This article appears in print in the May 2020 issue. Click here to subscribe. 

Editor’s note: Due to safety restrictions surrounding the COVID-19 health crisis, Raiz’s dining room remains closed until further notice, as of our publication date. Please visit Raiz on Instagram for current information on to-go options.  

The buzz surrounding all-day Mexican café Raíz since it opened last November has largely—and justifiably—focused on chef Ricardo Valdes’ savory dishes, which range from breakfast burritos and chilaquiles to whole grilled trout and mole-drenched baby back ribs. But the Ballard restaurant’s sleeper hit is the caracol dessert only available at dinner: a tight coil of freshly fried churro dough (a recipe from Valdes’ pastry chef and wife, Amy Brown) topped with Frankie & Jo’s dairy-free brown sugar vanilla ice cream, a swirl of house-made whipped cream, strawberry sauce and a generous snowfall of old-school sprinkles ($10). It’s hot and cold, high-brow and low-brow, and utterly addictive in its dichotomy.