Peaches

Peaches are at their best for only a short season, so enjoy this luscious fruit while you can.

* Zov’s Bistro & Bakery Cafe: This Tustin landmark makes a wonderful peach cobbler of cookie dough crust covered with a thin layer of almond cream, then peaches poached in their juices with just a pinch of sugar; occasionally there’ll be a few sour cherries. At the restaurant, the cobbler is served hot with a streusel topping and a scoop of cinnamon ice cream. (Peach cobbler to go, slice $5.50, whole cobbler $40; at the restaurant, slice $6.50.) Zov’s Bistro & Bakery Cafe, Enderle Center, 17440 E. 17th St., Tustin, (714) 838-8855.

* Pshaw’s Bistro: At this Hollywood spot, innovative chef Philip Shaw makes a cold soup of peaches, yogurt, dry white wine and a touch of cinnamon. It’s sprinkled with coarsely chopped pistachios. (Chilled peach yogurt soup, $6.) Pshaw’s Bistro, 6099 W. Sunset Blvd., Hollywood, (323) 871-2546.

* vermont: Here an elegant peach cobbler is made with peaches from a farmer’s market, a touch of almond cream and a delightful airy puff pastry. It’s served warm with homemade vanilla bean ice cream. (Peach cobbler, $7.) vermont, 1714 N. Vermont Ave., Los Feliz, (323) 661-6163.

* Fosselman’s: This place makes a rich ice cream (only available until September) of pureed Mission Red peaches blended with chunks of the fruit. (Peach ice cream, 1/2 gallon, $5.25; cone, $1.45.) Fosselman’s, 1824 W. Main St., Alhambra, (626) 282-6533.

* Campanile: Pastry chef-owner Nancy Silverton peels a white doughnut peach (named for its flattened shape), brushes it with brown butter and sugar and bakes it on puff pastry. It comes with mascarpone sauce and a berry compote (recently boysenberries, but often mulberries when they’re in season). (Doughnut peach puff, $9.) Campanile, 624 S. La Brea Ave., Los Angeles, (323) 938-1447.

* JiRaffe: Here you can have a peach either pureed in a martini made with Stoli vanilla vodka or in a peach upside-down cake made with a touch of rum and brown sugar. The individual cake is served with homemade almond or vanilla ice cream. (White peach martini, $7; peach upside-down cake, $7.) JiRaffe, 502 Santa Monica Blvd., Santa Monica, (310) 917-6671.