The Desserts: Three Options, One Price, 400 Calories Apart

Strawberry Cheesecake at 800 is the lightest by a clear margin — roughly 300 fewer than the apple and 400 fewer than the brownie. If you want dessert without committing to four figures, it is the only one that qualifies.

Granny's Apple Classic at 1,110 sits in the middle.

Big Ol' Brownie at 1,200 is the heaviest. The name is accurate.

The Big Ol' Brownie contains more calories than most entrées on the menu before their sides are counted. It is four times the 6oz Hand-Cut Sirloin at 250, and more than the 12oz Prime Rib at 950.

Even the lightest option at 800 calories is more than the Grilled BBQ Chicken, Herb Crusted Chicken and a side of green beans combined.

All three are portioned for sharing, whatever anyone at the table claims when it arrives.

Dessert follows a meal that already included two sides and, for most tables, several rolls with cinnamon butter that arrived before anyone ordered.

None of this is an argument against dessert. It is an argument for deciding with the numbers in front of you rather than after the fact.

Split between two, the picture changes completely. A shared Strawberry Cheesecake is 400 calories each, which is less than a side of steak fries and comfortably less than the free bread most tables have already eaten. It also halves the cost to $3.50 a head, which makes sharing the single best decision available in this section on both measures at once.

If you want something sweet without committing even to that, applesauce is on the sides list at $2.99 and 110 calories. It is not a dessert and nobody would pretend otherwise, but it does the job of finishing a rich meal with something light, and it is one of the two lightest items on the entire menu.