Cuba Libre: Chocolate Torte

Bill


Cuba Libre's DC location was one of the recent openings that generated a lot of buzz.  It's a good sign when a restaurant posts a separate dessert menu online, and Cuba Libre's chocolate torte more than delivered on that promise.

The torte has a fabulous interplay of texture and flavor.  It combines a thin soufflé crust, softer inner soufflé, gooey dulce de leche, and a thick chocolate sauce.  Each of these elements is of the highest quality and could stand on its own.  This dessert is a masterpiece of both design and execution.  Count the chocolate torte among our favorites and give it our divine rating.

The pairing of the torte with blueberry compote is odd, but one can ignore it, so it doesn't detract from the dish.  Also note that this is not a traditional soufflé.  The chef intentionally allows the soufflé to sink.  

I'll warn you that not all of Cuba Libre's offerings are up to the torte's standard.  Check out Two DC's review of the restaurant as a whole.  I agree with their "Second Thoughts From B," except I would rate at least the small plates higher than Cheesecake Factory's non5essert offerings.  Check back here for a review of the rum cake.

801 9th St NW Washington, DC 20001
(202) 408-1600

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Washington Post (Editors' Pick; Readers 1.5/4)

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Washington Life 

Wonkette

Yelp (3/5)

Firehook Bakery: Presidential Sweet Cookie

Bill


This cookie is Firehook’s most unique, and it earns significant points for the concept. The presidential sweet cookie is made with chocolate chips, coconut, sun-dried cherries, rolled oats, espresso powder, pecan pieces, and vanilla. No, really. It works, and when it is good, it is divine. The wild hodgepodge of textures and flavors provides a fantastic, unique experience. Unfortunately, there is a consistency risk with the presidential sweet cookie, but lower than with the chocolate espresso cookie. It still ranks as one of our favorites and gets our divine rating.

1909 Q St NW, Washington, DC 20009
(202) 588-9296

Google map & reviews

Washington Post (Editors' Pick)

Yelp (3/5)

Yahoo! (3.5/5)

FroZenYo: General Endorsement

Bill

FroZenYo is a new player in the DC dessert game, and it wins our endorsement.  You grab a big cup, fill it with any combination of flavors and toppings, then pay for it by weight.  Bonus:  you can add fudge or caramel after you weigh it.  Most frozen yogurt shops, especially those that followed the relatively recent pinkberry trend, serve either tart or mildly flavored yogurt, and you’re expected to turn that into a dessert by adding toppings.  FroZenYo finds ways to mix the necessary milky flavor of yogurt with other elements in ways that not only maintain the flavors, but even make them pop.  I didn’t think that was even possible.  You don’t need the toppings, because these flavors can stand on their own. 

I specifically recommend FroZenYo’s cheesecake, pumpkin pie, and dulce de leche flavors.  These flavors win our divine rating.  The pumpkin pie yogurt has a depth of pumpkin pie flavor that’s deeper than an average pumpkin pie.  The red velvet cake yogurt was good, but disappointing compared to the other flavors I tried.  Add this growing chain to our favorites.  The only negative at the Downtown location is a seating shortage.

FroZenYo currently has three locations, but an aggressive expansion plan.  We hope its growth forces other dessert purveyors to improve their offerings.

1006 F St NW, Washington, DC 20004

(202) 347-1414

Google map & reviews (5/5 from 2 displayed ratings)

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Yelp (4/5)

The Hungry District

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DC-Wrapped Dates

Artfully Chocolate Kingsbury Confections: Truffles

Bill

Truffles are at the extreme end of the flavor-punch spectrum, just past brownies.  A truffle must squeeze fine, deep, decadent flavor into a very small package.  In short, it should be awesomeness from concentrate. 

Artfully Chocolate’s truffles are the best I’ve tried in DC.  They are also the cheapest, especially with a volume discount, which is rare for truffles.  I’ll describe them in an order from divine to forgettable.


Pomegranate Royale.  This receives significant points for the creativity of the concept:  pomegranate molasses, crème de cassis, and cognac.  Mixing two alcoholic elements itself requires daring, world-class skill, and a hefty dose of trial and error.  This creation goes even further in combining that pairing with a unique treatment of the trendy pomegranate.  The result is devine.  Its creator picked the right chocolate: only slightly on the darker side.  The interaction of the three strong flavors of pomegranate, cognac, and dark chocolate, and the softer crème de cassis works.  Amazingly, you can taste all four elements.  Add this to our favorites.

Amaretto Marzipan.  This truffle is made of ground almonds and chocolate marzipan “laced” with amaretto.  That’s quite a tribute to Continental Europe.  The individual flavors were great, but their combination was not.  Amaretto, almonds, and marzipan are tame flavors.  That left only the relatively dark chocolate standing out.  However, the quality of the individual elements, and the textures of their combination make this one to try.


Black Forest.  Montmorency cherries, kirsch (a cherry liqueur), and chocolate make this truffle legitimately Germanic.  It would be popular at cafés from Munich to Vienna.  This was good but its taste didn’t match my excitement about the kirsch.  Kirsch is a unique (in the U.S.), strong element.  So, among these ingredients, it should carry the truffle.  Unfortunately, it was barely detectable.  Its minor role is equivalent to a chocolate-chip cookie with just one chip.


Hazelnut Toffee.  This was a more obvious concept that should easily have been executed better than it was.  The hazelnut flavor wasn’t even equivalent to that in a kinder bar or nutella, and I couldn’t find the toffee.  The toffee may have been inside the truffle, but if so, it was undetectable.  The crunchy items on top may have been the toffee, but they just tasted like nuts.  Skip this one.


Pumpkin Cheesecake.  This deserves some points for a seasonal, unique concept, but none for the execution.  Pumpkin and sweetened cream cheese (the base element in cheesecake) are mild flavors, so this mix only has the chocolate shell to pack a flavor punch.  It’s not surprising that this combination of those three elements basically tasted like nothing.  Skip this one, too.


1529 14th Street NW, Washington, DC 20005
(202) 387-2626

Google map & reviews (3.5/5)

Washingtonian

Washington Post (Reader: 3/4)

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Examiner

Yelp (3.5/5)

D.C. Foodies

14th & You

Papa Razzi: Brownie Sundae

Bill

The Papa Razzi brownie sundae is not just one of my DC favorites; it’s the best I’ve found in the world. 

Each of the four individual elements is perfect, and the flavor, temperature, and texture combination is even better than the sum of its parts.  The candied walnuts are flavored so thoroughly that the taste is strong nearly through to their centers.  The vanilla gelato is among the best you’ll find, especially in the U.S.  It provides a surprisingly smoother texture than would the traditional ice cream.  The brownies consistently strike the rare mix of balanced physical composition (neither cakey nor oily), and powerful chocolate flavor, at which perfection is found.  The world-beater in this divine dish, however, is the unique chewy not-exactly-fudge sauce that fills the role of traditional fudge sauce.  This sauce has an amazing taste and unique texture that’s smoother than fudge sauce, but still thick and chewy enough to fabulously compliment the gelato and brownies.

As a bonus, this dish is presented in an inviting choose-your-own-adventure manner.  The brownies and nuts can easily be separated from the rest of the dish to facilitate the dish’s painstakingly equal distribution among multiple diners.  If you choose to go the distance and enjoy this dish yourself, you’re free to mix these elements to create your customized tonic to cure what ails you.

I order the brownie sundae with extra sauce and no whipped cream.  Because the sauce is the most divine element of this dish, you should get plenty of it.  As usual with whipped cream, the relatively flavorless and superfluous cream can dull the flavor of the other spectacular elements of this dessert.

1064 Wisconsin Avenue
Washington, DC 20007
(202) 298-8000

Google map and reviews (3.5/5)

Washington Post (Critic: 4/4; Reader: 4/4)

Urban Spoon (86% like it)

Yelp (3/5)