Cheesecake Lab has the formula

Start a conversation about carrot cake and the room warms up. Everybody has a favorite, and everybody knows the place that makes it best.

Mention cheesecake, and the quarreling begins. Cheesecake draws out strong—and strongly negative—opinions. It’s pasty. Gummy. Eggy. Too rich.

But even people who curdle at the thought of it will tell you that Mitchell Moore of Cheesecake Lab makes cheesecakes they desire—and devour.

For National Cheesecake Day, Moore offered free samples and shared two reasons his cheesecakes rise above the rest.

The first is no secret at all. Like other remarkable dishes, his cheesecakes begin with remarkable ingredients. Moore carefully chooses his vanilla and squeezes fresh citrus instead of reaching for a bottle.

The second is understanding that cheesecake is really a custard. Moore cooks his low and slow, below 250 degrees, giving it time to develop a creamy interior instead of turning dense and rubbery.

Cheesecake Lab starts with that silky base and adds toppings made from equally fine ingredients. The result is the best cheesecake in the parish, an opinion backed by 149 reviews on Google, all five stars.

In October, Moore plans to make Basque cheesecake, the Spanish version with a deeply caramelized, nearly charred top, a silky custard interior and no crust to interfere.

No quarrel from RedEye. Basque cheesecake is the best version of the dessert, so Moore will have one of the best versions in the world at his store on Jefferson Highway.