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.

Prom, Pizza, and Cupcakes

Mia’s Pizza
4926 Cordell Avenue Bethesda, Md. 20814
Nearest Metro: Bethesda

The Washington, D.C. region has suddenly become a hotbed of upscale pizza places. Whether it’s the Zagat rated Pizza Paradiso, 2Amys featuring Neapolitan pizzas, or Matchbox’s brick oven New York style pizzas, options are aplenty. The field has only gotten more crowded with the additions of Comet Ping Pong pizza and the brand new Pete’s aPizza.

Pete’s take…

For our first review we decided to dine at Mia’s Pizza’s in Bethesda. Mia’s is the brainchild of Melissa Ballinger, formerly of the previously mentioned Pizza Paradiso. Seated on the patio enjoying the view of high schoolers sharply dressed and eagerly awaiting their proms I got to enjoy my first glass of Samuel Adams Summer Ale this year while Erin got herself a glass of Syrah off the wine list. While the beer selection was a bit limited (unlike at Pizza Paradiso) Mia’s definitely gets props for wisely having Sammy Summer on tap.

Initially looking at the menu I was excited at the prospect of ordering deviled eggs, which I love but you hardly ever see them on restaurant menus. However, when our Crocs wearing waitress came around to take our orders we had decided to split the meatball sliders starter and I chose to order the Alsace pizza, which was topped with caramelized onions, pancetta, and gruyere cheese. The service was fast and our sliders were served promptly. Although we both agreed that the sliders had too much bread, the meatball itself is solid. At first it may seem bland but there is a nice spicy kick to the meatballs that left me satisfied and eagerly awaiting the pièce de résistance.

Right after our pizzas arrived the waitress grated fresh parmesan generously over the well proportioned personal pizza that comes sliced into four pieces. I had read in other reviews that the pizza was sometimes undercooked at Mia’s, I found this to not be true. The pizza had just the right amount of char and to me the crust was the right mix of chewy and crispy. The flavors of the cheese, pancetta and onions melded together nicely. The only thing I wished for was some olive oil at the table to dip my crust in.

Even while eating the meatball sliders both Erin and I became seduced by the cupcake sundae ordered by the table next to us. So when it came time for dessert it was a no brainer. While my home baked vanilla cupcake with vanilla frosting was good, my pistachio gelato was too sweet and had too many pistachios. Now my expectations for gelato may have been a little high considering the fact that I enjoyed gelato at Festival of Gelato while in Florence for 6 straight days. However, I was not disappointed by the concept of the dessert.

Overall I am in agreement with what many other patrons of Mia’s have stated. It is a good addition to the Bethesda food scene and a place to definitely try if it isn’t too far. Good atmosphere, good food, good prices. Next time I will definitely be getting the deviled eggs.

And Erin…

Although I’ve already been to Mia’s a few times, Pete wanted to try it, and we wanted to go to a nice place to discuss the beginnings of our blog. I’ve always enjoyed my trips to Mia’s, but probably because when it comes to pizza I find something I like and then order it over and over again.

We sat down and ordered drinks, I had a nice glass of syrah, while we discussed appetizers. After agreeing on the meatball sliders we dived into our conversation until the food arrived. I found the meatballs (a mix of pork, veal and beef) nicely spiced and quite good, but the cheese a little bland, and the bread overwhelming.

For dinner I ordered the marghertia pizza, which was covered in a generous amount of basil. The dough was a nice texture with a nice char and I am a sucker for buffalo mozzarella. I have ordered this every time I go to Mia’s and as always I enjoyed the pie.

We both ordered cupcake sundaes for dessert, a concept I haven’t really seen in many restaurants, casual or upscale. I am a bit finicky about my cupcakes, since I happen to bake them often myself. I chose the Oreo with chocolate frosting and vanilla gelato. Somehow, I ended up with a cinnamon cupcake, which was underneath a large pile of chocolate ganache. I feel like I could have dealt with the chocolate/cinnamon combination but the large pile of chocolate frosting simply overpowered the dry cinnamon cake, and I didn’t get the spicy/sweet combo I was looking for. Combined with the sickeningly sweet vanilla gelato, the whole dessert was just a bust.

Bottom line, while I enjoyed the atmosphere of sitting on the patio of Mia’s, if I was to go again I would probably skip appetizers and dessert and just order my pie.