The Tout de Sweetest Thing

It’s the little things in life that make you smile. For some it’s listening to the sound of rain on the roof. For others it’s an unexpected email or phone call from a good friend. For me, it’s pastries - specifically French pastries. If you give me a flaky almond croissant or a chocolate mousse pyramid you’ve pretty much made my day twenty times better than it already was.

Since moving to D.C., I have been sans a reliable French bakery. There was just nothing out there that matched the pure bliss and flavor of the one I grew up two blocks from back in Ohio. Thankfully my pâtisserie dreams have been answered by Tout de Sweet in Bethesda.

Tout de Sweet ‘s small storefront near the Woodmont Triangle has a sleek and modern look that screams, "Paris chic." The front window displays colorful French macaroons while the small chalkboard advertises that they sell coffee and tea to go with your “sweet treat.” The walls inside are stark white with hints of mint green, a hue that recalls the color of a pistachio macaroon.

Jerome Colin, who previously worked as a pastry chef at Le Paradou and Sofitel Hotel, churns out some of the most authentic and tasty French bonbons that I have had since I was in France. The macaroons are the perfect midday pick-me-up with their sweetness and signature “soft crunch.” Every buttery croissant calls my name as if it was begging to be eaten. The willpower that it takes to walk by (and not eat) the beautiful cupcakes and mousse cakes deserves a round of applause.

Unfortunately, there are just a few bar stools that invite you to linger over your coffee and pastry. Luckily, there is plenty of seating across the street that can be utilized as we are headed into the warmer months. You can close your eyes, enjoy the sunshine, eat your French pastry and imagine that you are sitting in Paris living the sweet life.

J'adore Crepe Amour

The beauty of crepes lies in their utter simplicity. You start with flour, milk, butter and a tiny bit of salt and wind up with a beautiful flat pancake that acts as a blank canvas for savory and sweet flavors. Luckily there are plenty of places in and around DC where you can get this French treat, but one that stands out is Crepe Amour in Georgetown.

I had walked by Crepe Amour plenty of times, but I have never been into the restaurant. In fact seeing them on the Cooking Channel’s Unique Eats over my “winter break” was just the kick in the butt I needed to go check them out.

We opted to head there before going to Trader Joe’s for our weekly grocery trip since it’s never a good idea to go to the store with an empty stomach. Luckily the Georgetowner crepe I ordered was filled with freshly scrambled eggs, bacon and cheddar managed to fill up my tummy quite nicely. Elliot opted for the traditional Monsieur (ham and cheese) crepe. We were filling boring that morning, but if you are in the mood for something more adventurous you can get a crepe filled with a ton of different flavors and cuisines. The menu at Crepe Amour lists a mac & cheese crepe, a crepe with all the Thanksgiving fixings and a crepe filled with tandoori chicken.

If you are in the mood for a sweet treat you can find that as well. Elliot and I shared a crepe filled with Nutella and sprinkled with a generous amount of powdered sugar. To me it tasted exactly like the one I had while walking between museums in Paris, which I took to be a good sign. I opted to go the traditional route, but Amour offers a crepe called “Steve’s Job” that is stuffed with apples, almonds, cinnamon and caramel. If that doesn’t strike your fancy go with the “Nutty Buddy” that contains Nutella, peanut butter and crushed Reese’s cups. Talk about a sugar high.

Not only was the food at Crepe Amour fresh, hot and delicious; the food is also cheap. For 2 savory crepes and a sweet crepe we spent around $17. For an even better deal flash your student ID on a Monday and get ½ off all food.

Whoops

First it was cupcakes, then it was French macaroons, and now it’s the New England classic – whoopie pies. They seem to be all over town. I’ve seen them in bakeshops, on food trucks and now as a DC pop-up shop.

The night before Halloween, Elliot and I ventured out to eat dinner at one of our neighborhood standbys. As we were leaving the restaurant, we noticed the large gathering of people in the AutoZone parking lot across the street. We came to find out that everyone was gathered for Thriller on H Street. Sure, the Michael Jackson tribute was great, but what interested me more was the small table set up by the sidewalk. A table piled high with the nostalgic treats.

The treats were baked and sold by McKee Floyd, a former hill staffer that now bakes whoopie pies and dreams of opening Whoops! Bakeshop in spring 2011. But, until that dream becomes a reality, she is taking her whoopie pies and “popping up” all over DC. In the past few weeks she has been on U St, in Georgetown, Adams Morgan and most recently on H St NE.

Floyd prides herself on using only the finest ingredients in her whoopie pies. That night we decided to get one of each whoopie pie offered - a red velvet and pumpkin – bringing the total to $6. Unfortunately, I am unable to eat red velvet anything because of a pesky allergy to red food dye, but Elliot vouched for how wonderful it was. He loved that the cream filling wasn’t so sweet that it overpowered the cake on the outside. And although I liked the pumpkin whoopie, I wish it had been a little sweeter. Yet, I was happy to find the cake was extremely moist, reassuring me that the pies were fresh and hadn’t been wrapped in plastic for more than a few hours.

Although it may be a few months, I am looking forward to her shop opening and being able to customize my own whoopie pie. Floyd hopes that she will be able to have customers choose their cake, frosting and toppings. I don’t know about you, but I think we can all get behind that.

Until then, follow Whoops! on twitter @whoopsbakeshop and look for her to “pop up” in a neighborhood near you.

Ice Ice Baby

I'm not from the east coast. I'm just a good ol' midwesterner who knows and loves her ice cream Yet, when I moved out to DC I kept hearing about this mythical thing known as "water ice" from all of my friends from New Jersey and Philadelphia. I found the term to be a bit repetitively redundant considering water that is frozen is ice, but then again what do I know.

Well, last week a Rita's Water Ice opened just a few blocks away from me on H Street, meaning that I could no longer deny the existence of this supposedly amazing dessert. So on Monday night, after we hit 100 degrees in the District, I decided to take a little walk down the street to reward myself for surviving the heat (and give myself a reason to continue to deal with it).

Rita's first location opened in 1984 in Philadelphia, and has been expanding ever since. This small Italian ice concept has won the hearts (and taste buds) of people across the country. And, as of last night I am a convert as well. At Rita's they not only serve the Italian ice in the traditional way, they also serve it sandwiched between vanilla custard or blended with the custard. Holy gelati is that stuff good! The staff at the Rita's on H Street were friendly and helpful. I couldn't make up my mind about what to get, so the man behind the counter allowed me to try about half the flavors they had. I also was sad that they no longer had the famous "Alex's lemonade," so they gave me a coupon to come back and try it for free!

I walked away with Island Infusion (it had hints of mango, pineapple and peaches) and vanilla custard and the person I was with had the black cherry with custard. We both agreed that it incredibly refreshing while still being light on the stomach. When I threw out my regular sized cup I felt like I had just had the perfect sized summer treat.

The Proof is in the Pudding

When I saw there was

an opportunity to give back to the community by eating out, it took me approximately 2 seconds to start

asking around to find a friend to eat dinner with me. Luckily, it didn't take me long to find someone, and she and I were drawn to the same place on the list of participating restaurants. Proof lived up to all

expectations, especially considering 35% of our bill was going to help fight the AIDS epidemic in DC.

After my first (almost) full week of work, I needed a good

glass of wine. Thankfully our waiter was able to skillfully guide me through the novel of a wine list. He helped me pick out a wonderful glass of riesling, which he warned me was very tart. It's a good thing that I am the type of person that likes to eat lemons. But really, it was a great glass of wine that I would happily order again... except for the small fact that I forgot to write down the name of it. Oh well, you live and learn.

Gnocchi has been one of my favorites since I tried it on my first trip to New York City for my 12th birthday. I love a good traditional preparation, but sometimes it's the unusual ingredients that just push an amazing dish beyond the stratosphere. Proof serves a version prepared with sauteed Yukon gold potatoes. I was in culinary heaven and it was a comfort to know that one can get good pasta outside of Italy and Manhattan.

A few years ago, Haagen Daz held a competition to have the public come up with the next flavor that they should make. The winning flavor was sticky toffee pudding, which is a dessert of British origin that is this lovely mix of a brown sugar cake and a toffee sauce. Up until that night at Proof I had never had the real dessert, but I can't imagine having a better version than that one. My friend and I devoured the cake, savoring every morsel.

Proof is a wonderful restaurant, if a bit pricy (but totally worth it for donating to a good cause). It's not a place that I would frequent often, but it is certainly a place that I would recommend for a good glass of wine, some dessert and a good conversation with a friend. And, after all, isn't that the most important thing?

image: myvintagewedding