The Blackberry Slump at the Four Swallows, Bainbridge Island, Washington

Photo: Todd Coleman

For my money, there is no better dessert on Earth than the blackberry slump at the Four Swallows restaurant on Bainbridge Island, in Washington State. Slump doesn't sound all that appetizing to you? Fine; refuse to order it, as I did, and watch as it arrives in front of your tablemate smelling like home-baked memories and looking like a cake crossed with a crumble, with blackberries glistening like jewels amid vanilla ice cream and a toasty brown crust. When I finally persuaded my husband to share it, I discovered that the slump tastes even better than it looks. —Amanda Allington, Honolulu, Hawaii