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)

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)

Serendipity 3: Cookie Dough Sundae

Bill


Our fourth review of a Serendipity 3 dessert will be our last for a while.  As of this writing, it only scored a 3/5 on yelp and a 62% approval on urbanspoon.  It looks like Washingtonians agreed with our assessment that this Serendipity outpost must not be as good as the NYC original. 

That overall mediocre impression also applies to Serendipity's Cookie Dough Sundae.  Three cookies and fudge top scoops of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream.  The cookies varied widely in quality from below average to good, which means you run the risk of getting three disappointing cookies.  On the whole, the cookies were average.  The fudge was good, but I suspect Serendipity simply uses Smucker's fudge from jars.  In this and every Serendipity sundae, you'll find lots of extra fudge trapped between the glass and plate to allow you to customize your ice cream-to-fudge ratio.  The cookie dough ice cream also had quality variations; some cookie dough chunks were relatively flavorless.  The base ice cream also lacked a punch.  This cookie dough ice cream fell far short of Ben & Jerry's, which is the gold standard.

The nice proportions of the elements of this dish, and the availability of extra fudge earn this dish our good rating.  However, you'll find better sundaes and ice cream at other places in Georgetown.

3150 M St. NW Washington, DC 20007
(202) 333-5193

Google map

Washington Post

Examiner

Revamp

Yelp 3/5

Serendipity 3: Oreo Frozen Hot Chocolate

Josh

Anyone who has frequented or even visited Serendipity once knows of their famous hot chocolate.  My affinity for Oreos led me to this choice in the face of much greater-volume choices like the sundaes, cakes and pies.  I would not say I was disappointed, as it proved to be a refreshing and tasty option on a very hot day.  The only issue for me was it didn't feel all that "desserty."

The massive amount of whipped cream on top was high-quality.  For the most part it tasted like an icy milkshake, which from previous posts you know is not my favorite thing.  I prefer the thicker and more substantial tastes you get in an old fashioned milkshake, and this was not it.  

Serendipity's Oreo Frozen Hot Chocolate deserves our good rating.  It's definitely worth a try, but if you want a dessert at Serendipity that you'll never forget, go with one of the unbelievable looking sundaes!  At $10 a pop for the Oreo Frozen Hot Chocolate versus $12 for a much more substantial sundae, value, mass and substance are hugely against the choice I found myself making.  Don't be an idiot; go big when it comes to desserts!

3150 M St. NW Washington, DC 20007
(202) 333-5193

Google map

Washington Post

Examiner

Revamp

Yelp 3/5

Serendipity 3: Red Velvet Cake Sundae

Bill


New York City-based Serendipity 3 recently made its long-awaited DC debut.  Its arrival should satisfy those who have pushed for the elimination of "ice-cream no man's lands" of more than 1.5 blocks in Georgetown.  So far, there are lines out the door at peak times.

Serendipity 3's Red Velvet Cake Sundae is a chocolate ice cream sundae with a piece of red velvet cake on top.  The cake itself was good; very moist with strongly flavored cream-cheese frosting.  The fudge was also pleasing in quality and volume.  The ice cream was average, which is disappointing for a place that specializes in dessert. 

I ordered the Red Velvet Cake Sundae without the sprinkles and whipped cream.  I think both of those elements are primarily visual, add little taste, and dillute and disrupt the flavors and textures that should be the showcases of a dessert.  The sprinkles came anyway, and someone apparently removed most of the whipped cream after being reminded in the kitchen that it wasn't supposed to be there.

Serendipity 3's Red Velvet Cake Sundae deserves our good rating.  The cake on its own would compare better in the cake category, but the sundae doesn't come close to challenging Papa Razzi's brownie sundae for DC's sundae crown.  Based on this dish, this Serendipity 3 location is far from NYC standards, but we do salute it for being open late.  We dislike dessert places that aren't open during peak dessert time.


3150 M St. NW Washington, DC 20007
(202) 333-5193

Google map

Washington Post

Examiner

Revamp

Yelp 3/5

Cuba Libre: Rum Cake

Bill

The “Torta Mentirita” is a riff on Cuba Libre’s namesake rum-and-Coke drink.  The cake is soaked in Cuba Libre 15-year rum, topped with lime sorbet, and Coca-Cola sauce.  The rum cake flavor changes daily.  The one I tried was peanut butter.

The cake was a little course and dry for a rum cake.  Its gooey peanut butter parts were great, and I usually don't even like in desserts.  The Coca-Cola sauce was tasty and unique, and the lime sorbet was pleasantly sharp but hindered by ice chips.  This dish had some great elements, but fell victim to some easily correctable mistakes.  As it was, it deserves a good rating.

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

Google map and reviews (3.32/5)

Washington Post (Critic 1/4; Readers 2/4)

Washingtonian

Washington Life 

Wonkette

Yelp (3/5)

Bread & Chocolate: White Chocolate Mousse

Bill


This is actually a spongy white cake with a hefty layer of white chocolate mousse on top that flows down into the center. The mousse itself has a classic smooth texture and a fairly subtle flavor. It needs to be subtle because it's paired with white chocolate shavings and the frosting on top of the cake.

The shavings eventually became too much for my taste, but that's probably because white is not my favorite incarnation of chocolate. This deserves a good rating.


2301 M St, Washington, DC 20037
(202) 833-8360

Google map & reviews (2.5/5)

Washington Examiner

Yelp (2.5/5)

Tripadvisor (3.5/5)

La Tasca Rockville: Tartita de Café and Arroz con Leche

Josh


Tartita de Café.  This is another chocolate mousse option, distinguished by its cappuccino highlights.  My most telling comment on this dessert lies with its presentation.  It has an unusual shape to say the least.  If your taste buds love coffee, perhaps this should be your choice.  Good. 

Arroz con Leche.  It had been many moons since I had a good rice pudding. This is it! I went after it hard and often. To me, rice pudding is always a good choice, and this was as well, it was especially satisfying in an apropos-themed restaurant.  Divine. 

 141 Gibbs Street #305

Rockville, MD 20850

(301) 279-7011

Google map

Open Table (3.8/5)

Washington Post (Reader: 2/4)

Yelp (2.5/5)

TripAdvisor (3/5)

La Tasca Rockville: Mousse de Chocolate, Apple Pie, Tres Leches Cake, & Churros con Chocolate

Josh


Mousse de Chocolate
Dark chocolate mousse over top of what proved to be a very good brownie. To my colleague Bill's dismay, this particular dish contains hazelnuts, a definite negative strike in his book, but this dessert was quite good, and I recommend it for brownie lovers.  Great. 

Back to the Basics Apple Pie 
Not something this particular restaurant does exceptionally well... Its a Spanish restaurant... don't order Apple Pie! Enough said!  Skip.

Tres Leches Cake
A sponge cake dipped in milk and covered in frosting... I like this dessert actually more than I thought.  Presents like a birthday cake, but has the sponge cake taste... Once again, not a typical order for someone like myself, but if sponge cake is your thing... Have at it!  Good.

Churros con Chocolate
Quite simply this one was awesome. I have always thought of Churros as being a Mexican dish, and for those who are unaware, it is in essence fried dough covered in cinnamon. This dish came along with a chocolate dipping sauce which was great.  I hit this dessert up very hard, and definitely took more than my allotted share!  Divine.

141 Gibbs Street #305

Rockville, MD 20850

(301) 279-7011

Google map

Open Table (3.8/5)

Washington Post (Reader: 2/4)

Yelp (2.5/5)

TripAdvisor (3/5)

Black Market Bistro: Apple Crisp

Josh

A quaint little restaurant in the heart of surburbia, BMB is a great spot to grab a bite after a long work day.  A great meal was followed by what I believe to be an American traditional dessert:  apple crisp. 

F.Y.I. to future consumers, be leery of the serving bowl, as it was so hot I think my future children will be born with swollen tongues!  Nevertheless, the crunchiness of the crisp, and the cool ice cream topping made for a nice palate savior after the initial scalding.  The apples themselves lacked a little kick, potentially due to the season, but the texture was strong, and it didn't taste watered down or overcooked. 

All told, the ambiance of this particular restaurant is what makes it truly worth the trip, and the menu is highlighted by food that you would want to eat.  The barbeque shrimp as well as the hanger steak are two fantastic choices, not to be missed. The dessert menu also holds some interesting possibilities that I was unable to try on this particular visit. I am hopeful to get back there in the near future.


4600 Waverly Avenue
Garrett Park, MD 20896
(301) 933-3000 

Google map & reviews (4/5)

Washingtonian (Best Restaurants 2010 #57; 2/4)

Washington Post (Critic 2/4; Readers 1.5/4)

Washington Examiner

Yelp (4.5/5) 

Bistrot Lepic: Torte Chaud au Chocolat

Bill

This dessert, in concept, marries a relatively dense, soft, warm cake-like torte packing a smooth, powerful chocolate flavor with crème anglais. It is my favorite dessert at Bistrot Lepic.

This dish could approach divinity with a thicker compliment of crème anglais surrounding the torte. It would have added more flavor and a better mix of textures. The right mixture of rich chocolate and a dairy-based sauce like crème anglais can create magic, but this dessert didn’t get the mix right.

The torte wasn’t as good this time as when I’ve tried it before, so it carries a consistency risk. At its best, the torte is soft, warm, and moist throughout. Some brittleness on the edges can actually be a welcome offset to that softness. However, this time, the outer half of the torte was hard, around room temperature, and dry. The center was much better, meeting what I usually expect from this dish. Even with the consistency risk, the torte ranks well above the average DC dessert.


1736 Wisconsin Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20007
(202) 333-0111

Google map & reviews (4/5)

Washingtonian

Examiner

Washington Post (Editors' Pick; Reader 4/4)

Washington City Paper (4/5)

Yelp (3.5/5)

Tripadvisor (DC rank: 60; 4/5)