I never order chocolate or carrot cake any more when I’m on the road. Restaurants, no matter how good their reputation, somehow manage to turn two of the world’s best desserts into a bland semblance of what they’re supposed to be.

Wait! Tony’s Off Third in Naples, Florida has the kind of old-fashioned chocolate cake you’re yearning for, the kind that will take you back to your childhood, when you ran around barefoot and bare-chested and the only thing on your mind was throwing a rock, getting a Co-cola from the corner store and Grandma’s chocolate cake.

I was dubious at first, but it looked like the real stuff, and from the first bite, I knew I had finally found chocolate cake heaven.

Tony’s is mainly a cakes and pastries kind of store, though they do have good sandwiches.

Try walking in and NOT getting one of these: fudge or turtle brownie, chocolate dipped éclair, strawberry éclair, carrot cake cupcake (from a 1971 recipe), chocolate-dipped strawberries and chocolate truffles.

Tony’s needs better seating though. You want to be comfortable when you’re pounding cake and sweets.

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