Eli's Cheesecake Couture Cheesecakes

For those interested in venturing beyond classic cheesecake flavors, critics say Eli's is a great source for delicious, inventive cheesecakes. These eight-inch cheesecakes, which come in such jazzed-up flavors as Blood Orange Champagne and Lime Coconut Passion, weigh between 2 1/2 to 2 3/4 pounds and serve 12. Reviewers say that Eli's cheesecakes have dense, smooth fillings. Some reviewers find the filling too tangy, while others say it's just right. The critics are similarly divided on the issue of the butter-cookie crust: some prefer the cookies to the usual graham crackers, while others say they're just out of place. If you're looking for a plain, traditional cheesecake, reviews point to Junior's Plain Cheesecake (*est. $30 plus shipping). Junior's uses a sponge-cake crust.

We read the best review of Eli's Cheesecake Couture Cheesecakes in The New York Times, where Marian Burros includes the Triple Fresh Cheese and Burnt Caramel Cheesecake Flan in her annual roundup of holiday food gifts. Burros spends the better part of every year seeking out the best foods available by mail, so her endorsement of Eli's Couture carries a good deal of weight. Both Cook's Illustrated and The Wall Street Journal conduct detailed taste tests of cheesecakes, including Eli's.