New cupcakery! Red Velvet Cupcake

Just read on Delleicious DC's blog that a NEW CUPCAKERY is opening this month in DC -- Welcome to town, Red Velvet Cupcakery!

Red Velvet is opening in the hot restaurant area of Penn Quarter at 675 E St NW (corner of 7th and E). For $3.25, you can sample one of their eight current flavors:

• Vanilla bean -- vanilla bean cake, madagascar bourbon vanilla frosting
• Devil's food -- chocolate-buttermilk cake, bittersweet chocolate ganache
• B-day -- american yellow butter cake, milk chocolate ganache
• Key West -- key lime cake, white chocolate buttercream
• Peanut Butter Cup -- chocolate chocolate-chip cake, salted peanut butter frosting
• Southern Belle -- red velvet cake, whipped cream cheese frosting
• Morning call -- chocolate espresso cake, mocho buttercream
• Summertime -- lemon cake, coconut frosting

Fun fact: Owner Canada Gordon is brother to the owner of TangySweet (a part of the other big trend in DC right now -- frozen yogurt!).

Perhaps a holiday treat for that special someone...?

Melt in your mouth cupcakes - Georgetown Cupcake!

I can’t help but be excited by the cupcake boom that has hit DC. It seemed like for several months that new cupcake places were popping up every other week. Despite what now seems like an endless selection, I have a favorite—GEORGETOWN CUPCAKE.

I had heard the rumors, but didn’t know it was true until I saw the line around the corner myself. We arrived a couple minutes before the store even opened to pick up cupcakes for our friend’s birthday and already there was a line snaking around the corner! Luckily, the line moved quickly and there was plenty of cupcake eye candy to keep us distracted.

Why do I love Georgetown Cupcake? For its fresh, flavorful, and just simply divine bites of goodness. The flavors rotate on a daily basis (check out their menu or give them a call to find out the treats of the day!). My favorites include the chocolate coconut, red velvet, and this season’s pumpkin spice…

If you’re a chocolate fan, you’ve come to chocolate heaven. There are AT LEAST 10 cupcakes that involve chocolate (chocolate squared, chocolate banana, chocolate pb swirl, chocolate hazelnut, chocolate vanilla…) and perhaps even more with their “seasonal flavors” (hello december! chocolate peppermint!).

Yes, the cupcakes are costly, but well worth it for the occasional indulgence. They are light and fluffy, the icings are filled with flavor and not too dense or heavy.

They (and I) recommend that you call ahead if you are traveling from a distance or want particular flavors to make sure they still have them—the cupcakes are baked fresh daily, so popular flavors can run out quickly. (This month's seasonal flavors: chocolate peppermint, gingerbread, snowball, hannukah cupcakes, christmas cupcakes, and new year's eve cucpakes)

Finally, I love Georgetown Cupcake because they also DELIVER. We’ve now celebrated two birthdays with cupcake delivery (a $10 delivery charge) and this way, your favorite flavors are packaged up and ready to show up at your front door.

Georgetown Cupcake

1209 Potomac Street NW (cross street: M St)

Washington, DC 20007

(202) 333-8448

Smitten with this "pumpkin pie"

I came across No Recipes' "Crustless Milk & Cardamom 'Pumpkin Pie'" today and am absolutely intrigued by it... so I wanted to share it with you. I love nearly any variation of pumpkin pie and I'm tempted to try this one -- for the recipe, check out "No Recipes" blog.

Dessert for dinner? Yes please! Co Co. Sala

("Co Co Grown Up")

When I first heard about Co Co. Sala, a place that served “only chocolate” dishes for dinner, I thought I died and went to Willy Wonka heaven. My excitement grew even larger when I read over the menu and saw that there were numerous savory small bites to be had as well. Namely, all of my favorite things (mac & cheese, crabcakes, sliders…). Even the savory dishes involved some element of chocolate or coffee…

I finally got the chance to try Co Co. Sala when my best friend came to town – I had sent her the menu months before and as soon as she booked her flight, she asked, can we go to that dessert place?

Co Co. Sala is part lounge, part restaurant—atlhough, let’s be honest, the entire restaurant feels like a giant lounge that you could stay at all night. We sat in the “booths.” The seats were cushy, the tables were small and cozy and started ordering up a storm. We started with drinks (a must here!)—the “Diletto” ranked as one of our favorites (vodka, fresh basil & strawberries, balsamic drizzle).

Then, the food… All the dishes are “small plates” so amongst the three of us (my friend, her sister, and me), we got to share:

• “Shrimp Mac & Cheese”: Mini penne, jack & cheddar, garlic shrimp, jalapenos (amazing)
• Moroccan Swordfish Slider with fennel salad, aged pecorino, hazelnut coffee dressing
• Blue cheese beef slider with co co mole sauce, sauteed spinach, and wild mushrooms (my other fave)
• Crispy Louisiana Crabcake with mango salsa, chipotle chocolate tomato glaze, avocado cilantro emulsion
• Goat Cheese & Beets: Yellow and red beets, greens, maracaibo nibs, raspberry vinaigrette

And then… dessert. Dessert is an obvious must have here, and we had been keeping an eye out for what other guests were ordering. Although you can order certain desserts separately, we decided to get one of the flights (“monde du chocolat”)... there are four flights in total ranging from “chocolate maya” (focus on indian flavors), “ciocco” (focus on italian flavors), and “xocolatyl” (“aztec experience”). We jumped for the “co co. grown up”—a combination of “childhood favorites” made adult style.

Our three courses were:

- the amuse: mini boston cream doughnut and cappucino panna cotta

- the main dessert: milk chocolate, pb & banana foster split (yum), mini co co cupcake, malted shooter

- the petit fours: mint chocolate chip cone (eh), strawberry cheese cake lolly with pop rocks (yum)

A meal of decadence!

Co Co. Sala
929 F St. NW
Washington, DC 20004

Monday Munchies: A Post-Thanksgiving Recap

Hello Monday! Why is it that Monday seems to come around so quickly?

Several post-Thanksgiving treats to whet your appetite for the week to come...

(1) A Peking Duck Thanksgiving (Appetite for China)
(2) The 12 Days of Cookies (No Fear Entertaining)
(3) A Little Bit Too Much Time in the Oven (What's to Eat Baltimore?)
(4) Creamy, cranberry horseradish sauce (Tangled Noodle)
(5) And an additional special treat... The Swedish Fish -- my family-in-law introduced me to this drink over the holidays -- and indeed it does taste like that sweet candy treat. Add in equal parts of cranberry juice and 7UP or Sprite. Then add in Black Haus blackberry schnapps just until you can smell it. A sweet treat! Be careful though about how much you add in of each or else you'll end up with a drink that smells a bit like cough syrup ...