Blue Duck Tavern: Apple Pie

Bill

You'll probably see Blue Duck Tavern's Apple Pie if you visit the restaurant.  It's visually spectacular and prominently displayed in the evening.  Seeing several of these vertical pies in various states of preparation, from cuts of dough to glistening golden brown crust in low light conjured an image of the golden age of pie.  It's a shop in Britain in the 1600s, with a wooden sign painted with "Pye", and it only makes pies.

Alas, Dear Reader, we write to warn you not to be fooled.  This pie was memorably bad.  The crust and apple slices were infuriatingly dry and there was no gooey filling to save those failings.  The apples were nearly flavorless.  Even mixing it with the ice cream at additional cost couldn't create a dish we could call satisfying.  We plan to give it another try because the Blue Duck Tavern's other food is so good and this pie is a signature dish.  We really want to believe.  For now, skip this pie.

Open Table (4.7/5; Customer Award)
Trip Advisor (4.5/5; Certificate of Excellence)
Yelp (4/5)
Washingtonian 100 Very Best Restaurants 2016
Zagat (4.6/5)

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)

The Palm: Big Chocolate Layer Cake

Bill

Chocolate cake is a steakhouse classic, so it's usually your best bet for dessert at a steakhouse.  The Palm's Big Chocolate Layer Cake meets those high expectations.

It's generously topped with a chewy fudge frosting that continues in a thinner spread down the back, where cake crumbs adorn it.  Five additional tiers of frosting slice through the cake layers.  The cake portion is impressively moist for such a large slice.  It's served with a drizzle of chocolate sauce, fresh whipped cream, and fruit, all mostly for presentation.

This cake is a unique and indulgent combination of textures.  The crumbs on the back form a cushion to flatten out the sharp chocolate taste of the fudge icing.  This dessert earns our great rating.

Washington Post (Editors' pick) 
Yelp (3.5/5)
Trip Advisor (4/5)
Open Table (4.6/5) 
Zagat (4.5/5)
Gayot (13/20)

The Pig: Cast-Iron Fruitcake

Bill


This holiday dessert takes a risk with chunks of bacon in a fruitcake.  For comparison purposes, this fruit cake is just a little less dense than the Entenmann's version or English Christmas pudding, but closer to those than a panettone. 

The cake's texture and ginger flavor mix with the brandied fruit and bacon chunks with pleasant results.  It pairs well with a cold winter night.  This dish deserves our great rating.

The Pig

1320 14th Street Northwest, Washington, DC 20005

(202) 290-2821

Google map & reviews

Washington Post (Reader: 2/4)

Huffington Post

Yelp (4/5)

Open Table (4.2/5)

Trip Advisor (4.5/5)

Dean & Deluca: Extreme Chocolate Truffle Cake

Bill

I attacked this cake with the traditional horizontal fork approach.  It repelled my  plastic fork in a glorious statement that it was a cake of more serious substance.

The cake was wonderfully dense, packed tightly with chocolatey truffley goodness.  It would only allow itself to be eaten by shaving off slices.  The cake's texture was so uniform and its flavor so deep and rich that it was like an artist captured the Victorian era in a dessert.  This cake deserves our divine rating.

3276 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20007-3624
(202) 342-2500

Google map & reviews (3.84/5.00)

Yelp (3.5/5)

TripAdvisor (5/5; #2 shopping place in DC)

Bill's Red Velvet Cake: A Special Holiday Post From Our Guest Writer Laura

We normally don't review desserts that aren't offered commercially.  We're breaking the format for a special holiday post from Laura, as part of our effort to convince her to write for us.  If readers are interested, we'll see what we can do to share this cake.

Laura

Having entered chocolate cake-baking contests as a teen in 4-H, I thought I had seen it all when it comes to the marvels of a faultless cake.  Not so…and not until Thanksgiving 2011 when Bill made his deluxe red velvet cake.

Umm Georgetown Cupcake?  Crumbs what?!  Oh Founding Farmers, you’re so close, but no thank you.  Bill’s velvet underground is where it’s at.  This perfect combination of homemade cake batter made with select ingredients that result in a soft and gooey deep red cake layered and layered with soft cream-cheese, almost-frozen frosting is the most decadent holiday masterpiece.  It's so good that you'll make Santa's nice list, no matter how naughty your calorie count gets. 

THANKS BILL!!!

Bobby's Burger Palace: Vanilla Caramel Bourbon Milkshake

Bill


Burgers are the new tapas in DC, and at least this trend tends to bring milkshakes with it.  Unfortunately, Bobby's Burger Palace's Vanilla Caramel Bourbon milkshake comes nowhere near living up to the excitement about the restaurant overall. 

Instead of incorporating the caramel flavor evenly into the shake, some caramel ribbons swirl through the glass.  This caramel sauce can add intriguing texture and flavor to an ice-cream dish eaten with a spoon, but it's largely lost in a dish enjoyed through a thick straw.  This shake lacked the deep, indulgent vanilla flavor that should be expected in a vanilla shake.  The only traceable flavor was the bourbon.  The problem wasn't that the bourbon was so strong or voluminous that it overpowered the other flavors; it was that the other flavors were weak and didn't blend well.  This left the shake tasting like chilled bourbon and sugar rather than a milkshake.  Skip this dessert.


2121 K Street Northwest, Washington, DC 20037

(202) 974-6260

Google Map

Washington Post (Readers: 2/4)

Yelp (3/5)

Tripadvisor (4/5)

Acadiana: Decadent Chocolate Doberge Cake

Bill


Acadiana's Decadent Chocolate Doberge Cake alternates layers of chocolate cake and pudding.  It's all covered by a fabulous bittersweet chocolate sauce.  These elements give it a nice collection of texture and flavor, creating a springy box of chocolatey delight. 

The gummy pinapple confit in a thick sauce on the side is unique.  It's definitely a contrast, but not necessarily complimentary to the rest of the dish.  The Tahitian vanilla ice cream met but did not exceed our expectations.  For the impressive combination of sauce, cake, and pudding, this dish deserves our great rating.


901 New York Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20001
(202) 408-8848

Google map & reviews (4/5)


Yelp (4/5)


Open Table (4.3/5.0)


TripAdvisor (4/5; #24 restaurant in DC)


Washingonian (2/4)

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)

Bourbon Steak: Black Walnut Financier

Bill


Bourbon Steak, in Georgetown's Four Seasons, is a place of wondrous culinary mastery.  That didn't carry over fully into the black walnut financier, but it still deserves our great rating.  Wikipedia provides some background on the financier.

Chef Michael Mina prepares these financiers with bulleit bourbon, maple ice cream, dollops of toffee, and figs.  The financiers truly and masterfully captured the essence of walnuts.  They had a nutty, mealy taste. The ice cream provided a nice textural contrast.  It was richly flavorful and mixed nicely with the crumbles below.  The toffee, some of which was hidden beneath other elements of this dish, was great.  The figs weren't very flavorful, which made them odd complements for financiers, which are only subtly flavored.


Four Seasons Georgetown
2800 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington, DC 20007
(202) 944-2026

Google map & reviews (3.8/5.0)

Washington Post (Critic: 2.5/4; Reader 1/4, Editors' Pick)

Washingtonian (3/4)

Washington Times

Gayot 15/20

Yelp (4/5)

Open Table (4.3/5)

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

Larry's Cookies Union Station: Chocolate Chunk Cookie

Josh

If you are in the market for a well made cookie, and happen to be traveling through DC on a train or by metro, take a second and stop at Larry's Cookies in the Union Station food court.

The Chocolate Chunk Cookie has both the mass and volume needed to satisfy one's sweeter cravings.  It deserves our great rating.  Other options include oatmeal raisin, butter pecan, double chocolate, crispy chocolate, Heath, and white chocolate.  A very simple yet delectable dessert!

Union Station Food Court
(202) 289-7586

Other locations include:

1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20004 (Reagan Building)
(202) 682-0080

1100 Pennsylvania Ave. NW # 114, Washington, DC 20004 (Old Post Office)
(202) 682-1018

1633 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20009
(202) 234-2690 

1100 S Hayes St. Arlington, VA 22202
(703) 415-2066

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: 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

Google map

Washington Post

Examiner

Revamp

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

Google map

Washington Post

Examiner

Revamp

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)

Capital Spice

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

Google map

Capital Spice

One Vanilla Bean

Open Table

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)