When I'm Hangry and Need Dessert

When I lived in Hyde Park, Quack's was my little home-away-from-home. When I had a bad day, I sidled up to the display case and pointed weakly at the Salty Oat Cookies. "One of those?" I sniffled. When I needed a last-minute birthday present, I picked up a box of mustache cookies. A holiday party? Rosemary Apple Pie. See, Quack's is like your curmudgeonly but endearing aunt: A little tart, a little "oh, YOU again," but always, but always ready for you with an armful of goodies. And that's the best kind of aunt there is.

In a city that loves new, Teo is one of those tucked-away Austin classics. Their secret 500-recipe gelato book inspires creative flavors every single day, my favorites being Coconut and Salted Caramel.

Two words: The Elvis. It's banana-flavored cake (which may be offputting to some, but definitely not to me), topped with peanut butter buttercream (!). That's my favorite, but Olivia - the owner - makes a ton of other whimsical flavors.

Delish has been around for years, but I only stopped by there recently. Their flavors aren't crazy -- BEER BATTER CARAMEL ICING WITH COCONUT FLAKES! -- but demure and classy. I ordered the craziest thing on the menu, Banana Chocolate, and found the cake lusciously moist, the chocolate with a nice bitter edge to it. Golf claps, Delish.

Perfect for a breezy stroll down 2nd Street, treat in-hand. Tart is one of many organic spots in Austin; it's also one of many DIY frozen yogurt places in Austin. BUT, the unique thing about Tart is its ginormous flavor menu. Note that not everything is organic ... but among the stuff that is, Taro and Avocado make a refreshing, not-too-sweet combination.

My husband and I once spent roughly the equivalent of our monthly mortgage here, with NO REGRETS. There's much to love but I'm a particular fan of the Tobacco Cream, made with scotch and maple budino (I'm not sure what budino is, but it's delicious).

You watched Arrested Development and enjoyed a fine TV show; these girls watched it and launched a Gob-inspired business. A frozen banana stand whose toppings range from Oreos to coconut, peanut butter to cookies, there really might be anarchy if this place ever went away.

Here, chocolate is not a guilty pleasure. (Well, maybe a teensy bit.) Chocosutra aims to restore chocolate to its proper status, as a healing agent. "Hot chocolate" is a tonic elixir, "chocolate squares" are nutritional nuggets. Which isn't to say that Chocosutra's stuff tastes medicinal -- it doesn't, it's delicious -- I'm just glad I can eat chocolate now and brag about how healthy I'm being.

Quark Cheese & Fig ice cream? Are you serious? I ate this flavor at Lick, and fear I may have made inappropriate noises while doing so.