What cheesecake flavor makes you happiest and where do you find it?

Anytime is a perfect time to eat cheesecake. It is a crowd-pleasing decadent dessert that is as comfortable at a barbecue as it is at the end of a white-tablecloth meal.

Eli’s Steakhouse has always positioned cheesecake following a steak dinner. The Chicago-based restaurant, with its cheesecake-centric bakery, has brought a new meaning to the word variety. Be it a chocolate chip-stuffed cheesecake classic to a trendy blackberry crème fraiche seasonal selection, Eli’s demonstrates that cheesecake is a perfect vehicle for any number of flavors aimed to please any palate.

Most American cheesecakes are cream cheese based. In Italy it is ricotta. German-style cheesecakes use quark as a base.

Regional and cultural differences take the basic ingredients – cream cheese, eggs and a touch of lemon – and adjust texture and sweetness to create a classic all their own.

The denseness and creamy texture of a New York-style cheese cakes comes from using heavy cream or sour cream. The Pennsylvania Dutch version puts farmer’s cheese to work for a tangy bite with less water content. Philly-style is lighter in texture than the New York classic. The St. Louis variety is noted for the layer of regular cake positioned beneath a cheesecake top.

Either topped with nuts or fruit or with a flavor swirled into the soft, fresh cheese mixture, cheesecake presents regional preferences and family favorites that are so strong that ex-pats from New York, Philadelphia, St. Louis or sweet home Chicago will have $30 to $50 selections shipped overnight to their doorstep for a taste of home.

New York’s Junior’s soothes the New York-style purist with its sponge cake crust on the tried-and-true original. The Brooklyn spot also offers a full complement of swirled favorites – chocolate and raspberry, for example – and fruit-filled versions topped with a macaroon crunch. Seasonal favorites include a heart-shaped cheesecake and flavored swirls, including pumpkin.

Online, the Cheesecake Factory offers 26 varieties ranging from the iconic creamy classic with graham cracker crust and a red velvet version bringing the best of both worlds under a cream cheese frosting to a low-carb version sweetened without sugar.

Globally, cheesecake styles range from the unbaked version preferred in the United Kingdom and the ricotta-filled honey flavored specialty of Italy to the Asian-styles that favor less sweet versions of lychee and mango.

What cheesecake classic pleases your palate? Where do you find your favorite cheesecake?

The Cheesecake Factory has about every flavor of cheesecake anyone could want.

Betty, Mountlake Terrace

My favorite cheesecake is on the seasonal menu right now at Anthony’s Beach Cafe in Edmonds. It’s a classic cheesecake with raspberry sauce and raspberries on top. My whole family went there for dinner and we all ordered it.

Amy, Lynnwood

I could eat the Kaluah Brownie cheesecake at The Cheesecake Factory every day.

Nicole, Lynnwood

Nothing is better than than ending a meal at a steakhouse with a slab of dense cheesecake. The Keg has a good one and they top it with fruit.

June, Lynnwood

New York?

JD, Seattle

Me! I make the best pumpkin cheesecake!

Shannon, Bakersfield

WHERE TO FIND …

Cheesecake Factory

Where: Seattle, 700 Pike St.; Bellevue, 401 Bellevue Square; Southcenter Mall, Tukwila