Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Acadiana: Decadent Chocolate Doberge Cake

Bill


Acadiana's Decadent Chocolate Doberge Cake alternates layers of chocolate cake and pudding.  It's all covered by a fabulous bittersweet chocolate sauce.  These elements give it a nice collection of texture and flavor, creating a springy box of chocolatey delight. 




The gummy pinapple confit in a thick sauce on the side is unique.  It's definitely a contrast, but not necessarily complimentary to the rest of the dish.  The Tahitian vanilla ice cream met but did not exceed our expectations.  For the impressive combination of sauce, cake, and pudding, this dish deserves our great rating.


901 New York Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20001
(202) 408-8848


Google map & reviews (4/5)


Yelp (4/5)


Open Table (4.3/5.0)


TripAdvisor (4/5; #24 restaurant in DC)


Washingonian (2/4)

Acadiana on Urbanspoon

Sunday, October 2, 2011

Founding Farmers: Red Velvet Cake, a lament

Bill


We're sad to report that it appears Founding Farmers has changed its baker or recipe for its Red Velvet Cake. 

Allow us to wax poetic in fitting euology to this beloved friend.  The picture below truly brings a tear to our eye.  The old Founding Farmers Red Velvet Cake was on its way to becoming an iconic DC dessert.  The Southern classic red velvet cake was of the cream-cheese frosting variety, which is a Northeastern element.  It used to earn our divine rating with its fluffy frosting that perfectly mixed sugar and cream cheese flavors.  Its natural vegetable dye seemd to multiply the elegance of the cake's subtle chocolate flavor.  Founding Farmers served it in a portion that allowed diners, or rather worshippers, to choose their own adventure:  a few beautiful bites for each in a group; a decent dessert for two; or a transportative indulgence for one.  It dominated the plate, and the diner's week.  This cake could bring a moment of unchained joy to an otherwise imperfect life.  Goodbye, old friend.  We are better for having known you, and grateful that we were wise enough to love you before you were gone.


Where Giants Once Trod:  The Old Founding Farmers Red Velvet Cake



The new version is a disappointment.  Its vanilla-bean ice cream remains perfection, but the changes to the cake have ended the magic.  The cake portion is now the nearly solid, rubbery density one often finds in pedestrian red velvet cakes.  A cake of that consistency  has a longer shelf life because there's no delightful bouncy moistness to keep fresh.  The icing remains excellent although the texture is more solid than before. 


The Replacement:  The New Founding Farmers Red Velvet Cake



The unappologeticly sub-par cake portion can only allow us to award it a good rating.  This cake will still sell well to the less discerning because of its size (which always makes a dessert's quality suspect) and its good elements.


1924 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20006
(202) 822-8783

Google map & reviews (4.05/5.00)

Founding Farmers on Urbanspoon

Dean & Deluca: Triple Chocolate Cookie

Bill

Dean & Deluca is one of our favorite dessert places, so this is the first of several reviews.  While the store/cafe has several great and divine desserts, not everything is up to that standard.
Dean & Deluca has been missing its divine triple chocolate brownie for months.  It has recently been reincarnated as a cookie.




The basic concept mixes two darker chocolates with large chunks of white chocolate.  The brownie's intensely deep dark and white chocolate flavors and fantastic texture contrasts are largely lost in the cookie version.  The relatively flavorless crunchy edge, which the brownie completely avoids, extends way too far into the center.  This leaves precious little of the cookie to enjoy the great flavor and texture mix.  That center is also much thinner than the brownie version.  This cookie deserves our good rating.


3276 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20007-3624
(202) 342-2500


Google map & reviews (3.89/5.00)

Yelp (3.5/5)

TripAdvisor (5/5; #3 shopping place in DC)

Dean & Deluca Cafe on Urbanspoon