Monday, February 21, 2011

Matchbox: Ice Cream Sandwich

Josh


A divine dessert can be found right in the heart of Rockville, MD on the pike at Matchbox.  A very trendy and popular pick at the moment, Matchbox is huge with a large outdoor seating area for the summer months. While perhaps a good dessert choice for that time, I chose to jump the gun a little a sample the ice cream sandwich mid-winter, and I was not disappointed.




First and foremost, the cookies were tremendous.  Whether they were freshly baked in house or not, they certainly tasted it.  Large, with ample chocolate chip rations, they maintained their warm softness despite the coffee ice cream's valiant effort to expose that wondrous element.  Chocolate sauce lined the plate in a very ornate and fancy way, but didn't really affect the taste too drastically. Fairly substantial in size, one could certainly share this delight with a significant other, however, I will warn you, it is good enough to incite hoarding. 




In addition to the cookie sandwich, we also got lucky in that on Tuesdays at Matchbox, they offer you a taste of their donut dessert as a thank you for your patronage. I found them to be quite tasty, but certainly no comparison to the cookie sandwich to my palate.  The donuts are part of the regular menu, so don't fret if you can't stop in on a Tuesday. All in all, Matchbox is a great place to grab a quality dessert.




1699 Rockville Pike at Congressional Plaza
Rockville, MD 20852
(
301) 816-0369
Also:

Chinatown                             
713 H St. NW
Washington, DC  20001
(202) 289-4441 

521 8th St. SE
Washington, DC 20003
(202) 548-0369







Matchbox Rockville on Urbanspoon

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Dolcezza Bethesda

Josh


The smooth and succulent taste of gelato has long been a savory treat for Washingtonians on hot summer days.  It just seems more apropos and dare I say classier than a giant waffle cone filled with cookie dough.  Not to be missed is Dolcezza, located in Georgetown, Dupont Circle, and Bethesda. 




Emitting all the pomp and circumstance of a true Argentinian creamery, Dolcezza possesses the flair and talent needed to produce a fine dulche de leche.  The soft and cool caramel-infused treat must be savored while dreaming of long-lost days along the cobble stone streets of Buenos Aires.  A small cup is plenty to satiate a hearty sugar craving without the lingering effects like those of a bigger sundae or milkshake.  For this particular shop, on this particular day, DCDesserts awards its divine rating, and urges you to stop by and try it soon.


7111 Bethesda Avenue
Bethesda, MD 20814
(301) 215-9226

Google map & reviews

Yelp (4.5/5)

Washington Post (Reader 4/4)

Washingtonian

Washington Life

Dolcezza Artisanal Gelato on Urbanspoon

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Crumbs Bake Shop Union Station: Heart-shaped marble brownie

Bill


Crumbs Bake Shop is a NYC-based chain that mainly competes in the DC cupcake war, with multiple local stores.  We'll cover its ranking in the cupcake craze in a later post.  For now, with Valentine's Day almost here, you should know about he heart-shaped marble brownie, which is one of Crumbs Bake Shop's many Valentine's gifts to the DC dessert scene. 




It's a brownie tooped with a layer of cheesecake with marbled ribbons of fudge.  The mix of cheesecake and brownie is often attempted, but rarely perfected.  The two elements are
difficult to combine without accidentally creating a disruptive citrus flavor.  Avoiding that is extremely rare, and the mark of a masterful pastry chef.  This dish complicated the task even more by marbling the cheescake with ribbons of fudge. The chef executed this plan with perfection.




The brownie is not too crunchy on edges.  The cheescake is soft and its texture closely matches that of the brownie.  The just slightly crispy edges of the brownie provide the only texture contrast.  The brownie's taste did not pop much because the flavor of the fudge marbling was so strong.   That's not a bad thing, because the fudge marbling communicated that old-fashioned mix of cocoa and better well.  As a Valentine's treat, this will not disappoint.  It deserves our great rating.


Union Station Train Concourse
(202) 408-1001      

Also: 
2839 Clarendon Blvd.
Arlington, VA 22201
(703) 524-4001

604 11th St. NW
Washington D.C. 20004
(202) 737-4001      

Yelp (2.5/5)

City's Best

Washington Examiner

Washington Business Journal