Dessert trends come and go. One day everyone loves cupcakes, the next it's cronuts. But some sweet treats are timeless, and the Dockside Restaurant at Coeur d'Alene Resort specializes in killer cheesecakes, pies, German chocolate cakes and huckleberry cobbler made fresh in its in-house bakery.
When it comes to the Dockside's dominance in the Best Dessert category, though, let's not kid ourselves. It's all about getting good and gooey. Or rather, Gooey's with a capital "G," the restaurant's long-running signature line of insanely ornate ice cream sundaes built for group indulgence.
The story goes that resort founder Duane Hagadone used to frequent a restaurant that made "over-the-top desserts," says Dockside General Manager Reid Fawcett, "and he decided he wanted something ooey-gooey that people would come in and just die for, and that's how it originated."
Roughly a quarter of the Dockside's business is people coming in just for dessert, Fawcett says, and "Gooey's are hands down the most popular. Everybody has their personal favorite, but for the most part, the Anniversary Gooey and the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Gooey are the ones a lot of people go for."
With good reason. The Coeur d'Alene Anniversary Gooey has cake batter ice cream, chunks of brownies and blondies, three flavors of sauces, huckleberry white chocolate bark and chopped nuts, topped with a jumbo chocolate-dipped strawberry. The Reese's features vanilla ice cream, whole and chopped peanut butter cups, peanut butter sauce, hot fudge, whipped cream, peanuts, housemade peanut brittle and a peanut butter lollipop.
Did I mention these are insanely ornate desserts?
Aimee Brayman, an Inlander reader in Spokane Valley, voted for the Dockside because all of its desserts "speak to anyone with a sweet tooth" and have an "amazing selection." Her favorite, though, is the Butterfinger Hot Fudge Gooey, "with extra fudge."
She recalls family trips to the resort years ago, just to hit the Dockside.
"My grandparents used to take us to the Dockside at least once a month for dessert!" Brayman says. "My brother and I would try to conquer a sundae together — most of the time unsuccessfully."
2nd PLACE: Clinkerdagger; 3rd PLACE: Sweet Frostings
