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

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Yelp 3/5

Serendipity 3: Carrot Cake Sundae

Bill


We find it necessary to review multiple desserts at Serendipity 3 because it's generated so much buzz based on its long-anticipated opening, NYC pedigree, and prime location in the former Nathan's space.  Out of several Serendipity 3 desserts, the carrot cake sundae impressed me the most, and I'm not a big fan of carrot cake.

The carrot cake sundae starts simple at the bottom and increases the novelty and decadence toward the top.  Scoops of vanilla and butter-pecan ice cream start the party at the bottom of the bowl.  A piece of carrot cake slides on top of that.  Drizzles of maple-walnut and white-chocolate fudge crown this monument to humankind's search for greatness.  It is served with a pool of chocolate fudge surrounding the base of the bowl.  The end result is unique, and blends the flavors and textures masterfully, at least if you like nuts in a sundae.

The carrot cake is velvety smooth, moist and flavorful.  Its cream-cheese frosting is better than average, and the maple-walnut and white-chocolate fudge add delightful flavor and texture elements.  The added touch of fudge on the bottom provides you an opportunity to alter this mixture to your taste.  Note that the carrot cake has a large volume of nuts throughout, which is somewhat uncommon.  Overall, this dish had too many nuts for my taste.  It still deserves our divine rating, because anyone who likes this amount of nuts would surely rate it so.


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

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Yelp 3/5

Blue Duck Tavern: Chocolate Cake with Maker’s Mark Flambé

Bill


Our review of Blue duck Tavern's Straight-from-the-Oven Chocolate Cake with Maker’s Mark Flambé is in response to a reader's request.

This chocolate cake is made to order, so it's always fresh.  It truly is straight from the oven, and the server flambés it with Maker's Mark at your table.  This means it's served very hot.  I recommend allowing it to cool.  

Adding liquor to a dessert is a sure-fire way to increase its decadence and depth of flavor.  In this dish, the whiskey flambé adds a punch and a twist to the chocolate.  The cake is warm and moist with a gooey center.  For my taste, a small scoop of fine vanilla ice cream might have elevated this dish to divine.  As it is served, it deserves our great rating.  Because of its novelty and freshness, it's also a steal at $9.


24th & M Streets NW, Washington, D.C. 20037
(with the water fountain in the Hyatt)   
(202) 419 6755

Google map & reviews (4/5)

 Washingtonian (100 Best Restaurants 2011; 41-100; 2.5/4)

 Washington Post (2.5/4)

Yelp (4/5)

 Open Table (4.4/5)

 Tripadvisor (4/5; 10th best DC restaurant)

 Washington City Paper

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

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Yelp 3/5

Roti Mediterranean Grill: Baklava

Bill


Great desserts don't usually come in a plastic bag folded and partially sealed with a sticker.  Roti's baklava joins Potbelly's sugar cookies and oatmeal-chocolate-chip cookies as exceptions to this general rule.

Honey infuses most of this baklava, but does not overpower it or drip profusely from it.  Each element takes its fair share of the stage.  The honey soaked through layers of light but tightly packed phyllo dough and ground nuts.  The nuts are ground so finely that they can truly merge with the honey to become an elegantly smooth and sweet nut meal.  The design and execution are masterful.  This is the best baklava I've ever tasted, and it earns our divine rating.


1275 First Street NE, Washington DC 20002
(202) 618-6969

Google map and reviews (4/5)

Other DC locations (open and planned)

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Watershed: Cookies

Bill


Watershed gave the NoMa area its only table-service restaurant when it opened on April 22nd.  Chef Todd Gray is known for Equinox near the White House, and Watershed is his big bet on NoMa's potential.  For gourmet desserts, it's the only game in town right now.  

Watershed normally serves these three cookies with a glass of local milk.  I ordered it with a scoop of ice cream instead.  The ice cream was smooth and better than average.  The cookies were all you can ask of cookies. They were warm and soft with thin crispy layers spotting the tops and edges.  Two kinds of chocolate chunks play off of each other within the cookies. The chunks are generously proportioned, and melt into the cookies to grace their inner layers with delightful gooeyness and flavor. 

Watershed's cookies deserve our great rating.  However, my group found the entrees merely average.  That's particularly disappointing given the pricing.


Hilton Garden Inn
1225 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20002
(202) 534-1350

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Brasserie Beck: Bread Pudding

Bill


Brasserie Beck's bread pudding is very unique.  Instead of the traditional rasins, it's dotted with chocolate and cherries.  It's topped with ice cream and swims in a pool of excellent creme anglais.

 

This dish creates a good combination of textures, most of which contrast only subtly.  With all those elements mixing in a tight dish, this dessert is changing while you watch.  The melted chocolate bursts and cherries punch through the soft, chewy, mildly-flavored bread.  The ice cream adds even more sweetness and a cold splash to tame the heat emanating from the chocolate.  This is the best bread pudding I've tried in DC, but its creativity may offend purists.  It deserves a great rating.

1101 K Street NW, Washington, DC 20005
(202) 408-1717 ‎

Google map & reviews (4/5)

Washington Post (Critic 2.5/4; Reader 1.5/4)

Washingtonian (2/4)

Yelp (4/5)

Open Table (4/5; Diners' Choice)

Trip Advisor (4/5; ranked 41 in DC)

ABC News Good Morning America (video)