The Endorphin Rush on a Plate Award for Swooniest Dessert

Michael Leviton, best known for Newton's French/New American standout Lumière, has quickly won new fans with Area Four (500 Technology Square, Cambridge, 617.758.4444), his spacious new restaurant in (where else?) Area IV featuring seasonal small plates and the products of two big wood-burning ovens. We're thrilled he's revived the late, lamented Persephone's bacon/sea-salt pretzels, but we were utterly transfixed by the olive-oil chocolate cake, a wedge of flourless chocolate cake that replaces butter with olive oil for a silky, fudge-like texture and dense chocolate flavor. Topped with thick crème fraîche, a fabulously sweet/salty caramel sauce, and crumbled cookies, it's a survey course in our favorite chocolate-dessert sensations.