Sweet Beat

Great spots to stop for dessert.

Pinolo

3707 SE Division St., 758-1575, facebook.com/pages/Pinolo-Gelato.

In the middle of Division's Restaurant Row, we have a ray of Tuscan sunshine. Pinolo only opened in June, but immediately took over as the best gelato in town—the others aren't even close. The equipment, many of the ingredients and even the owner, an amiable beanpole from Pisa named Sandro Paolini, are all Italian imports. The gelato is intense: deep dark chocolate, naturally colored pistachio that tastes of fresh-roasted nuts, hazelnut as though right from the shell. The sorbettos are like burying your face in fresh fruit.

Eb & Bean

1425 NE Broadway, 281-6081, ebandbean.com.

This organic froyo spot on Broadway really came into its own over the summer. Eb & Bean buys its milk at family-run organic dairy farms within 100 miles of Portland and uses no hormones, no artificial sweeteners and, unlike other "farm to cone" places, no corn syrup. It builds you sundaes with toppings like local honey, orange cardamom caramel corn, and cookie crumbles baked in house. Our favorite combo is almond toffee crumbles with cold brew bourbon sauce.

Palio

1996 SE Ladd Ave., 232-9412, palio-in-ladds.com.

After dining on Division, you'll want to get away from the madness. Once the check comes, retreat to the leafy confines of Ladd's Addition, where you'll find a delightful little coffee shop overlooking the rose bushes on the centermost circle, which happens to have some of the city's tastiest pies and cakes. Palio doesn't bake anything itself, and it won't tell you who did—that's proprietary information, secrecy that will make sense after you try the Key lime pie.

Bambu

8001 SE Powell Blvd., 774-2005, drinkbambu.com.

Where do you follow up the perfect pho brunch or Kenny's noodle dinner? Try this local branch of the wildly popular Bambu chain. Founded in San Jose back in 2008, Bambu is the Starbucks of Little Saigon, and often draws long lines. The shop makes 100 or so treats from Vietnam and Asia, including bubble tea, smoothies, coffee, milk tea, an excellent che 3 mau (No. 3, $3.50) and super-tasty grass jelly and pandan in coconut milk (No. 9, $3.50).

Maurice

921 SW Oak St., 224-9921, mauricepdx.com.

If anything epitomizes the dessert philosophy of Kristen Murray, it's the black-pepper cheesecake. Among rotating constructed "postre" desserts as unexpected as they are varied, the cookie-sized vanilla-aquavit-pepper cake is always available in one or another whimsical form. Perhaps there is a literal cherry on top, perhaps blackberries and rose petals, perhaps a flower made of leaves. Or maybe a side of gelato is topped to look exactly like the cheesecake.

Pix Patisserie

2225 E Burnside St., 971-271-7166, pixpatisserie.com.

Served with a sherry and sparkling wine selection that's ranked among the best in the world, Cheryl Wakerhauser's desserts are known for their beautifully batshit creative flourishes: macaron flavors that include absinthe and chocolate pop rocks, beautiful eclairs dressed up like nuns with raspberries for heads, and extraordinary chocolate designs such as a fleur de sel that might as well be a Mondrian. Luckily, it all tastes as good as it looks.

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