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)

La Tasca: Flan de Huevo

Josh

La Tasca is an international chain of Spanish tapas restaurants with four locations in the DC area.  On a recent Saturday, I went to the Rockville branch with a number of friends, which enabled us to accrue a large amount of dishes from the tasting menus.  Food seemingly came out in droves over the course of the evening.  There were several very good meat options, as well as a great calamari dish, however, basic faire is not why anyone is reading this particular blog, so I digress. 

At the time, the tastings came a dessert option, in which every ten dollars spent yielded a free dessert.  This allowed our big group to sample a lot of different options.  In fact, we chose with DCDesserts in mind, and grabbed everything possible.  This is the first of eight reviews of La Tasca’s desserts.

The flan de heuvo is a vanilla-bean flan with fresh strawberries and whipped cream.  Obviously, if there were one dessert that a Spanish restaurant does well, it would be this one.  However, my novice palate in terms of Spanish-style desserts, especially flan, hinders my ability to give an accurate account of this particular dish.  It’s not typically something I order, but a co-patron at my table, an avid flan consumer, said he was very impressed. Hopefully that helps!

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) 

Estadio: Chocolate Hazelnut Cake

Bill


Estadio's chocolate hazelnut cake is the size of a large cupcake.  It's split by a cracker-like wafer encrusted with seasalt, topped with capuccino ice cream, and drizzled with hazelnut sauce.

I would have preferred the hazelnut sauce a bit thicker.  The capuccino ice cream's flavor was decent and fairly unique.  The wafer helped the ice cream seep into the cake.  The cake itself was excellent, with a light, fluffy pastry cloud on top hiding a delightfully dense and gooey center.  This deserves our great rating.

1520 14th St., NW Washington, DC 20005
(202) 319-1404 
  
Google Map & Reviews (4/5)

Washingtonian

Yelp (3.5)
Washington Post (Critic & Readers: 2.5/4)

DC Magazine

The Hill

Examiner

Washington City Paper

Recipe: Thanksgiving Fruit Salad

Bill


My dad developed this great, easy, and unique dessert. It won't take much time away from your turkey preparation or take up space in the oven.

Ingredients:
1-2 cans crushed pineapple
1-2 cans jellied whole-berry cranberry sauce
1 package of frozen cranberries (for appearance, tartness)
1 package of frozen strawberries packed in syrup (for sweetness and texture)

Directions:
Mix in a large bowl, chill and serve alone or with whipped cream.