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I just returned from a business trip to Washington, DC and am so excited to share the food aspect of my travels with Boston Bakes readers. It was my first time visiting the nation’s capital and luckily had some free time to do some sightseeing (national monuments and memorial parks), museum hopping, shopping, and dining. This post will focus specifically on select desserts that I tried.

One of my business meals was at the Washington Hilton hotel in the International Ballroom, which seated over 2,000 guests. Needless to say, the venue was very stylish and grand, and so was the food. One of the most memorable meals for me was the dessert course from the lunch menu. It consisted of coconut-chip ice cream, a fruit shot (strawberry, diced mango, lychee), tapioca custard and raspberry sauce. I loved that it was a sampling of different desserts. Each item tasted light, fresh, and delicious – a perfect ending to any meal.

 

 

I stayed in the Dupont Circle neighborhood, home to dozens of embassies, small boutiques, and unlimited restaurants. Amongst all the busy eateries and businesses, I discovered a cute gelato shop, DolceZZa. Gelato is Italy’s version of ice cream. At DolceZZa, I ordered a small cup combination of two flavors: lemon ricotta cardamom and valrhona chocolate amargo – it was a taste of heaven and the perfect afternoon pick-me-up. The lemon ricotta was sweet and slightly tart while the dark chocolate was dense and full of natural cocoa flavor. DolceZZa also sells sorbetto, baked goods and espresso.

One of the top things to do in DC is to visit Georgetown, one of the oldest neighborhoods in Washington, DC. Despite its age, the town consists of tourists, modern upscale shops and restaurants galore. There were three cupcakeries in the area and I picked up a box from two places: Sprinkles Cupcakes and Baked and Wired. I did not purchase any sweets from the original Georgetown Cupcake because there is a Boston location – one that I frequent more than I should. Sprinkles is from the Los Angeles scene, and its cupcakes are commonly identified with a single oversized dot-shaped sprinkle as decor. At Sprinkles DC, my cupcake box (left photo) included a strawberry, red velvet with cream cheese frosting, cinnamon sugar frosted, and s’mores.  From Bake and Wired, I ordered a red velvet with cream cheese frosting, flapjacks (maple brown butter, caramel frosting & bacon topping), unicorn & rainbows (sprinkles cake batter), and a dirty chai espresso; see right photo below. The B&W cupcakes were wrapped in paper vs. traditional cupcake liners, were slightly larger in size and price, and had unique names and flavors. Sprinkles’ cupcakes were more classic and simple-looking, yet equally appetizing.

DC Eats: Part 2 (Local Restaurants) forthcoming for next Friday’s blog post.

Have you ever been to Washington, DC? Share with us any particular food memories that you enjoyed!

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