Farmers & Distillers: Banana Cream Cake

Bill

We tried the Banana Cream Cake on Farmers & Distillers’ opening night.  I was surprised to see that name on the menu based on the cakes I saw on the bakery counter, so I asked one of the bakers about it.  The baker called it "banana rum cake”, and that’s a more accurate description of this cake.

The cake portion's flavor is similar to carrot cake with a banana twist. The frosting has a cream cheese base, and solid rum flavor underlines the cake.  The cake layers soften on the edges by mixing with the frosting, and are still dense and moist in the middle. The salted caramel ice cream is excellent and pairs very well with the cake's flavors.  The entire dish mixes soft textures, with the spice and rum offset exquisitely by the decadent smooth cream cheese.  Unfortunately, Farmers & Distillers is currently serving this and other cakes in very small slices relative to those at other Farmers Restaurant Group locations.  We hoped it was an opening-night issue, but this was still a problem as of December 16. A standard Farmers slice of this cake would deserve our great rating, but this version earns our good rating.

Open Table (4.3/5)
Yelp (4.2/5)

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)

Yelp (3.5/5)

Open Table (4.2/5; Diners' Choice; Most Booked)

Sou’wester: Red Velvet Cake

Bill

Sou’wester’s red velvet cake is served with cream-cheese frosting and vanilla crème anglais.  Incorporating vanilla crème anglais is a unique conceptual element.  However, this dessert falls far short of Sou’wester’s generally high standard.  The cream cheese frosting separates from the cake like a mass-produced plastic-wrapped dessert.  Normally, a red velvet cake’s chocolate flavor is subtle, but this entire dish is beyond subtle; it’s excruciatingly flavorless.  Skip this one. 

Don’t write off Sou’wester’s desserts as a whole.  The pecan pie lived up the standard set by the restaurant’s other offerings.   

1330 Maryland Avenue Southwest

Washington, DC 20024

Google map and reviews (3.55/5)

Open Table (3.9/5)

Washingtonian: 100 Best Restaurants 2011 (2.5/4)

Washingtonian (2.5/4)

Washingtonian: Great New Restaurants 2010 (2.5/4)

Washington Post (Critic 1.5/4; Reader 3/4)

Examiner

Washington Times