by Andrew Good, Assistant Tempo Editor It’s the final indulgence that completes a near-perfect meal – or even saves one that is far less than perfect. It’s the refreshment we seek from a monotonous instant-food diet and the therapy that cures us of a hectic week of stress. It might still be a dirty word amongst the diet-dictators and Atkins-disciples, but for most of us it’s sublime. It’s dessert. Karen Krasne, owner of San Diego’s Extraordinary Desserts, seems to understand that better than most. In her new Little Italy store, a metallic bas-relief Buddha smiles down over the bar, while ambient electronica with a Far East sound pulses throughout the spacious dining room. She’s even changed the store’s logo to a blossoming lotus flower, hinting at the experience her delicacies will give birth to inside this virtual Nirvana. “I think in the stores, the spiritual motif is there to offer some tranquility and some sort of peace to anyone coming in, to sort of calm everyone down,” Krasne said. “Because they come in and people are walking around with a lot of loads on their backs … we’re trying to offer a sort of oasis in the middle of all this mania.” Krasne’s Union Street customers are never disappointed. The delicacies behind the store’s glass display case include dozens of pastries and cakes that appeal to the eye as much as they do the tongue. Bronze cr