Every restaurant is entitled to certain hyperbolic claims, but "the best chocolate cake ever known"? I might be less apprehensive about "the most delicious vegan tofu-lemon cheese cake in the world," because I mean, how crowded a field can that...

This article reviews Empire Torte, one the best chocolate cakes we've ever had. (Originally reviewed May, 2005) "My Empire for a Torte!" -- If King Richard III of York had asked for an Empire Torte instead of a horse in that final battle of the War of the Roses, things might have turned out better for him. More than a chocolate cake, this confection can serve as a cementer of friendships, a panacea for what ails you, the best way to apologize, the key to many things mortals wish for. Had Richard sent an Empire Torte to Henry, Earl of Richmond with a note that said, "Let's meet to settle our differences," Henry very possibly would have settled--contingent, of course, upon Richard bringing more tortes. ...