It seems like such a great idea -- so simple and easy -- that a dessert fan can't help but wonder why more restaurants haven't come up with this option. It's the Sampler Plate, with a name so self-explanatory that I think even a child could grasp the concept.
   Sure, plenty of places carry around those big trays where you can see a bunch of desserts all at the same time and hear them described, and then panic at the idea of having to choose one. But this makes more sense than that.
   Though The Victorian Garden has other desserts, these four are the ones that easily lend themselves to easy division into fragments.
   Turning first to what I would have thought to be some kind of "basic" cheesecake, I was as overwhelmed by the richness of the flavor as my senses would be at, say, jumping in August into the Charlton pool in the Ouachita National Forest, a cool and deep refuge from the summer heat. A taste of this will rescue your taste buds from all those bland collections of empty calories. If I'm going to take on some major calories, they'd better come with taste and texture like this cheesecake.
   The lemon ice bar has a zing to it, although it's not what I would call icy. Maybe they meant to call it a lemon bar with icing? It has that same sort of citrusy pleasure as a piece of lemon meringue pie, but without the meringue.
   The creme de menthe bar has a lustrous tri-partite look to it, with a base of nuts in crust, a shiny chocolate layer on top, and a pastel green interior, the creme de menthe part. Now this is a taste sensation, with the chocolate battling to overwhelm the nutty crust as the creme dementhe sort of gently straddles the others.
   And for those of us with pecan proclivities, the pecan delight is just that, delightful. It's so good that I would likely order an entire piece of this one. But then pecans would have to be my favorite nut, even though you didn't ask.
   Once you have your Sampler Plate, you have the -- shall we say? -- ethical dilemma of whether or not to flit from one to the other of the quartet and so forth, or to cravenly consume all of one before marching on to another. Let your own sense of values guide you on this journey, someone would surely opine. And of course if you're sharing the plate with another, there's that to take into consideration.
   Or you could just order two Sampler Plates.
   There are other desserts at The Victorian Garden: carrot cake, creme brulee and French silk pie. Prices for all desserts, including the Sampler Plate, are $4.95.
   The Victorian Garden, 4801 North Hills Blvd., North Little Rock, (501) 758-4299 ; 14901 Cantrell Road, Little Rock, (501) 367-0100.
   Just Desserts sorts through the sugar and spice. E-mail divine dessert recommendations to:
   

jhill@arkansasonline.com

This story was published Friday, September 01, 2006