Welcome to the Dollhouse

Dessert rules at RoseLena's, the frilly Victorian sweet shoppe on Passyunk Avenue, and to quote the timeless words of 50 Cent, we love it like a fat kid love cake. Sweet feigns come for the Michelangelo-era antico dolce torte (raisins, citrus, and walnuts wrapped in cinnamon pasta dough) and the Passyunk S'mores. French-press fans come for the coffee, ground from African, Indonesian, Persian, and South American beans in a wall of jars that give the two-room dessert boutique and adjoining cafe a warm Sunday-morning perfume. Despite RoseLena's after-dinner reputation, they actually turn out a very tasty bistro menu. Grill-blistered tubes of calamari were smoky and charred, stuffed with a heady mixture of breadcrumbs, anchovies, garlic, lemon, and herbs. The menage-a-trois of bleu cheese, caramelized walnuts, and green apples is nothing we haven't seen on a salad before, but tossed with baby greens and balsamic, RoseLena's version is like having it for the first time. Arancini means 'orange' in Italian, and the Arancini di Riso are about the size of a citrus. These deep-fried softballs filled with creamy arborio rice and gooey strings of smoked Gouda are addictively delicious. With food this good, who needs dessert?