Of the pleasures that are acceptably indulged in public, few are more guilt-inducing than digging into a decadent dessert. Gluttony, after all, is the most measurably deadly of the seven so-called deadly sins.

But don’t you deserve to treat yourself? Who knows, maybe you don’t. Luckily, you don’t need our permission. What we can offer is guidance. Below is a list of top-shelf West Michigan spots that will fill the dessert-shaped hole in your life.

In February, BarFly Ventures closed the 10-year-old McFadden's restaurant, pub and dance club to redesign the space and replace the concept with a British-style pub, The Waldron Public House. With a completely revamped menu, The Waldron claims to serve the best fish and chips in Grand Rapids — a bold statement, but does it live up to the promise? Here is our dining writer's assessment.

Too often I’m guilty of turning down dessert at the end of a meal.

That was not the case this month, because I sat down with Katy Waltz, the talented head pastry chef at Brewery Vivant. Waltz, 31, of Grand Rapids, talked desserts and beers. Here’s what she had to say.

Every self-respecting person has a go-to chili recipe, forged and perfected in the foul depths of innumerable Michigan winters. If not, then at the very least, everyone should have a set of finely calibrated preferences for chili that is served to them.

Like, how much kick? What kind of meat, if any? How chunky/liquidy? Sweeten or don’t? What kind of beans? 
How much garlic?

In any case, chili is personal and these equations are not to be messed with.