If you are open to a more boozy interpretation of coffee, The Punch Room has just reopened uptown under Kel Minton, who slings quite a heady espresso martini. The signature dessert there is as delicious as it is gorgeous: a white chocolate mouse on a shortbread round, coated with a lemon-basil curd, and capped with a pinch of edible gold foil (cover photo). I’m also not above just looking out for the “Hot Now” light to come on at Krispy Kreme.

Q. When did Dot Dot Dot become a fancy restaurant? I thought it was just a cocktail bar.
Tom: It’s easy to look at the well-crafted and creative cocktails devised by Stefan Heubner and his crew and think of it as purely the upscale speakeasy its vibe so perfectly achieves. But since the day it first opened its doors, the Park Road spot has consistently offered top-shelf food headlined by some top-shelf chefs. That has been solidified even more recently as executive chef Matt Deering just added two well-honed chefs to his team: Jon Olvera, formerly of Leah and Louise, and Myles Scaglione, formerly of Heirloom and Para. The three are doing a special five-course dinner to show off their combined skills at the triple-d on Tuesday, September 12. Our UP calendar gives you the details.

UPDATE: Originally asked July 27
Q: Will the duck and dumplings from Dogwood move to another Rare Roots menu?
Tom: As Kristen noted under “A don’t miss dish” in today’s UP Newsletter, this is the last weekend to enjoy this succulent dish at the SouthPark restaurant before Jon Dressler turns the keys over to David Burke, who will recreate the space to become The Fox & Falcon. As to what happens to the dish after that, we reached out to Rare Roots Hospitality’s Tim Buchanan who said, “Not in the short term, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see it resurface somewhere sometime.” So, you say there’s a chance …

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