Payard Pâtisserie & Bistro in Las Vegas serves an all-dessert dinner.

By Kathryn Jessup

Heck, what's stopping you from merging sweet and savory in every course? It sounds like a rejection of every mother's wisdom. But in Mom's day, pastry chefs weren't mooching ingredients from cooks over at the grill.

"It's nice to blur the boundary between courses," says Boris Portnoy, chef at Candybar (candybarsf.com), a "dessert lounge" near Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. Any evening, he might serve breast of poussin (young chicken) in a chocolate béarnaise sauce or a dessert of vanilla brioche with parsnip ice cream.

San Francisco's Elizabeth Falkner also laces main dishes with sweet items and desserts with savory ones. At Orson (orsonsf.com), she serves Parmesan pudding with piquillo peppers, cocoa nibs, and Pop Rocks. And she makes a frozen sandwich with Italian waffle cookies and
chocolate–black olive ice cream.

Diners who order the tarte tatin at Payard Pâtisserie & Bistro (payard.com) inside Caesars Palace in Las Vegas get aged cheddar cheese and a salad of frilly lettuce alongside the caramelized apple dessert. Meanwhile, at Portland's Heathman Restaurant (heathmanrestaurantandbar.com), you can sample marshmallow and bittersweet chocolate s'mores, pistachio gelato profiteroles, bread pudding with caramel sauce, and more—all at one meal. What, you're full? No one said you have to order an entrée.