New FroYo in Dupont

Tangysweet
2029 P Street N.W. Washington, D.C. 20036
Nearest Metro: Dupont Circle


One of the things I real want to talk about on the blog are places to find sweets (especially cupcakes) in the D.C. area! To me, there is nothing like a nice pastry to make a bad day better, or a good day great! Plus, I have the biggest sweet tooth out of anyone I know, and that’s saying a lot since most of my friends are dessert (and food) lovers as well.

I am a little skeptical when my roommate tells me she wants to take me to Tangysweet. She went last week with her coworkers, and can’t stop raving about it and I HAVE to meet her after work so we can go together and try. I know this concept of healthy yogurt covered in fruit, cereal, cookies, etc is very trendy, and every time I visit my friend A. in NYC she begs me to try Pinkberry with her. I always say no, telling her that it can’t really be all that good if it’s “good for you”. I want my dessert full of calories, fat, sugar, etc.

We meet after work for an evening of wine and appetizers at Firefly, strolling through Dupont, browsing through the $1 books at Second Story, and finally wandering over to Tangysweet. Not too hungry, we decide to share a small Original with raspberries and chocolate chips. The yogurt comes in three flavors, Original, Pomegranate, and Green Tea. The owner is there, and generously lets the girls behind us, who’ve “never tried it before” sample all three flavors. They tell him it’s better than Pinkberry. He smiles and says that’s what he likes to hear.

After sitting down outside the shop, hesitant, I take a bite. While it is not your typical sugary sweet “fro yo”, it sure is delicious. Tangy, it tastes like eating a creamier, colder, thicker version of the yogurt I bring to work in my lunch box. The raspberries are fresh and flavorful and combined with the chocolate chips the toppings are the perfect complement to the smooth yogurt. Before we knew it, the whole cup was gone.

My only complaint would be more toppings. Five raspberries for $.95? While they were delicious, I expect a few more for paying almost a dollar. But, I am definitely a believer now, and will be frequently visiting Tangysweet on hot summer days for a refreshing treat.

Winning Isn't Everything

There are plenty of places to get the news on the D.C. restaurant scene, so we’re trying to stick to reviewing. But I just cannot resist anything that has to do with Top Chef. No, he didn’t win, but Spike is coming to town! Good Stuff Eatery will be serving burgers, fresh cut fries and homemade milkshakes! It’s rumored to be opening July 7, so hopefully I can drag Pete with me on opening day…

Star Struck

Westend Bistro
1190 22nd Street NW Washington, D.C. 20037
Nearest Metro: Foggy Bottom

A few weeks ago T took me out to Westend Bistro to check out Eric Ripert’s D.C. venue. I was super excited, mostly because sometimes he is on Top Chef (and also because it has gotten some decent reviews). While having been ignored for a while, it seems that Ripert and many other chefs are jumping on the D.C. bandwagon and opening restaurants downtown. And I’m not the only one who is “star struck” by the idea of a celebrity chef in D.C. Is it worth the all the hype?

First impressions, the restaurant was beautiful, busy, on a Wednesday night. Dark, candlelit, with a ceiling to floor glass wall, perfect for people watching, IF you’re sitting at one of the booths. However, the tables were so close together that it was hard not listen to the cute elderly couple directly next to us.

To drink I had a glass of Fume Blanc, which I had never tasted before. I really can’t say I know much about wine, (it’s something I would like to learn more about) but I enjoyed it, however would not have reordered it. T had a glass of Caymus Conundrum, a surprisingly bright yellow blend that I tasted, and liked more than my own.

To start I ordered the chicken soup with pesto and T ordered the mussels. The soup came with alphabet pasta, it was very playful and cute. However, it was extremely salty, the beginning of a dangerous trend for the evening.

We ordered dinner, I chose the skirt steak in a shallot sauce, T went for the halibut in a shallot sauce and we opted to share a basket of fries. However, a good 30 minutes after we had ordered the waiter came back to inform us that the kitchen was out of halibut, and what would he like instead? 30 minutes to figure that out? T went with his second choice, the Chesapeake Bay stew.

Our entrees arrived… and the stew… more mussels. The descriptions on the menu weren’t very good, and while T knew it was a seafood stew, I feel like our waiter could have mentioned that when he was making his selection.

But back to my food; my steak, cooked perfectly, the sauce delicious… but after it was all cooked and plated I felt like someone had taken a salt shaker and gone to town. It was too salty for me to finish even half. The fries were the same, perfectly cooked, not too greasy, nice and crispy, but completely over seasoned.

Finally, for dessert we ordered the warm chocolate cake with rum ice cream and bruleed bananas. First of all, I love anything carmelized so I was happy the instant it was placed on the table. While the cake could have been a little warmer it was chocolate-y and moist, while the ice cream had a nice strong rum flavor.

T would disagree, saying, “you can barely taste the rum!” But I think my mom’s Thanksgiving sweet potatoes taste too much like rum, so most people would probably agree with him.

I left the restaurant feeling a little disappointed. Dinner left me feeling salty, but I was very happy with the sweet ending.