Legendary Desserts of DC--The Definitive List

I want to hear some nominations folks. Here's mine:
- Tres Leches cake at Guapo's in Shirlington (don't take my piece)
- Um Ali dessert at Lebanese Taverna
- Fruit Tart at Metro 29 Diner
- Baklava at Parthernon Greek Restaurant in Chevy Chase
- Coconut Rice and Mango at Rabieng
- Thai Custard with coconut and lemongrass at Rabieng
- Shaibeya cream filled phyllo dough turnover at Mirage in Bailey's Crossroads
- Fried banana with honey at Green Papaya in Bethesda
- Hazelnut Gelato at Haagen Dazs
- Chocolate Bread Pudding at the Wharf in Old Town
- Italian Bread Pudding with pine nuts at That's Amore
- Peach Bordalou at La Madeleine
- Steamed rice-dough balls stuffed with mashed sesame at Bamboo Buffet
- Fried rice-dough balls rolled in sesame seed and stuffed with red bean jam at Bamboo Buffet or Fortune Star Buffet
- Sweet Red Bean with rice noodles, coconut milk and crushed ice at Pho 79
- Round flat dough balls stuffed with sweet mung bean with Durian flavor at Asian bakeries
- Crepe with Nutella and banana at Lafayette in Georgetown
- Crepe with strawberries and romanoff sauce at La Madeleine
- Any dessert at Zaytinya
- Indian Kulfi ice cream at Delhi Daba
- Indian kheer rice pudding flavored with cardamom, still looking for a place that does it justice
- Apple walnut cobbler with ice cream on the side at Cracker Barrel
- Chocolate Milk Shake at Denny's
- Frozen Custard at Kohr Brothers, or Dickey's on I street
- Real Ricotta Italian Cheese Cake flavored with almond, still searching for this one locally
- Pignoli almond and pine nut chewy cookies at Vaccaro's
- Marzipan Stollen at Heidelberg Bakery in Arlington
- Any pastry at Tivoli in Rosslyn and Ballston
- Raspberry Souffle with chocolate sauce at Les Folies in Annapolis
- Bastilla at Taste of Morocco, I know this is an entree made with chicken, but it's sweet and cinnamony heaven
- Poppyseed cake at the Russian Gourmet store in McLean and Rockville

[starlightjulian]

Wow! These lists are fantastic finds!! Haven't read through all of them!! Perhaps someone can condense them for me, concentrating on those near Sterling, Reston, and Herndon, as well as Woodbridge and Georgetown?

Thank you very much!

[elegantelliot]

the vanilla souffle at Olives has to be one of my favorite desserts in the city!

[Elyssa]

The chocolate and vanilla bread pudding at 1789 might be one of the best desserts I've ever tasted! I dream about it all the time. It's a cross between vanilla custard, warm chocolate sauce and french toast. So amazing and rich...but I was surprised when I finished the whole thing with only a little help from my boyfriend.

[Mister Big]

I remember Leonie's quite well. Their pizza was similar to Ledo's, and the two restaurants were less than a mile apart. Do you remember the original Jerry's Sub Shop in Wheaton? They were known for their roast beef sub; a large contained a full pound of roast beef. They also made a superlative pizza-steak sub. By the time I started going there (1966), a man named Max owned the place, and gave the male customers a business card, one side a '40's girlie (non-nude) pin-up painting, the other side featured the slogan, "Jerry's Sub--We Don't F*** Around". He sold out to franchisers in the '70's, and the rest is culinary history (or infamy?).

[DC Gal]

I don't know if these qualify as "legendary", but I think the Clyde's chain (specifically Old Ebbitt) has fantastic desserts. I was just there last night for dinner with a friend and we both skimped on dinner so we could have big desserts. She had the fried oreos (served with ice cream and chocolate sauce) and I had the Butterscotch Blondie served with ice cream, whipped cream chocolate sauce and chocolate chips. The blondie is my favorite. There is just something about the delicious sweet crunch of a butterscotch morsel nestled in a warm blondie that is so good.

[JAC13]

It is so funny you brought up the blondie. My boyfriend and I go to Old Ebbitt every Monday night after I get off of work. I am not really a butterscotch fan and the description of the dessert never even appealed to us very much but every bartender/waiter recommended it and we finally broke down and gave it a try and we understood their enthisiam. Now, we always end the meal with that blondie, which I dream about all week long.

[Indy 67]

Infamy. Definitely infamy.

In the early '60s, in the days before ubiquitous air conditioning in DC, we used to spend the whole day at our neighborhood swim club. We used to eat dinner at the picnic tables near the snack bar so we wouldn't have to go home to a hot house until after the sun went down. But no snack bar food for us! My folks used to bring the original Jerry's subs many nights, in particular, their Italian cold cut sub. I remember quality meats that rival the best the current Italian Store has to offer. I also remember my dismay the first time I tasted a Jerry's Italian sub after the franchise took over.

[tinatuna16]

I think there are plenty of desserts that are heavenly in the area. but i'm not a fancy dessert person--I like rich, comfort food desserts.
Personal faves include:
-cheesecake or chunky mousse from Amphora's
-chocolate cake from Cheesecake Factory (that is what a chocolate cake should be like--fudgey, cold, with chocolate chips)
-sticky rice with mangos from Pacific in Sterling (the best I've encountered, mango perfect)
-mom's apple pie's bourbon walnut pie

[Tresbien]

You might want to try the mango sticky rice at Busara in Georgetown. My friend swoons over it and eating there is a must-do when she comes to DC.
I'm partial to a dessert at Clyde's in Chevy Chase called Linda's Hot Fudge Sundae.
Oh, the memories of University Pastry Shop! Many birthdays and other events were celebrated with their Mocha Cake.

The late lamented chocolate hurricane cake at the Carlyle Grand Cafe. I asked why it's gone from the menu a few years ago, and the waitress told me they weren't ever going to put it back on the menu b/c it was too rich. So sad!

The poppyseed cake at Russian Gourmet: are you referring to what is labeled "poppy seed rullet" in aluminum trays from Kiev Bakery or National Bakery, or something else?

the Dysfunctional Family Sundae at Kramerbooks & Afterwords is delicious, if not legendary. Actually, so is their Goober Pie.

The ice cream at Summer Delights in Takoma Park and at the Dairy on the campus of UMD, and the gelato at the coffee shop in the National Gallery of Art I LOVE ice cream, and those are some of my favorites. I also love Citronelle's grown-up Kit Kat, and Tosca used to do a chocolate-3-ways sampler that I can still taste in my dreams!

anything liz makes at the del ray dreamery

especially seasonal cobbler/upside down cakes and crumbles topped with vanilla custard. consistantly and always good.

the custard is amazing, notably, vanilla custard with angel food cake and summer fruits. root beer custard with white chocolate pieces. everything really.

While I really like the ambience of the Del Rey Dreamery and the personality of those who work there I really believe that Neilsen's custard is better. Perhaps even much better to put my neck in a noose. Both of my visits to Del Rey left me a bit disappointed in the actual custard. Superior to Milwaukee and far superior to Kohr Bros.locally and a bunch of others but not on par with Carl's (Fredericksburg) or Klein's in Harrisonburg both of which use original Electro Freeze machines. Try Neilsen's in Vienna sometime and post your reaction. I'd really be interested. Del Rey has a great neighborhood ambience and a real personality; I just expected more from the custard.

My one visit to Neilsen's did not produce the same kind of euphoria that you associate with their custard, or that I associate with a really good ice cream. In fact, if you don't order a Concrete, it's pretty much uninteresting. By contrast, the flavors at Del Ray Dreamery are alluring.

Perhaps I'm not as big a fan of custard as you are, or like many people I saw at Neilsen's, you really have to get something in it/around it/over it to make it truly 'sing.' I had a really good dish of custard in Herndon at a place, I think it was Milwaukee, with a swirl of cherry sherbert in it. Now that was dreamy.

That must have been cherry creamsicle. My favorite MFC treat is the "gelati," which is the italian ice with the custard added. It's like the creamsicle flavor but with more italian ice and less custard.

I nominate the pear empanadas from Julia's Empanadas. They are tied with a string, so you have to break off and eat the crispy pieces of dough before removing the string to get to the sweet pear and almond paste filling! (Well, you don't HAVE to, but it is more fun that way.)

I like the minute details in your desription of how to sample this treat. I think I'm gonna have to try it. Anything with fruit and almond paste gets me inspired. I work on Connecticut, two blocks from Julia's, so maybe tomorrow's lunch will have a sweet denouement.

>> Indian kheer rice pudding flavored with cardamom,
>> still looking for a place that does it justice

Have you tried it at Bombay Bistro? I can't say that it's the best place (there must be better in this area) but it was really good.

Here's my list:

Banana pudding at Arties
Tres Leche cake (at either Guapos location)
Any of the sweets at Saran
Baked pear dessert at Nizam
Ashta at Lebanese Taverna
Fruit Bavarian cake at Amphora
Chunky Chocolate Mousse at Amphora
and my old standby, Milwaukee Frozen Custard

Of course, none of these hold a candle to my favorite desserts ever, the Coco Puffs and chantilly cake from Liliha Bakery. Alas, that bakery is 5000+ miles away...

Milwaukee has really suffered over the past year or two. I gave up on all three of their locations because of inconsistency. Real shame because Al, the owner, was obsessed and never left the store. Then growth and everything changed. Try Neilsen's in Vienna.

Good to hear a recommendation for Neilsen's. I've never passed it when it was open but have been meaning to try it. Plus, it's much closer than Milwaukee.

Well, that's a nice list. I can see some similarities in taste with my own list from the original posting. One could call it the "simple recipe-strong flavor" approach.

I've seen Arties menu online and wondered about the pudding.

What is this Saran?

I'll try the Ashta at Taverna next time.

Both items from Amphora sound good, I've never been there; are you speaking of the diner or the bakery for these?

The Liliha Bakery reference escapes me, is it someplace in this country?

>I can see some similarities in taste with my own
>list from the original posting.

Yes, many of the desserts you listed sound yummy.

>What is this Saran?

Vegetarian Indian on Lee Hwy in Arlington. http://www.saranfoods.com

>I'll try the Ashta at Taverna next time.

Well, I must tell you that I absolutely love the stuff (it's a simple milky bread pudding with a sprinkling of pistachios and orange flower syrup (I think)) but my sister hated it. So it's not really for everyone. They only make it for the restaurant, though. I've tried to buy it from the market and they don't sell theirs. They do sell someone else's frozen brand of ashta, though.

>Both items from Amphora sound good, I've never been
>there; are you speaking of the diner or the bakery
>for these?

Both - you can get a slice at the diner or a whole cake from the bakery. The mousse won a number of awards. The fruit bavarian is my favorite, though. I have a thing for cream cakes, I guess. http://www.amphorabakery.com/specialties-1.htm

>The Liliha Bakery reference escapes me, is it
>someplace in this country?

Hawaii. http://starbulletin.com/2000/08/02/fe...

Wow, that Coco Puff looks great. I went to the website, and saw those pillowy clouds of pudding goodness. A great idea, to take a big ole' profiterole, and pump it full of creamy custard.

When I first heard the name of it in your posting, I thought it was some childhood treat made with a breakfast cereal, a la Rice Krispies Bars.

Those other websites were real handy too. Sounds like you're a vegetarian, so you may not fancy the Bastilla on my list.

Oh, it's really the chantilly frosting that makes the whole thing. It just looks like a dollup of buttery stuff but it is pure heaven.

Nope, not a vegetarian and I love the bastilla at Taste of Morocco. My husband and I keep meaning to go back just for that.

Vanilla Bean Souffle at Olive's is what I dream about (actually dream about, not using a figure of speech).

How about the "Adult Kit Kat Bar" and the "Breakfast at Citronelle", both from Michel Richard?

[ktmoomau]

Love the Kit Kat bar

Also: Flourless chocolate cake at Tallulah

Nepolians at Vaccaro's
Cannoli at Italian Market
Goat Cheese cheesecake at Palena
There are so many... good board

I see posts for good Bread pudding but after having the commanders palace recipe and the bread pudding soufle from the commanders cookbook it is hard to find anything to beat it.

The chocolate chip brioche bread pudding at Little Fountain Cafe. It's dreamy!!

Seven Deadly Sins at the Inn at Little Washington, and their rhubarb pizza. Other than that I can't think of a single dessert that I would want to build a moat around to protect from invaders.

To be perfectly honest, after 12 years in DC I have yet to encounter a particularly memorable dessert, and certainly nothing that I would consider to be legendary. What I find interesting is that I am not at all one of those people who professes to dislike dessert, or who does not regularly order dessert, but I find the desserts in New York, San Francisco, London, Paris, etc, far more interesting than what I find in DC. Is this a statement on DC being a more pragmatic city than those others, or is it just that I am too picky?

Were you with us when they brought out the shave ice at Bob's 66? What a concoction! Or mabe you have seen something similar in China.
Another one is thiackry (pronounced chok'-ree)at Chez Auntie Libe. I just had a friend come back from 3 months in Senegal, and they would look forward to it on a daily basis. It's simple, but what a killer idea!
I will have to try the tres leches at Guapo's. My favorite version is at El Comalito on 14th St. (thanks, Butterfly), but they do not make it on a regular basis anymore.

I agree totally. I am a dessert LOVER, and don't consider myself extremely picky, but have yet to find even a single 'dessert' place that I think is outstanding. The only things I find worth comment are Amernick's goodies (just about everything I've had there is fabulous) and the basil icecream at the Creperie on 18th Street in Adams Morgan.

New York slams us on dessert, no lie.

Does some wonderful pastry chef see a niche out here ready to be filled?!

Respectfully, but I strongly disagree with both of you on this. Michel Richard at Citronelle is superb. Bilrus noted his kit kat bar above which is his signature. Several of his creations would do justice to any restaurant anywhere.

Having never been to Citronelle, I cannot speak to its quality of desserts. However I can say that it is a pretty darned shame that you would have to go to one of the city's top (or, at least, most expensive) restaurants to procure an outstanding dessert.

But, James, the point was that D. C. didn't have anything that approached New York. I'm suggesting that on the very top level Citronelle, for its desserts, challenges Ducasse, Per Se, Daniel, etc. ALL of these are disproportionately expensive!

"Legendary?" There is nothing on this list that might date to pre 1995, let alone to when I grew up here-a LONG time ago!

Hot Shoppes hot fudge ice cream cake.
Stephenson's pies (any of them: "black and white
checkerboard box") This is an absolute DC landmark
that dates to the '20's.
YWCA chocolate chip cookies.
Geppetto's ricotta cheese pie.
Reeves strawberry pie.
Ice cream at:
University pastry shop (strawberry)
Gifford's (peach)(or a Swiss sundae)
Martin's Dairy (pre 1960's when they still had
cows which you could smell while eating ice
cream (serious!)
Weile's "Washington Monument" at their original
on Kennedy st. later Langley Park.
Bish Thompson's rum buns from the '60's (or O'Donnell's
rum buns from the '50's)
Krispy Kreme from the Krispy Kreme at Georgia Avenue &
East West Highway in Silver Spring. (You read
this correctly!)

Yum! What great classics.

I'd like to add Jimmi Cones in Damascus.

Hmmm.....I first stopped there 25 years ago.

Anyone remember Reindeer frozen custard in Silver Spring or the Polar Bear on Georgia Avenue just down from Walter Reed? Reindeer was the first frozen custard I ever had and I remember being in 1st or 2nd grade and thinking it was better than the Tastee Freeze at New Hampshire and East West.

I know this hot fudge ice cream cake. It is one of my fondest childhood memories, at the Hot Shoppes in Old Town (now a Wendy's).

Other long lost loves: the smile cookie and the dense rich cheesecake at Giant.

And speaking of ice cream cakes, Fudgie the Whale.

You can still get what amounts to the actual original Hot Shoppes hot fudge ice cream cake at the Charcoal Pit on the Wilmington Pike (route 202) in Wilmington, DE. It is identical. This place, which is a local institution, dates to the mid '50's. Their half pound hamburger is fantastic also.

[twalsh]

It's been a long time since this discussion has been going BUT does anyone know what brand of hot fudge Hot Shoppes used on their fudge cakes. I have tried to find something that tastes remotely like it, but to no avail. I contacted Marriott but they said all the Hot Shoppes got their own hot fudge (I don't believe that). Anyway, thanks.

Joe, we must be the only 'hounds old enough to remember most of these. Amazing that only Reeve's and Krispy Kreme have survived. But if the list can include candy, add Velati's caramels!

The Krispy Kreme in Silver Spring sold out and became Montgomery Donuts in the '60's. I forgot Velati's!

You can still get velati's although now they are called vatore's. The company that produces velati's now under the velati's name is a different company from the original. I remember many of these. As a kid we went to hot shoppes, but I mostly remember Gifford's (doesn't that still exist in another location? Bethesda) and the Polar Bear.

Link: http://www.vatorescaramels.com/faq.cfm

You remember the Polar Bear? Serious? How about Reindeer on Colesville road across from Sears? Or the original Martin's Dairy in Olney when they made their ice cream on the premises in the '50's with cows literally mooing nearby? Of course there's also Weihle's in Langley Park (after they and Jerry's Sub Shoppe moved from Kennedy street, NW)....

Perhaps Stephenson's for pies in Anacostia?

The Gifford's that is around today is NOT the same company. They bought the name not the base ice cream.

You CAN get some of the actual ORIGINAL Gifford's products at York Castle in the 9400 block of Georgia Avenue. (At least through about two years ago which was my last visit.) The man who made Gifford's ice cream in the late '70's until it closed opened York Castle about two or three months after the closing. He continued to use the same base, made the same Swiss chocolate sauce and also heavy whipped cream from scratch. He also continued making sodas by first spooning a bit of cream and mixing it with soda water before scooping ice cream. His fresh peach, fresh pumpkin were both identical and only in season. Even though I moved to Reston in '88 my wife (who also grew up here in Arlington-I in Silver Spring) would drive to Montgomery Hills once a year or so just to eat the cie cream. But he could NOT advertise that it was Gifford's since he didn't own the name. Also, he promoted "tropical" flavors which he developed form his Jamaican heritage. Still, this was a REAL original Gifford's Swiss sundae made with fresh whipped cream, chopped nuts and Swiss chocolate made in house.

Bethesda is good but it's not Gifford's.

I mention Martin's Dairy in the '50's because I remember going there with my parents and while Gifford's was always the best in the area Martin's always "seemed" better Maybe because of the cows. University Pastry Shop and Calvert Pastry Shop along with Wagshal's in Spring Valley also had outstanding ice cream then along with Avignon Freres.

I loved University pastry shop's peach ice cream! I was so sad when they closed. Thanks for the tip on York Castle. I have really been enjoying their ice cream but didn't know about the connection

I don't know where you get your information. Velatis has not changed their name and the candies are sold via mail order and our retail store in Maidens, VA.
You need to correct this erroneos information about Velatis.

Thank You;

Velatis

[Mister Big]

Velatis caramels are also sold at the Bethesda Farm Women's Market on Wednesdays.

[MikeR]

I don't remember a Matterhorn at Giffords's but I always liked the Swiss sundae. Wylie's at University Boulevard and New Hampshire Avenue (approximately) had things like that, and their short-lived Virginia outpost, Mr. W on Glebe Road just a couple of blocks south of Arlington Boulevard (it's now a Video Warehouse) also had mountainous ice cream creations.

I also don't recall a GW Ice Cream stand at 50 (Arlington Bouldvard) and Annandale Road, but that was the site of the original Frozen Dairy Bar. It's still there, after closing for a while, re-opening on Lee Highway near the cemetery, then moving back to a store in the shopping center built on its original site, and as of just about a monthyy ago, FDB is now part of Boardwalk Pizza.

Ice cream has been an important part of my life (and probably has helped to shorten it).

[flavrmeistr]

I think GW Frozen Dairy Bar was the name of the place. There were big black letters "GW" out front, so that's what we called it. It was soft ice cream, but it came out in a big brick and they served it by the scoop. It was excellent. The Matterhorn at Giffords was a giant sundae that might have contained a gallon of ice cream and some of everything they had behind the counter. You couldn't order it without a minimum of eight people. The Swiss sundae was my favorite as well, chocolate ice cream with nuts and whipped cream and a little pitcher of hot fudge on the side. Heavens!

[MikeR]

I just don't remember the GW part. There are some photos of the old place around in the new place. I'll have to remember to look for it next time I'm in, if we ever get some ice cream weather. I don't remember the Matterhorn either, but then I never went to Gifford's with enough people to eat it.

The Swiss sundae came with vanilla ice cream unless you asked for something else. I always used to ask for it with Swiss Chocolate ice cream, and with that Swiss sauce to pour over it, mmmmmmmmmm.

[flavrmeistr]

The Matterhorn was reserved mostly for softball teams and the like. One of my earliest memories is going to Gifford's with my oldest brother's high school theatre group (c.1965) and attacking one of those monsters en masse. It made a lasting impression. When I got to high school, the Swiss sundae (just as you described, with chocolate almond instead of vanilla and that awesome side of hot fudge) had attained stoner cult status.

[MikeR]

Stopped into the Frozen Dairy Bar today and looked at the pictures of the old shop. Didn't see GW anywhere. Maybe it was just a different time, or for a short time.

I was sitting too close to someone eating a pizza while I was eating my frozen custard. Nope, pepperoni-chocolate frozen custard isn't a very good idea. Next time I'll have to sit in the No Pizza section. The custard was very good this time, except for the slight pizza taint, which went away when I stepped outside to finish it.

[Mister Big]

Your mention of Weile's reminded me of another smaller ice cream parlor--Jones', I believe, near the corner of East West Hwy. and Riggs Rd. in Hyattsville.

[BostonCookieMonster]

Oh my gosh, I haven't thought of those YWCA cookie in years. I wonder if they can possibly have been as good as I remember.

The ice cream at the departed Zuki Moon (now Nectar). Incredible tasting caramel and ginger (and other flavors quite good, too!).

All of the deserts I have had at Nectar (total of four now) have been legendary. The fresh tobacco creame brulee was the best of the lot.

Raspberries in caramel sauce at La Cote d'Or on Lee Highway in Arlington.

Oh, too bad...I should write a little script to automate this...

How about bitter sweet ice cream @ Thomas Sweet?

I second the bittersweet chocolate ice cream at Thomas Sweet. Get a blend in of that with york peppermint patties and it's heaven!

I have to agree on the Thomas Sweet bittersweet ice cream. It is chocolate perfection !!

Pear tart with caramel sauce and caramel ice cream at Four and Twenty Blackbirds!

I have to second the Tres Leches cake at Guapo's in Shirlington, pure heaven.

Well, once upon a time, Nora served a chocolate ganache.. but now, in these degraded times, only a legend, unfortunately.

Cookie plate (with homemade caramels...mmmmmm) at Palena.