Oyamel -- Mexican goodness, twice in two weeks

(The first dinner's desserts including the pastel de tres leches con pina)

In the past two weeks, I found myself at Oyamel... twice.  I had been to Oyamel a few times before over the years -- how could I not have wanted to go, after all I love Mexican food and Jose Andres -- but in general, I often forgot about Oyamel when thinking about restaurants to go to.  So when some friends from out of town were visiting and a mutual friend suggested Oyamel, I thought to myself ooh, I haven't been there in ages.  And this time, it all clicked.  Perhaps it was the margherita at the bar with the salt foam (the salt foam is a must, even for me, as someone who doesn't like salt with her margheritas).  Perhaps it was the spicy guacamole.  Or perhaps it was just the alive atmosphere Oyamel had that night and the fun company.  Whatever it was, I found myself the next morning craving Oyamel again and, oddly, in particular the queso fundido. 

Which brought me back to Oyamel last week for a pre-show dinner.  Mr. J and I were going to go see Anthony Bourdain and Eric Ripert (yay!!) at the Warner.  Oyamel is only several blocks from Warner and I don't recall ever taking Mr. J there -- with our mutual love for Mexican food (our first date actually was at a Mexican restaurant...), it seemed like the perfect option.  Even though we were eating on the earlier side, the restaurant was packed (good thing we made a reservation!).  The restaurant seems to have a very active bar scene despite the small(er) size of their bar -- the hora feliz (happy hour) deal is a good one ($4 class margs, ponche, and selected draft beer, 2 for $4 tacos, halff off all wines by the glass).  The festive atmosphere is punctuated with bright colors and a friendly staff. 

Our server recommended that we have three dishes per person -- although this proved to be a bit too much for us! The menu offers an extensive list of small dishes (like Jose Andres' other restaurants). The dishes run the gamut from various salsas/guacamoles (made tableside -- mild, medium, or spicy), a bevy of ceviches chopped up at the ceviche bar, various meats and fishes (on this occasion, quite a few pork belly dishes), a wide selection of tacos (served one per order), and so forth.  A number of new dishes have just recently been added to the menu -- in fact, in between my two meals there (so in about a week), the server informed us that they added a bunch of their specials to be official dishes on the menu.  One of those was the deliciously buttery black cod....mmmm.  It's not a bad idea to save some room for dessert (see above for the only pictures I remembered to take at the first dinner!) -- these were quite delicious and the perfect way to end the meal. 

Below are some of my favorite dishes from these two meals:

- Guacamole (of course) made to order with your level of spicyness!
- Ceviche de huachinango (red snapper ceviche with avocado, tomato, sweet onion, cilantro, and lime juice)
- Coctel de camaron y jaiba (shrimp & crab ceviche served with tomato sauce, avocado, and red onions)
- Cayo de hacha con pipian de chile pasilla (seared scallops with a pasilla chile and pumpkin seed sauce, orange segments, pumpkin seed oil and toasted pumpkin seeds)
- Albondigas enchipotladas con queso doble crema (meatballs in chipotle sauce with crumbled 'double cream' cheese and cilantro)
- Papas al mole (really, this is like crispy french fries with mole on top, but so good!)
- Queso fundido con tequila (with chorizo...mmmm)
- Carnitas tacos con salsa de tomatillo (confit of baby pig with green tomatillo sauce, pork rinds, onions, and cilantro)

Will I be back?  For sure.  Now that Oyamel is back on my radar, I don't think I can resist going back, especially for a refreshing margherita and spicy fresh guac during the hot DC summer months.

Oyamel Cocina Mexicana
401 7th Street NW
Washington, DC 20004
(202) 628-1005

BIRTHDAY-NESS: Dinner at Komi

If you know me, you know how very much I love birthdays.  Not only do I love my own birthday, but I love the chance to shower my favorite people with surprises and happy memories.  Sooo, this past week, it was my own birthday ... and with any special occasion, my celebrations revolved around food. 

For several years, I have been dying to try out Komi -- Komi is housed in a rowhouse just northeast of Dupont Circle (and basically next to the newly revamped Sushi Taro).  Komi is known for its fresh flavors, creativity, from chef Johnny Monis.  For me, it is very difficult to "categorize" the type of food that you will enjoy at Komi -- a whirlwind of 20-some dishes appear before you, in growing size as the meal goes on -- each dish seems to be somehow tied to the next, but exactly what the common thread is is a bit intangible.  (On a random analogy, it reminds me of watching a fashion show where the collection clearly comes from the same designer, but what exactly strings each design to the next is hard to define.). 

The restaurant is in a word, intimate.  But not overbearingly so and not so much so that you are constantly eavesdropping into the conversation next to you.  I actually loved the table we were seated at -- we were right next to the kitchen that had a big window so you could peer into the kitchen and see all the action.  You could see Chef Monis overseeing the dishes, looking out into the restaurant to watch dinner service... you could see the phone ringing off the hook for reservations (note: call exactly one month ahead of time at noon to get reservations for a particular date -- if you can't get a reservation you can be put on a wait list.).  You see the chefs jotting down on an eraseable board the dishes they've made and gone through.  It is all rather distracting, but in a good way. 

Not only for the blog, but just in general, I love to take pictures of memorable dishes and memorable meals.  So of course, I had camera in tow at this dinner.  But, sadly, the restaurant prefers you not to take photos of the dishes, so I only came away with a photo of the first dish -- kampachi sashimi.  This photo is currently residing at my parents' house, so it'll have to be posted at another time. 

Coming on a Saturday, we enjoyed the 20-course chef's menu (the "progressive" menu) -- the courses are preset, but the restaurant is careful to ask ahead of time whether there are any dietary restrictions, allergies, and the such and can alter the dishes as necessary.  Below is what we had our dinner. The dishes change often, but so you can get a flavor for what we had...

• Kampachi Sashimi
• White Fish Sashimi
• Brioche with Salmon and Caviar
• Scallops two ways (This was one of my fave dishes -- smaller scallops piled on a spoon accompanied by thinly sliced scallops on a scallop shell with a sliver of black truffle)
• Salmon Belly with Pinenuts
• Fresh Mozzarella Cheese with Vegetables
• Caesar salad in a Crispy Shell
• Pork Belly Hoagie (another fave!)
• Grilled octopus with Brussels sprouts
• Serrano ham with potato and Asian pear
• Figs with mascarpone cheese
• Two pastas -- Ravioli and I think pappardelle
• Our "entree" -- served family style!  Super tender baby goat and suckling pig (another fave -- the meat was so tender and juicy, and the skin very crispy) served with homemade pitas (one of my most favorite parts of the whole meal!!  Still thinking about those pitas hah) and various condiments on the side (my favorite was the green salt...).
• Ricotta cheese and honey
• Meyer lemon "creamsicle" on a stick (reminded me of a margherita)
• Chocolate ganache (?)
• A pineapple "cake" with coconut ice cream
• AND housemade birthday animal cookies!  In the shapes of elephants, tigers... (loved these!)

Some of my friends have asked me how does it compare to Minibar -- Jose Andres' six-seater restaurant tucked in one of his other restaurants, Cafe Atlantico.  And, well, you can't really compare the two restaurants.  They approach the food in very different ways and the experiences are both wonderful and memorable.  For me, Minibar just edges out Komi, but that's my personal opinion -- I loved the whimsical dishes at Minibar, the opportunity to interact with the chefs as they crafted our dishes, and the laughter and silliness that sometimes ensued.  But Komi also wins out on certain flavors and dishes that have just stuck with me (for some reason, I can't stop thinking about their housemade pitas and suckling pig).  Either way you go, you'll leave with a memorable meal.

Komi Restaurant
1509 17th Street NW
Washington, DC 20036
(202) 332-9200

Dish in the District: Ping Pong Dim Sum

Excuse the dark photos -- such is the hazards of mood lighting in restaurants!

My friend Jamie and I ventured to try out the new Ping Pong Dim Sum restaurant, located just north of the Chinatown arch in DC. Although this would seem quite appropriate, DC's Chinatown doesn't actually house THAT many Chinese restaurants. The area has exploded in the past decade with restaurants of all genres popping up around the Verizon Center -- home to the Washington Capitals and Wizards.

In any case, we had heard about Ping Pong Dim Sum opening last December 2009, so when we were planning for a dinner together, it seemed like a great option. I arrived earlier than Jamie and found a spot at the end of the bar to sample some of their signature cocktails -- dotted throughout the bar were Caps fans in their bright red jerseys getting their pre-game eats and drinks (I made a mental note to come here before my next Caps game!). The bartenders were extremely friendly and helpful -- Ping Pong Dim Sum has an extensive cocktail menu with lots of delicious sounding options. My bartender suggested her favorite drink to me -- the Lychee and Roses (Bombay Sapphire gin, rose petals, lemon, and lychee juice). I LOVED this drink (and in fact ordered another one at dinner). The price was right too. During happy hour (until 7 pm! a relatively late happy hour in DC), cocktail drinks are $5 (as compared to their normal $11 or so price tag) (other "happy hour" specials are available after 7 pm Thurs through Sun).

When Jamie arrived, we decided to sit in the "lounge" area of the bar (to continue enjoying happy hour priced specials). The "lounge" area consists of several tall tables that could sit up to six or eight diners -- although there were only two of us, the managers at Ping Pong welcomed us to spread out at the 6 person table. Our waiter showed up promptly, brought by a paper menu for us to tick off which dim sum dishes caught our eye. If you haven't had dim sum before, dim sum consists of small plates -- kind of like tapas -- here, each dish consisted of 2 or 3 of the listed item. The waiter suggested that we order between 3 to 5 dishes for each of us -- with 40+ savory dishes to choose from, we sure had our work cut out for us.




Before coming to Ping Pong, I was forewarned by my London friend that the dim sum wasn't necessarily "authentic." And although I found this to be true, I also thought that the dishes were still, for the most part, flavorful and interesting. The dishes are broken down by category -- soups, baked, steamed, griddled, steamed buns, fried, sticky rice parcels, signature dishes, salads, pickles, and vegetables. My favorites were the "chicken puff" (Honey roasted barbecue chicken in hand made puff pastry topped with pineapple -- fairly substantial, flaky, and lots of flavor -- see photo above!) and the dumplings we ordered (including the pork shu mai -- pork and king prawns in an open pastry topped with a Chinese wolfberry).  I also enjoyed the choy sum (steamed in soy sauce and cooked with garlic) -- but really, this isn't a dish that is any different from what my parents cook up at home.  [We also tried, amongst other things, the crispy hoisin duck spring roll -- aromatic duck with cucumber and spring onion wrapped in wheat flour pastry, served with hoisin sauce -- this dish sounded amazing, but the duck gets mostly lost in the deep fried-ness and the satay squid -- steamed chopped squid in satay sauce, seasoned with ginger and spring onion.]

Basically, the dishes are loosely based on "authentic" forms of dim sum, with some having a definite "new" twist.  One example of this was the Valrhona chocolate buns -- imagine a steamed char siu bao (pork bun) but instead of roast pork on the inside, inside is rich dark chocolate.  This was our dessert of choice -- the light flavor of the bun offered a nice balance to the richness of the chocolate.

Overall, we enjoyed our experience at Ping Pong Dim Sum.  The service was very attentive and friendly, and there was a large variety of dishes to suit almost every palate.  This is a great addition to the DC food scene.

Ping Pong Dim Sum
900 7th Street NW
Washington, DC 20001

Dish in the District: Martin's Tavern

I am a self-diagnosed brunch addict (much to Mr. J's chagrin because he hates brunch).  I'm always in search of new brunch places, particularly for when out-of-town friends are visiting (if any Washingtonians have any suggestions, please provide!).  Fairly recently, I tried out Billy Martin's Tavern in Georgetown on two occasions for brunch.  Martin's Tavern is a tried and true restaurant located at the corner of Wisconsin and N Streets and celebrated its 75th anniversary last year.  Known for being steeped in DC history and being a Georgetown staple, I had been meaning to try it for quite awhile.  Particularly well-known are their booths -- my favorite spot to sit -- although a bit on the tight side, these dark brown wooden booths have seen much history.  My favorite booth is Booth #3 -- where JFK proposed to Jackie Kennedy -- I love telling that story to any guests in town!

Martin's Tavern serves up a good, hardy breakfast (plus an assortment of lunch options for those of you who don't want eggs after 10 am), for reasonable (for Georgetown...and DC) prices.  Often crowded, arrive early-ish or reserve a spot -- plus seating outdoors during the warmer months!

The first time I came to Martin's Tavern, I had their corned beef hash with poached eggs (mmmm, drool), but this time around, I wanted something a little bit more...decadent.  I had eyed this cheese covered, creamy rarebit sauce slathered dish the last time I was there, and decided to go for it -- the HOT BROWN (see above) ... Sliced roasted turkey on toast smothered in their homemade rarebit sauce topped with sliced tomato, parmesan cheese and bacon ... all broiled together in a skillet.  (For you foodie-philes, hot browns are open faced sandwiches that originated at the Brown Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky in 1926.  It was created to serve as an alternative to ham and egg late night suppers... thank you Wiki).

If you're a poached egg fan, this is the place for you, with at least five different poached egg possibilities.  Although it's not listed on the website, there is an additional brunch menu, that includes a eggs benedict with avocado (one of my faves) and I believe crab meat (oh the Marylander in me...).  Don't like poached eggs?  No worries, most of the egg dishes allow you to pick how you want your eggs cooked.

My friends got some pretty delicious dishes too.  Check out the "Tavern Treat" -- Sautéed jumbo lump crabmeat and sliced mushrooms over an English muffin and topped with Hollandaise sauce served with french fries" and the french toast.


And no brunch would be complete without the proper beverage.  I happily tried a pomegranate mimosa -- instead of OJ, pom juice with champagne.  Not only a beautiful color, but fabulous tasting.  Hope that you found brunch here as tasty I did.

Billy Martin's Tavern
1264 Wisconsin Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20007

Dish in the District: Lima Restaurant and Lounge

Chicken Croquette 
Over the summer, three friends and I tried out the Tastings Journal's dinner at Lima. After battling through torrential rain showers (now really, FOUR thunderstorms over the daylight hours? and note that the torrential rain came down while it was bright and sunny... so odd to see a rainbow stretched over the park in front of my office!), I made it inside Lima... which was PACKED. Well, at least the bar and lounge areas were packed with nearby workers happy to be out of the office.

As my two friends and I waited for our fourth to arrive, we decided to treat ourselves to what turned out to be a massive (2 foot tall) pitcher of passion fruit mojitos.  Not bad at all.  Lima, located at 14th and K is tucked in amongst all the office buildings.  It is a fun destination for drinks with a small outdoor patio in the front (best during the warm weather months!) and two floors of "lounge" area inside for drinks and appetizers.  The third floor is where dining takes place.   I've been to Lima a handful of times for dinner (and for lunch when they used to serve lunch!).  Dimly lit with modern decor, Lima serves up South American food with a very tasty twist. 


The Tastings Journal dinner offered a five course menu with a wine pairing for $45 (really, quite the bargain at Lima).  My friends and I tried a variety of the dishes (see menu below), my favorites being the: tuna & ginger ceviche (fabulous flavors), steak churrasco (I always seem to order it when I'm there), and the fried churros (with a lime dipping sauce and a chocolate dipping sauce). 

FIRST: Choice of Whitefish Ceviche, Salmon Chipotle Ceviche, Tuna & Ginger Ceviche
SECOND: Choice of Empanadas, Chicken Croquettes, Cod Fritters
THIRD: Choice of Mixed Field Greens Salad, Jamon Serrano (see above!), Manchego Cheese Plate,
MAIN: (Paired with wine!) Choice of Wild Salmon, Cuban Chicken, Steak Churrasco, Vegetarian Dish
DESSERT: Choice of Warm Chocolate Cake, Fried Churros (see left), or Ice Creams and Sorbets

The feedback from one of my friends?  My favorite part (food-wise) was the ceviche.  Also the mixed greens were spot-on.  I thought it was a little silly though that they did not give us silverware for the croquettes.  The main course was very hearty, I think I was expecting something a little more delicate, but still it was a good steak.  And the mojitos there are always a treat -- it seemed like we got 8 glasses out of that pitcher!   

Thinking about the dinner now makes me quite hungry...  Hmm, what to have for lunch!  In any case, Lima is a fun place for a night out on the town... paired with some tasty food...

Lima Restaurant & Lounge
1401 K St. NW
Washington, DC 20005

MY TOP 10 DISHES - Happy Blog-versary!

In celebration of my one-year blogersary (anniversary?), I put together a compilation of my favorite dishes from this past year. Call it, my greatest hits. Call it, my best bites. Whatever you want to call it, I hope you enjoy them visually as much as I enjoyed eating them. (I also took a few liberties with this, lol... I started my blog in September 2008, but have included here dishes starting from May 2008, when I got married :) Gotta include those memories!). Cheers!

In chronological order - MY TOP 10 (+ one) DISHES OF THE PAST YEAR!

(1) My Wedding Cake
As one of the most memorable and important days in a girl's life, my wedding meal was a definitely a meal to remember. But the cake itself was amazing. We enjoyed a slice at the wedding, enjoyed slices of the cake after the wedding (they placed slices up in our room!), and then a year later, we pulled the top tier of the cake out of the fridge (that we had carefully wrapped per our cake maker's instructions) and celebrated our first year together with bites of our cake (which was still delicious!!). Our cake was two different sets of flavors -- two tiers were vanilla cake with passion fruit mousse and the other two tiers were chocolate chambord -- chocolate cake with raspberry mousse and chocolate ganache. Amazing, just like our wedding :)



(2) Malassadas
For the first part of our honeymoon, we went to beautiful Hawaii. One of the places that my family frequents when we visit Hawaii is Leonard's, so I had to take Mr. J there for breakfast (nearly every morning). Our favorite thing are the malassadas -- basically Portuguese donuts. Deep fried fresh by order, my favorites are filled with various tropical fruit custards. Lilikoi, mango, pineapple...mmm.

(3) Alan Wong's Soup and Sandwich
This past year, I was fortunate enough to have this dish TWICE. The first time was over our honeymoon as well. Alan Wong's is one of my absolute favorite restaurants in the entire world. Located on Oahu in a non-descript building, Alan Wong's serves up delicious Hawaiian regional cuisine along with some of the best service. This is their "soup and sandwich" combo, served with their 5-course dinner. Chilled Vine Ripened Hamakua Springs Tomato Soup with Grilled Mozzarella Cheese, Foie Gras, Kalua Pig Sandwich. Wish I had one right now...

(4) Fresh Seafood on Morro Branco Beach, Brazil
This past September, I visited Brazil for the first time with my family. One of the highlights of our trip was visiting Morro Branco, a town/beach about 2.5 hours from Fortaleza, Brazil (for more details, see here!). The beach is known for its amazing sand cliffs... and should also be known for their seafood, right on the beach. The seafood was incredibly fresh... and CHEAP. We ate up this seafood platter with fried whole fish, prawns, lobster... and another plate of prawns. This couldn't be beat -- literally feet from the ocean, feet in the sand.


(5) Grilled Oysters at the Maryland Oyster Festival
Every year during the third weekend of October, oyster lovers come to Leonardtown, Maryland, for the annual Maryland Oyster Festival. This past year was our first year going (read more here!). The weather was gorgeous, perfect for a day at a festival. And oh my, oysters as far as the eye could see, cooked up in any way that you preferred. My favorites were these grilled oysters -- I never had grilled oysters before, but the taste was both fresh and smoky, with loads of garlic and a bit of hot sauce. Delish.

(6) The "Cheesesteak" at Jose Andres's Minibar
For my birthday this year, my family and Mr. J took me to MINIBAR, Jose Andres's version of El Bulli, and a fabulously whimsical adventure of food. I had been wanting to go for ages and we made this the year to go! I certainly owe everyone a full entry on my Minibar dinner. This was one of my favorite bites of the night -- the "cheesesteak" with barely charred slices of beef atop a mini hollow "baguette" that was filled with delicious cheese.

(7) Ginger Ale at the Kapiolani Farmers Market
One of our favorite places to frequent in Hawaii is the Farmers Market held at the community college on Oahu every Saturday. Their options for tasty dishes are endless, but one thing I keep coming back to is the FRESH GINGER ALE. This tropical drink is made to order by Pacfikool -- fresh ginger with pineapple... or lilikoi... This day was especially warm, and I remember clearly waiting with the growing crowd for my ginger ales. Definitely worth the wait. This is my dad holding the drink.


(8) The pork slider at Side Street Inn
I definitely owe everyone some entries about all my food eating this year in Hawaii. When we went in May, I tried all sorts of places I hadn't been to before. One of these places was Side Street Inn. My parents had been before and I had heard of it before as, of course, the local after hours hangout for the famous chefs in the area. I also remembered seeing it on Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservations." So my parents made it a point to take me there this trip. We got there on the early side to ensure little waiting. My parents had already picked out things they wanted to get again from the last time they were there, but this one dish caught our eye that wasn't on the menu before. The PORK SLIDERS. And...they...were...drool. Sandwiched in the buns that you would often get with Peking duck was moist shredded Kalua pork, with a slightly sweet sauce and a slice of pineapple. The flavors melded together into this fusion of sweet, salty, smoky, and just plain deliciousness.


(9) Negihama Tartare at Sushi Izakaya Gaku
After hearing much talk from my Hawaiian foodie friends about Sushi Izakaya Gaku, we also made sure to eat here while in Oahu. We wanted to try a number of the izakayas that have sprung up around Oahu (see my friend Steph's Where in the World Wednesday about Japan for more info on izakayas...) and this was at the top of my list. We quickly understood why Sushi Izakaya Gaku had such a following. The food was fresh, inventive, and memorable. The service was wonderful -- friendly, attentive, but not overbearing... and with a touch of aloha :) This was one of my favorite dishes (although hard to choose!) -- the negihama tartare -- a mix of finely chopped fish, mayonnaise, sambal, sesame oil, and a secret ingredient :) It is topped with tobiko and a quail egg. On the side, you're served sheets of seaweed/nori -- we took dollops of the fish and placed on sheets of seaweed, wrapped it up like a very mini burrito, and as you bite through the crunch, you experience a mix of flavors and creaminess.

(10) Uni at Sushi Izakaya Gaku
Also at Sushi Izakaya Gaku, I had my first experience with UNI. My mom is officially obsessed with uni and tries it almost any time a restaurant serves it to see how it measures up with past experiences. She took one bite of this uni and that day and since then, she has continued to say that this was the best uni she ever had. So of course, I had to try it. The uni (sea urchin) was completely different from what I expected. It has a custardy consistency and is sweet, salty, and incredibly delicate in flavor. Since then, I've tried it multiple times, and have been pleased with what I've had ... but I agree that they don't measure up to the uni at Sushi Izakaya Gaku.

(11) Homemade Barefoot Contessa Brownies
Finally, I was looking through my pictures of food from this past year, and was like, well, there must be something that I made that would make this list? I've cooked up quite a few dishes over the past year and although most of them were good, I wouldn' t rank them in the best of the year. Except for these. These brownies were ... simply the best brownies I've ever had. They were made as part of Barefoot Bloggers, a group that shares a mutual love for the Barefoot Contessa and cooks up two of her recipes every month. For the recipe and more info, see here! This was the first time I ever made brownies from scratch and I would use this recipe every time in the future. I brought them in to my office to share (so I wouldn't eat them ALL), and they were devoured within an hour. If you're ever in need for a chocolate overload, this is your ticket.

So there it is! I hope that you enjoyed the dishes... this was fun to go back and think about my food experiences from this past year. Needless to say, there were many dishes that were fantastic, but didn't make the list. I'm sure there are many that I didn't take pictures of, so they are somewhere in the recesses of my memory and will surface in the next few days. Many of my most memorable dishes also came from vacations and trips -- other meals that stood out were dinner at Gordon Ramsey's and Mario Batali's Pizzeria Mozza in LA. There were certainly memorable dishes that took place here in DC... and I certainly eat out my fair share in DC :) In particular, I discovered and heart the strawberry cupcakes at Baked & Wired, can't get enough of the chocolate ganache cupcakes at Georgetown Cupcake, my recent discovery of Fojol Brothers food truck, my first time at Amsterdam Falafel... There are those places that I always go back to and this year, I'll make a more concerted effort to keep track of the dishes as they stand out to me. Here's to another year of good eats, good travels, and good times.

DC Cheap Eats: SURFSIDE

Oh how behind I've been in updating! What now seems like many moons ago, I finally had the chance to eat at SURFSIDE in Glover Park. (YES! Another DC Cheap Eats off my list...). For MONTHS, we would drive past Surfside, with its bright cheery blue and yellow storefront, and I would just look longingly at it. Reviews I read had described Surfside as almost like a beachtown restaurant in the middle of the Nation's capital. I loved the "vibe" that Surfside was supposed to have. And then, I was never one that could resist tacos... particularly tacos made with fresh ingredients, a "Californian" flair, and packed with one or another seafood option.

So finally, Mr. J and I found ourselves up at Surfside for lunch one summery Sunday. We were pleased to find parking only a block away from the restaurant -- Surfside is located on a block that is chock full of restaurants (especially ones that have popped up in recent years) plus a very popular Whole Foods, plus numerous residences.

Surfside was actually quite empty when we got there. In contrast to the bright exterior, the inside was a bit dim, but lit by some natural light filtering in. It was a mellow and quiet. I was glad that I read a few reviews on Yelp before coming, or else I would have had no idea what to do next. Surfside has a pretty extensive menu of options and you place your order at a counter and then you get a little buzzer to alert you when your food is ready. In front of the counter are stacks of "forms," on which you check off what you want (one of their "specialties" or design your own).

After much deliberating, we decided on an order of guac and chips (how can you resist?), the "Maui" tacos (two grilled fish of the day tacos in corn tortillas with black bean and corn salsa, guacamole, cilantro and lime sour cream) and the "Cozumel" tacos (two grilled marinated chicken tacos in flour tortillas with grilled red onion, poblano peppers, mole negro and queso fresco). Each set of tacos came with red beans and rice... We were given our little buzzer to take with us that would alert us when our lunch was ready.

We journeyed upstairs to the roof deck to stake out a spot. It was a pretty hot day in DC, very sunny, very little breeze, but luckily, the deck was largely covered. Being in between lunch and dinner hours, the deck was pretty empty. Just a table of chatty, happy, relaxing friends, a girl reading a book, and another couple enjoying lunch. Our buzzer soon called us back downstairs for our food -- a word to the clumsy... send the least clumsy of you down to get the food, because there are quite a few stairs between the deck and the main floor!

Needless to say, we had ordered an apparently massive amount of food! The guacamole was quite tasty. I liked my Maui tacos but wasn't thrilled. I found it a little bit on the bland side, but they did taste quite fresh and light. Mr. J enjoyed his Cozumel tacos, smothered in yummy mole sauce.

Now I haven't been back since, but wouldn't mind trying Surfside again. I've heard great things about their "Nevis" tacos -- two grilled shrimp tacos in corn tortillas with yellow rice, pineapple jalepeno salsa, cilantro, guacamole and lime sour cream. Also, with so many other tacos, quesadillas, burritos, salads, and entrees to choose from, I'm sure to indulge my Southwestern food cravings here again soon.

Surfside
2444 Wisconsin Ave.
Washington, DC 20007

DC CHEAP EATS: KOTOBUKI

(Not much of the sushi was left when it occurred to me that I hadn't taken a pic yet! So here is what was left at that point...)

Success! The day that I posted about wanting to check out all the Washingtonian Magazine's Cheap Eats, I just happened to be planning a dinner with one of my college friends, J. She was sold on going to try Kotobuki -- we were both in the mood for sushi -- and decided to meet up there. Kotobuki is located in NW DC, in the Palisades area (just West and North-ish of Georgetown). The area is mostly residential, with several highly regarded restaurants (Makoto and Blacksalt being two of them). Of course, this day it was a typical DC summer day with strong afternoon thunderstorms. After battling traffic across the city, I finally made it there (a little bit late...) and somehow managed to parallel park my car a block or two from the restaurant (loads of street parking, but sometimes it takes a little bit of effort!).

J was waiting at the restaurant, keeping our place in line. Kotobuki is on the second floor of the building that also houses Makoto. It is a small restaurant, probably about 10 tables and also a sushi bar. We were quickly seated (the place was packed, but luckily a few tables opened up when I made it there). The menu is pretty barebones - but not in a bad way! The focus (I think) is on fresh fish and serving up more traditional rolls/sushi as oppose to inventing some sort of fusion sushi. Albeit, there are many sushi rolls and nigiri options!

J and I ordered a platter full of sushi to share -- yellowtail with avocado, spicy tuna, soft shell crab roll (for the Maryland girl in me), eel and avocado roll, uni (sea urchin -- I had finally tried it with my mom a few weeks back who is uni-obsessed! and J had never tried it so it was a must...), and scallop nigiri. The uni was VERY fresh -- deliciously creamy and sweet, like custard! I also loved the scallop nigiri -- I'm always a big fan of the raw scallops with a little bit of wasabi planted on the sushi rice. Just a little bit sweet and so smooth. The maki sushi was good as well, although we thought that the rolls started to taste very similar after awhile (which is strange right since the rolls were quite different...).

The big selling point to Kotobuki is good sushi for good prices. I was surprised to see otoro sushi on there for $6.50. All over the city, otoro is usually SO MUCH more expensive. Another selling point, I've heard, are their kamameshi dinners. You pick the protein and it comes in this pot cooked up with rice. You also get several small dishes to go with it and miso soup and it is all very affordable.

It is true that the service isn't particularly friendly. But, good Japanese food at a good price is hard to come by in DC (oh, I mean, good Japanese food is available, but at a much higher price!), so it is worth the trek over to Kotobuki.

Kotobuki
4822 MacArthur Boulevard NW

2nd Floor

Washington, DC 20007

Brunch at a Pizzeria? Oh yes - Red Rocks Pizzeria

You + Me + Bottomless Mimosas + Pizza AND Brunch + Sun = Happy Sunday...

I seem to be on quite the DC pizza kick these days... It seems that everywhere I turn, there is a new place serving up pizza and I am quite happy to HAVE to go try all of them (yes, twist my arm...). Ironically though, my friend K and I ended up at Red Rocks in Columbia Heights to check out their BRUNCH. We heard rave reviews from a friend about their brunch (and bottomless mimosas...) -- plus, it was a gorgeous spring day here in DC, so a place with a sizeable patio for outdoor dining can't be beat.

We were happy to find a spot outside in the sun. We were both starving by this point (K from a good workout...me, I was just hungry). The service was very prompt and pleasant... despite our hunger and the quick service, it took awhile to pick out something to eat because everything on the menu looked great. And although I came for brunch and often can't resist brunch (I'm a savory brunch fan, and the prosciutto and mozzarella omelet was calling my name), I caught a whiff of someone's pizza and was done for.

RedRocks offers a wide variety of pizza options, with eighteen total (9 "pizze rosse" and 9 "pizze blanche"). I was tempted by many of them (I love my toppings), but decided instead to just go traditional and get the Margherita (tomato sauce, buffalo mozzarella, basil, olive oil, and sea salt). K went for the brunch and had the "scrambled delight" (scrambled eggs with Italian sausage, mushrooms, parmesan, served with breakfast potatoes and toast). And two bottomless mimosas please.


Overall, the food was tasty and satisfying. The pizzas are thin crust (as I like them), not soggy, and very flavorful. I would have preferred to have a bit more mozzarella and basil on my pizza, but was pleased with the flavor. K enjoyed the egg part of her scrambled delight, but the potatoes were not as pleasing. K admitted to not being a breakfast potato kind of girl, but I surely am...and these weren't particularly noteworthy. I tend to like my potatoes a little bit crispier, these were almost too...doughy? And covered in an orange sauce that made them a bit too salty. The mimosas were quite tasty, although some batches were a little bit light on the champagne.


All in all, it was a beautiful day to be out and I was happy that we went to RedRocks. I would go back to try more pizzas and perhaps try out an omelet or two.

Authentic mozzarella and pizza hit DC - Fratelli la Bufala

DC is no stranger to Italian restaurants... I think I could probably count at least eight Italian restaurants in Georgetown alone. This has not stopped the opening of (at least) two more Italian places in the past two months -- Fratelli la Bufala and Potenza. Now, I'm not complaining. Both of these restaurants were immediately added to my "must try" list and I happily checked off Fratelli la Bufala last weekend.

Back when I first moved to DC, we used to go to this restaurant called the Alamo Grill in Georgetown. It was on a side street off of M Street, served up Tex-Mex fare, and had a lovely outdoor patio that was perfect even in those humid DC summers for some margaritas, guacamole, salsa, and chips. The food may not have been top notch, but it was still a fun place to venture to on a nice day... and you rarely had to wait, which can be difficult to come across in the tourist-filled DC summers. But perhaps that was the first sign that the Alamo Grill wasn't going to make it... the second clue was when the restaurant closed and renovations took over that building.

And then, Mr. J came home one day and mentioned that he jogged past the old Alamo Grill and there was this new place, started with an "F", not sure what it was going to serve... Then I opened up my "The List Are You On It" email and read about "Fratelli la Bufala"... famous for their buffalo mozzarella? Second location to open in the US (first one in Miami)? Serving up 15-20 types of pizzas with the oven right there for all to see? Sign me up!

And so we found ourselves on a nice Saturday night at the doorstep of Fratelli la Bufala. The Georgetown location of Fratelli la Bufala is just off the canal, on the same street as two other Italian restaurants (Paper Moon and Piccolo Restaurant -- although Piccolo Restaurant is still currently closed due to the October fire). Fratelli la Bufala started in Italy and has spread around the world (Dubai, Rio de Janeiro, and Tokyo to name a few of the non-Italy outposts). Coming from a family that was in the buffalo milk and mozzarella business, the three brothers opened up these restaurants after their father passed away (the full story can be read on their menus!).

We were seated on the first floor, right next to the pizza oven and with prime seating to look into the glass walled kitchen. An antipasti bar was set up in front of the kitchen, the walls were decorated with various buffalo-type decor plus paintings of the family. The tables were a bit tight and although we liked the excellent views from our seats, we felt like we were in the middle of traffic between the two rooms on the floor.

Any concerns about tight seating though were diminished by the looks and smells of the pizzas. We eyed every pizza that came by as we tried to select our own pizzas from the menu. I was also quite distracted by the list of available pastas -- all their pastas are handmade in-house and I heard rave reviews about the pappardelle (which I am a sucker for...). But I tried to stay on track, because it has been a long time since I last had a pizza worth writing about.

With our stomachs rumbling, we decided to get a caprese salad for an appetizer (after hearing so much about the buffalo mozzarella, we wanted to try the mozzarella in its untouched form!) and then TWO pizzas, one selected by each of us. A forewarning -- it isn't necessary to get one pizza per person, they are bigger than a "personal pan" type pizza (and bigger than nearby Pizzeria Paradiso's pizzas), but with so many to choose from, it couldn't hurt to have pizza to take home, right? Mr. J selected the "Casertana" (bufala mozzarella, spinach, and bufala sausage) and I selected the "Capricciosa" (I butchered that name when I tried to order it, no worries though! tomato sauce, bufala mozzarella, artichoke hearts, mushrooms, and ham... I'm a sucker for artichoke hearts and mushrooms... photo of my pizza is at the top).


The caprese salad was fresh, the bufala mozzarella was flavorful and slightly tangy. The pizzas were mouthwatering. We saw them come right out of the wood-burning oven. Both were delicious. The tomato sauce on my pizza was not too sweet and all the toppings worked well together -- the richness of the mozzarella was balanced by the vegetables. I think my pizza was a little bit undercooked, or perhaps I picked a pizza with a few too many toppings, because the pizza wasn't quite as crisp as I expected (not that I expected super crisp, but it was a little bit soggy in a few areas) (added sidenote: I read recently that "sogginess" may actually be a sign of authenticity... that actual Neapolitan pizzas actually have that sogginess and require a fork and knife to eat the center of the pizza...). Mr. J's pizza held up much better (which is why I think that I had a few too many toppings on mine) and he loved it. I think he was about to pass out from how much he liked it. Both were fantastic, and I'm by no means a Neapolitan pizza expert, but this was some of the top pizza I've had in DC.

We were having such a nice time that we decided to get dessert too (might as well have the full experience, huh?). The cannolini caught our eye -- a cannoli with bufala ricotta cream, limoncello, and chocolate -- but the Carpaccio d'Ananas sounded more intriguing. Paper thin slices of pineapple, drizzled with chocolate, and buffalo milk ice cream on the side. It was the perfect light end to our meal.



I will most certainly be revisiting Fratelli la Bufala. I'm not exaggerating when I say that almost everything on the menu appealed to me ... so much left still to try! I'm dying to have another pizza, but then there are all the other pasta options, and then the different mozzarella appetizers, and I've heard that even the salads are delish. AND, word is that they are opening a "tiki" type bar on the outdoor patio... and if you know me, I do love my tropical themed bars, so a tiki bar WITH excellent food? How can I not come back?

On a quick aside, we also happened to hear from our neighboring table that President Obama was dining a block away from us at Michel Richard's Citronelle... needless to say, we ventured over there after dinner, and sure enough (after a little wait), there was President Obama, Mrs. Obama, and Chef Richard, with a motorcade entourage. It was exciting! We met some Secret Service people (who scanned the crowd with explosive detectors), bonded with other fellow on-lookers (none of whom were from DC!), and waved at the Obamas (they waved back!). All in all, a good night.

Fratelli la Bufala
1063 31st St. NW
Washington, DC 20007

Iceberry - A Frozen Yogurt Taste of Springtime!

Over the weekend, I finally made it to the newest frozen yogurt outpost in Georgetown - Iceberry (not to be confused with similarly named frozen yogurt empire Pinkberry). Iceberry has been open for some time, and I've been wanting to try it, but the weather has been downright unpredictable here and generally on the chillier side when I've been by Iceberry.

This weekend however the weather was gorgeous -- a reminder of why I love this area and how beautiful springtime in DC can be! (today on the other hand is a reminder of how rainy DC can be...). In any case, after a full day of exploring around the monuments and weaving in and out of the cherry blossoms (and trying to avoid being accidentally pushed into the Tidal Basin), we arrived at Iceberry.

Inside are a few tables for customers to rest their feet while licking up their frozen yogurt. Most of these tables were already taken when we came in, but we snagged a few seats before the line started out the door. The frozen yogurt flavor choices were more plentiful than aforementioned Pinkberry (that I visited while in LA in January!) -- original, strawberry, honeydew melon, chocolate, green tea... I ordered strawberry with three toppings (Oreo cookies, rainbow sprinkles, and pineapple) and Mr. J ordered honeydew melon plain. Not until after ordering did we learn that the most popular flavor is original followed closely by a tie of strawberry and honeydew melon. (Good selections!)

Both were...delicious. Unlike "frozen yogurt" served at a lot of ice cream shops, Iceberry's frozen yogurt tasted like...yogurt, but better. It had the tangy-ness of yogurt and was not overpoweringly sweet. The toppings if anything were the sweetest parts of the treat, and that part, you could control exactly what you wanted sprinkled on top. I myself am a topping fan, so to be faced with some many possible topping combinations? Excellent. What kinds of toppings you ask? Oreos, rainbow sprinkles, pineapple, fruity pebbles, raspberries, blueberries, coconut, chocolate chips, almonds, and more...

Plus, a healthy (healthier?) alternative to ice cream! A medium cup of the fro-yo has only 140 calories and 0 grams of fat (and 18% of your daily calcium needs!). And believe me, the medium cup is quite plentiful and filling.

Perhaps my only complaint was that service wasn't particularly...friendly. Despite that though, I got my frozen yogurt with the quickness, so I couldn't complain.

Iceberry can also be found in five other locations -- Virginia (Reston, Chantilly, Springfield), California (Los Angeles), and Florida (West Palm Beach).

Ah yes, spring and the wonderful treats you bring. Next up on the frozen yogurt list... Yogen Fruz. They're rumored to be popping up around DC (already one has opened at Tysons Corner)... going to keep my eye out for this one.

Iceberry
3001 M Street NW
Washington, DC 20007

A&J Restaurant - Northern Dim Sum to Comfort and Satisfy

For most dim sum weekends, my family and I find ourselves at New Fortune in Gaithersburg. New Fortune serves "Cantonese" dim sum, which is what people often think of when they think of dim sum. But, on some weekends, especially during the cold days of winter, we venture in a different direction and seek out "Northern" dim sum. Our favorite place for Northern dim sum (at least for the past several years) is A&J Restaurant in Rockville, Maryland.

A&J has been a fixture of Washingtonian magazine's recommended "Cheap Eats" for years and with good reason. Think of piping hot dumplings, steaming bowls of soup noodles, and flaky "pastries" filled with all sorts of savory concoctions. A heavier variety of dim sum than the often steamed options of Cantonese dim sum (although, perhaps that's just a reflection of what we order at A&J!), it was always comforting and always satisfying.

Ever since I was little, I have loved scallion "pancakes"... but my favorite was not the scallion pancakes, but instead, the deliciously flaky scallion pastries that are somehow both light and dense at the same time. The flaky crust wraps around the scallion filling and is often sealed with a layer of sesame seeds. For years though we had been unable to find these scallion pastries at dim sum; instead, many restaurants started moving towards the ever popular scallion pancakes. Don't get me wrong, these pancakes are fantastic as well (especially heated up as leftovers the next day!), but they were never quite what I remembered from my childhood. And then, perhaps a year ago, we found that A&J had mini scallion pastries on their smaller "breakfast" menu (the small menu that accompanies their main menu) -- so now, everytime we go, we get TWO orders. One order to eat there and one order to take home. Yum.

My dad's favorite thing to order at A&J are the xiao long bao, or steamed dumplings. Although these xiao long bao often are not as juicy as xiao long bao from our favorite Crystal Jade Restaurant, my dad still cannot resist them when we are there. He often wants to order FOUR orders (=16 xiao long bao!) for four of us on top of everything else we love there... we can usually talk him down to three orders though :)




Perhaps one of the main reasons why we love A&J are the wide variety of noodles available. For every noodle dish, you can get thick or thin noodles, both appealing for their own reasons! I believe these noodles are handmade on site, and the texture of the noodles show it. Our current favorite noodle options are: (1) za jiang mien -- noodles with salty ground pork, shredded cucumbers, and bean sprouts (a favorite of mine since I was little!) (above), (2) the spicy beef soup noodles (below), and (3) soup noodles accompanied by deep fried pork or chicken (I prefer the skinny noodles with this!).

Finally, there are... "sandwiches" available. Ok, perhaps sandwiches isn't the right way to describe these treats, but imagine instead of "bread" you have a thousand layer flat pastry that folds at the center and inside is shredded pork...or beef... I love these for leftovers as well for days after.

And then the "hamburger" (beef xien bing). An exceedingly juicy beef "patty" (I recommend lots of napkins, a bowl to catch excess juice, and caution to be used because the steam that escapes is VERY HOT!) encased in potsticker dough, panfried so the two sides are crispy. These are best fresh and straight off the pan, so eat these at the restaurant! (Mr. J eating one of these below)


If you couldn't tell, I love Northern dim sum...and its many leftovers. We often order much too much for four people, justtt to be able to take some home to enjoy during the week to come! And, if you can't make it to Rockville, A&J also has a location in Annandale, Virginia. I recommend arriving on the earlier (or later) side because around 11:30 to 12:30, the small restaurant is packed.

A&J Restaurant

1319-C Rockville Pike

Rockville, MD 20852

(301) 251-7878

Baked and Wired - Amazing Cupcakes Sharing the Throne with Gtown Cupcake!

This weekend, Mr. J and I came to a startling revelation. Gasp, we think we may have found a CUPCAKE PLACE that we love EVEN MORE than Georgetown Cupcake. I know, it's shocking. I've spoken here about my love for Georgetown Cupcake, with its little bites of stylish, tasteful (both to the mouth and the eyes), and sinfully rich heaven. I've talked about how I've waited over half an hour in line, outside, in the cold, just to buy 6 cupcakes from Georgetown Cupcake. I've babbled about how this was my go-to place for cupcakes in DC.

Well, ladies and gentlemen, I think Georgetown Cupcake is in for some competition. Enter, Baked and Wired. No, Baked and Wired isn't a new place (although it did expand its space back in early 2008)... I had heard about it, in fact, heard rave reviews from one of my most avid cupcake loving friends. This was her most favorite cupcake place in DC. And this weekend, I finally discovered why.

Baked and Wired, from the moment that you walk in, has a completely different feel from Georgetown Cupcake, which is located just a few blocks away. Here, they have an area with tables, specifically inviting guests to stay a little while, plug in your computer, tap into the internet, or sit with friends and catch up on the latest, or get comfy with a book, a coffee, and one of their chocolate satin cupcakes (one...or two...or perhaps three...).

There was no long line winding out the entrance (and may I say, no people looking at you wondering why you are in this thirty-person deep line waiting for cupcakes). Instead, there were warm and friendly faces waiting to take your cupcake (or other baked good) order. Like Georgetown Cupcake, there, sitting in front of you, is an array of sweet treats waiting for your selection. At first, I only saw two or three types of cupcakes (the "Perfectly Bitchin'" chocolate peanut butter cupcake quickly made it on our list)...and then I looked up and laying before us was an impressive spread of cupcakes.

The cupcakes looked quite sizable compared to a lot of the other new cupcake stores that have popped up around DC. You surely got your $3.50 worth when you bought one of these cupcakes. These were soft and fluffy cupcakes, covered in a mouthwateringly thick slab of buttercream. At first glance, these cupcakes looked similar to Cakelove cupcakes. Don't be fooled. When we got these cupcakes home and bit into them, they tasted ... amazing. They are wonderfully moist, almost a cross between a muffin and a cake. The icing wasn't "buttery" or "greasy" (as Cakelove's cupcakes were described at our cupcake party weeks before)... instead, the icing bursted with sugary flavor. If you don't like sugar, these are not for you. They were much more sugary (but in a delightful way) than Georgetown Cupcake.

We resisted the urge to buy too many. Originally, we were just going to get two, one for each of us. This quickly doubled into four: strawberry (strawberry icing on a vanilla cake with chunks of fresh strawberries baked into the cake), the aforementioned Perfectly Bitchin' (peanut butter icing with chocolate cake), and for comparison's sake with other cupcakes, the vanilla&vanilla and what should be called the "Death by Chocolate" (they had a witty name to go along with it, but my sugar coma has knocked that out of my brain).

After a bite of the strawberry cupcake, Mr. J immediately proclaimed Baked and Wired his new favorite cupcake place, dethroning Georgetown Cupcake. But I'll be honest, I can't knock Georgetown Cupcake off its throne... but instead, I've found a place to share its throne. GC and BW, they represent the best of cupcakes in DC, but they are different from each other, and they offer two different experiences to the cupcake devoted. GC is more about refined, beautiful looking cupcakes with inventive flavors. BW is more about just simply delicious and sugary delights that focus on more the taste of the cake and the icing themselves with a "made from scratch" appeal. And really, having two fabulous cupcake places so near each other? That could never be a bad thing.

The next time I'm craving a cupcake, I will be venturing back to Baked and Wired, mainly because there are still so many flavors left to be tried! Plus, I admit, there is something so inviting about the place, that next time, I want to just spend an entire Sunday afternoon there. Perhaps with their wireless internet, I'll be writing my next blog entry there.

Baked and Wired

1052 Thomas Jefferson St. NW

Washington, DC 20007

(Between 30th and 31st Sts and M and K Sts)

202-333-2500

Zaytinya RW - a little something for everyone

Zaytinya, for me, is always an ideal go to choice for when friends or family are visiting from out of town. There is a little something for everybody and it has a great atmosphere.

I recently revisited Zaytinya for a birthday Restaurant Week lunch with four work friends. My one friend and I were so excited to revisit Zaytinya during Restaurant Week because of the GREEK CHERRIES AND YOGURT DESSERT ( !! ) that they serve ONLY during RW (they usually serve up a peach version, which is delish, but the cherry is to die for).

For $20.09, we ate like kings and queens. Four courses of mezze -- Zaytinya offered several choices for each course and we mixed it up a bit, so we could share. My favorites were:

*the hummus
*the baba ghannouge (both the hummus and baba were perfect with their oven-fresh, pippin hot bread... how I love their puffed up ellipses of bread)
*garides me anitho (sauteed shrimp)
*shish taouk (grilled chicken, sumac onions, grilled tomatoes, garlic tuom ... one of my faves every time I go there)
and of course, the greek cherries and yogurt (marinated cherries, vanilla yogurt cream, apricot espuma, pistachio powder).

Always a crowd pleaser, for any meal (including brunch which I tried last summer and loved!).

Our own mini cupcake competition - a birthday celebration!

After mulling it over for months, we decided to finally do our own "DC Area Cupcake Competition!" As I've posted before, the DC area has had its own cupcake explosion in the past year and we thought, well, who wouldn't want to take part in it?

My birthday also just happened to be this past week, so we decided to make it a birthday celebration as well! "Cupcakes and Bubbly" (which turned out to be cupcakes and hot mulled apple cider with a touch of rum) gave us a chance to invite our friends over for a cupcake showdown. (Check this out for some savory treats I cooked up for the party -- baked brie with apricot preserves and antipasti bites!)

Guests were asked to bring half a dozen cupcakes from a local bakery/cupcakery or a bottle of bubbly for sampling. Each guest's set of cupcakes were then assigned a number so the whereabouts of where the cupcakes came from would be left a secret (a blind tasting!). Mini scorecards were provided, asking guests to score the cupcakes from 1 to 5, 5 being the highest score, and to mark down any comments on the flavor, texture, presentation, etc.

After a very successful tasting by discerning judges (and many leftover cupcakes remaining), I tallied up the scores. Here are the results!

(1) Carla's Cupcakes

Score: 5

Price: Time, love, and $3.75 for cake mix and frosting.

Flavor: Yellow cake with chocolate icing

Coming in first, my friend Carla's homemade Dunkin Hines cupcakes!! They received one vote of FIVE OUT OF FIVE and accolades of "simple, sugary, & so my fave!"

(2) Georgetown Cupcake

Score: 4.375
Price: $15 for half a dozen

Flavors: Chocolate strawberry, vanilla squared, chocolate cubed, chocolate coconut, and chocolate ganache

With eight scorecards entered, Georgetown Cupcake (my personal favorite) was a winner for many of the guests for both flavor and presentation. The chocolate ganache and chocolate strawberry were the preferred flavors. The vanilla icing was viewed as being a little bit too "cream-cheesy" -- but this was a plus for some! Comments ranged from "amazing!" and "by far the best" to "Love it, except a little too much frosting" and "vanilla frosting too cream cheeesy but the look of them was elegant."

(3) Buzz

Score: 3.67

Price: Researching

Flavors: Bumblebee (Yellow cake with a chocolate cake surprise inside!), Carrot Cake, Chocolate

With six scorecards entered, Buzz came in third with its ADORABLE cupcakes. A favorite of the group was their "Bumblebee" cupcake ("Un-bee-lieve-able!") with a cute little fuzzy bee coming out of the cupcake. Comments included "loved the cupcake, too much frosting," "good but not awesome," yummy!," "too rich for my blood," "so cute! and great chocolate surprise in the middle."

This was actually one of the bakeries I hadn't heard of so I went to their website and also went to my favorite cupcake blog, Delleicious DC, to see if there was some info there. This tasty bakery is in Alexandria, VA and offers a wide variety of baked goods including also pies, brownies, and cookies (and chocolate!). Buzz is part of the Neighborhood Restaurant Group (for instance Rustico, Vermilion, Tallula). Also see these cute doggy cupcakes that they baked up for the Washington Humane Society's Sugar & Champagne Affair.

(4) Safeway

Score: 3.66

Price: $7.29 for a dozen

Flavors: Vanilla icing with yellow cake, vanilla icing with chocolate cake

Coming in a very close 4th (only 0.1 off of Buzz!) are grocery store brand Safeway's cupcakes! These were $7.29 for a full dozen, only about 60 cents a cupcake! The feedback included "nice, light, fluffy," "love the sprinkles and good frosting (which is key!)," "icing is a little too sweet," and "fluffy, sugary, but nothing spectacular." Looks like a good bet if you have a sweet tooth!

(5) Whole Foods

Score: 3.166

Price: Researching

Flavor: Vanilla icing with vanilla cake

"Small but filling," these cupcakes wowed guests with their icing ("great icing!" "icing good" "love the icing" "amazing icing"). The cake part itself however fell a bit short, garnering comments such as "a little dry," strange flavor and weird texture," and "not fresh."

(6) Cakelove

Score: 3.14
Price: $3.25 each; buy 6 get one free

Flavors: Strawberry, Coffee/Latte, Carrot Cake, Vanilla Cupcake with Lemon Icing

These particular cupcakes came from Cakelove's Baltimore branch and were the least favored of the group. Despite being one of DC's most well known bakeries, their cupcakes lacked some appeal (although the cupcakes were slightly better than other times I've tried them!). The cupcakes drew a mixed bag of comments from "frosting is awesome, but cupcake is not fluffy enough," "a little dry" and "not as moist as I would have liked" to "good cake, frosting TOO GREASY," "icing too buttery," and "cupcake great, icing strange" to "delicious, presentation could have been better."

Cheers to a fun party, great company, and, of course, cupcakes!