New dessert shops come and go all the time, with trends often dictating how long they last. So let¡¯s take a second to appreciate the family restaurant, always around and serving up solid after-dinner favorites. Here are some of the highlights of the fall.

Denny¡¯s is going all-in on pear this season. Its ¡±¡± lineup offers a nice heap of the fruit in each dish. The pear sundae (pictured; ?916) and pear parfait (?538) look the most dazzling and pack the greatest range of flavors into one dish. But don¡¯t write off the simpler offerings, like the pear sorbet (?214) and pear jelly (?376).

, meanwhile, merges ever-trendy ³ó¨­Âá¾±³¦³ó²¹ with chestnut. The toasty taste of both works well as a pairing, though the restaurant might have gone a bit overboard on the brulee parfait (?950), which is just too sweet.

Can¡¯t decide between the two? provides a useful third option, by bringing pears and chestnuts together for a limited series of desserts. On the menu is a classic chestnut and fresh pear parfait (?799) and an over-the-top sugar bomb in the form of a sundae with a blob of pumpkin pudding thrown in (?649). But the winner is the restaurant¡¯s Danish pastry (?699), which keeps things on the right side of simple.