Best dessert surprise: CHOCOLATE ON CHOCOLATE at MARINA CANTINA

This arresting chocolate cake with piped avocado mousse and mole struck me at first as a repulsive combination, but I should have been more trusting. The avocado mousse has a sweet cream cheese base that’s absolutely wonderful with the rounds of moist devil’s food. The mole sauce wisely only hints at spice, and the resulting whole is absolutely transporting.  —Jon Palmer Claridge