This being my third review of Leopold’s, I won’t bother with too much detail or background.

I did, however, decide to return yet again to this café after having a taste of their macaroons. As I mentioned in my last review, Leopold’s produces easily the best macaroons I’ve tried in America, giving even my favorite French café, Patisserie Poupon, a run for its money.

123456►

So I had a thought: In a head-to-head competition, which would be proclaimed supreme—Patisserie Poupon or Leopold’s? That is, which café actually produced the better European sweets? Patisserie Poupon had the slight edge in cakes, and Leopold’s in the macaroons, but the margins were too narrow to judge a victor. There would have to be some tie-breaker.

And what better than Patisserie Poupon’s own specialty, croissants?  Ever since biting into its legendary almond croissant, I had begun a love affair with croissants that has lasted to this day. As soon as I saw that Leopold’s, too, was serving its own almond croissant, I knew I had to come in one day and have a taste.

With so much variety at Leopold’s, though, it’s not so easy to just go in and grab a single croissant. I entered for the almond croissant, and I ended up also getting a brownie, hot chocolate, a chocolate croissant, and a ham and cheese scone—a feast, I know, but how could I resist?

Unfortunately, I wasn’t too impressed with the overall selection. The hot chocolate was watery, the brownie was a bit dry, the chocolate croissant lacked enough chocolate and had an oddly salty undertone, and the ham and cheese scone had almost no ham or cheese. I guess, then, my stomach really got the better of me on this deal.

I do, however, have to compliment Leopold’s on its almond croissant. Though the sweetness was overwhelming at times, and though the dough could get a bit muddy, the almond croissant was exceptional in its texture. That’s largely because Leopold’s integrates the sugar into the dough, giving that dough an almost marzipan-like chewiness. Combining that chewiness with the butteriness of a typical croissant, a deliciously flaky exterior, and an almost burnt sugar glaze is a recipe for success. The croissant, however, still does not even hold a torch to Patisserie Poupon’s variety, which doesn’t fall apart at all, has a much more balanced sweetness, and is always perfectly moist, rather than clumpy.

With that, I can put an end to my search for the best European bakery/café in the city. Leopold’s may produce a mean almond croissant and an excellent crop of macaroons, but it unfortunately isn’t all that consistent, nor can its croissants compare to the offerings of Patisserie Poupon. If you do come to Leopold’s, I’d recommend sticking to the macaroons and a few of the cakes, but taking a pass on most of the other treats.

What I had

1. Brownie: This is more of a mini-cake than a brownie, though it’s not a bad one at that. The brownie is very thin, having a very nicely crispy top, like a mix between muffin and a soufflé. That crust really is the star here, giving this brownie a very unique crunchiness. I did, however, find it to be a bit dry and bland at times. The interior is much moister, chewier, and more flavorful, serving as a nice contrast. It has a texture somewhere between the fudgy and the cakey, so it can give you somewhat of a gooey chocolate taste but without bogging you down. Still, this brownie definitely comes out on the cakey side because of the crunchy top, which covers almost half the brownie (It’s very thin). Finally, the brownie is topped with powdered sugar in just the right quantity to give it a bit of sweetness without going overboard. My one complaint, other than the slight dryness of the crust, is that the brownie still doesn’t have enough chocolate flavor. The focus is on balance, of course, but the net result is neutrality, missing the point of a brownie. I suppose some things are simply better left to American-style baking. 3.9/5.0
2. Hot Chocolate: Really disappointing. Like other bakeries, Leopold’s idea of hot chocolate is really just a bit of chocolate with a lot of hot liquid. This version tastes very weak, more reminiscent of water or coffee than chocolate. In fact, I tried taking huge gulps, but I could still get just a tiny bit of bitter chocolate on the palate. The hot chocolate is very watery, too. This is a matter of taste, but I’ve always liked hot chocolate with some heaviness to it. The one thing this cocoa does have going for it, though, is the huge amount of cool, slightly whipped cream on top, which blends nicely with the chocolate to cool it down and give it a bit of body. 1.5/5.0
3. Almond Croissant: This is really a unique take on a classic. Most almond croissants always have some type of sweet glaze that sets them apart from a normal croissant, and it’s the same here, but Leopold’s goes one further and puts that sugar into the dough. The dough is actually somewhat similar to a marzipan or to some Middle Eastern desserts where honey and sugar are used to harden the dough. Needless to say, it’s delightful. It comes off as a bit chewier and heavier, yet it doesn’t lose the intense butteriness of a good croissant, either. Moreover, the sweetness is distributed throughout the croissant, rather than solely relegated to the top, giving each bite some more flavor. The croissant also impresses with the sheer perfection of the sugar glaze on top. The sugar glaze has hardened intensely, to the point of having almost a burnt texture to it. Regardless, in every bite, not only can I taste the sweetness but I can hear a massive crunch. That incredibly flaky top gives a nice contrast to the much softer, fluffy dough. Finally, a whole slew of sliced almonds is tossed onto the top, giving the almonds a big presence. There are, however, a few things that really keep this croissant back from greatness. First, the flakiness is a double-edged sword, as the croissant falls apart very easily, nor does the glaze on top help to keep the almonds on. The problem is only amplified by the marzipan-like dough, which is rather clumpy and also falls apart at times. Second, the sweetness is far too intense, even for an almond croissant. There is no reason, either, for Leopold’s to make it worse by adding powdered sugar gratuitously to the top. Finally, the dough, while very flavorful and buttery, can get a bit muddy in the mouth, especially after a few bites. All in all, though, the croissant is fantastic, and it was served warm, making it taste all the better. 4.2/5.0
4. Pain au Chocolat: A good croissant—no more, no less. I like the flavor of the chocolate here, especially. There’s actually some melted chocolate inside, but there’s also an actual thin bar of chocolate, so that you get a good bite and chewiness out of it. The flavor, too, is very pronounced. It’s a bit too sweet, but it has a very intense bitterness that is a great complement to the overload of croissant fluff. And that croissant fluff is probably my main issue with this treat. To be fair, it’s not bad. It has a very flaky, crispy crust that really crunches loudly in every single bite, while the dough itself is rather soft and chewy. At the same time, though, it’s very bland. It also has an undertone of salt that is just too intense for the chocolate. Finally, there’s just so much fluff that it really takes away from the chocolate. It doesn’t help that the chocolate is relegated to just one side of the croissant, leaving you with a whole side of pure fluff. Even on that one side, there isn’t too much chocolate, either. It’s really just in a thin layer. The flavors, then, aren’t that bad, but the proportion of ingredients is off. 2.3/5.0
5. Ham and Cheese Scone: Another good, but not terribly inspired treat. There are a few things I really like about this scone. First, the scone is pretty well made, with a really crunchy exterior that makes it a delight to chew. Second, it’s very zesty/herby and peppery, and I find that type of intense seasoning very fitting for a savory. Finally, the scone includes a few chunks of ham tossed in the middle that I think help to give it some flavor. Ultimately, though, the scone falls flat in the flavor department, largely because there’s just so much dough that it’s hard to catch the ham and cheese. There is some cheese melted in the middle, helping to add a good, rich, clumpy texture to the scone, but that’s about it. Since the dough and the saltiness that comes with it are so pronounced, you really don’t get much of a ham and cheese taste. Moreover, the dough can taste a bit bland and/or muddy. 2.3/5.0

Scores

Ambience: 2.5/5.0. Nice for the Georgetown area, but still underwhelming.
Taste: 2.7+/5.0. Very inconsistent.
Value: 2.9/5.0. The croissants, scones, etc. are a much better value than the cakes, but the quality isn’t quite as good.
Overall Score, as a café: 2.7/5.0
Overall Score, as a bakery (excludes ambience): 2.8/5.0

Specialty: German Baked Goods, Cakes and Tortes.
Location: 3315 M St NW, Washington, District of Columbia 20007.
Price: $1 for macaroons and tea cookies.

As I mentioned the last time I was reviewing Leopold’s Kafe (for its cakes), there’s nothing I loved quite so much during my time as a college student as waking up in the morning and running to one of the local bakeries or cafés for a hot-out-of-the-oven baked good. One of the few places that kept me going back for more and more was Leopold’s Kafe, a German café that, to my pleasant surprise, produced treats from all over Europe.

123456►

Nothing kept me returning, though, quite like the macaroons. When I walked in my first day to order up a slice of chocolate cake and saw a tiny French macaroon out of the corner of my eye, I knew I had to have it. I hadn’t seen a real French macaroon for ages, and I had even given up on trying to find macaroons in DC.

In fact, I had only run into them once before at Patisserie Poupon, my favorite bakery in town. While the macaroons were good, they weren’t French-quality good. If even my favorite bakery couldn’t produce an outstanding macaroon, how was I going to find one somewhere else?

Still, I knew as soon as I saw that little cookie sandwich that day at Leopold’s, I just had to give it a shot. And, surprisingly, I was actually impressed, too. While I won’t go so far as to say Leopold’s macaroons are quite up to snuff by French standards, they are just about the closest thing to European-quality macaroons I’ve had in America (though that’s not a long list). Like the cakes, these macaroons can at times suffer from issues in the balance of the sweetness, as the filling is just a tad too sweet, especially in the flavors with jam in the middle. Still I love how bold they are, tasting much more like their ingredients than I expected. The coffee, for example, give a strong roasted espresso kick that leaves you practically breathing out coffee. The texture of the macaroons is great, too. They have just the right level of chewiness, giving them a certain viscous bubblegum-like quality, similar to the ones I tasted in Europe.

I would, however, recommend avoiding Leopold’s other cookies. I tasted a couple of the tea cookies just to see if Leopold’s could deliver on a more traditional cookie, but both the almond tuile and the dark chocolate salt cookie are one-dimensional, confused affairs. Moreover, since they’re tea cookies, they’re on the hard side, but that also leaves them far too dry to enjoy very much.

That said, I can at least give Leopold’s a big recommendation for the macaroons. I hate to say it, but I may have finally found a formidable rival to my favorite French bakery in town, Patisserie Poupon.

What I had

1. Pistachio Macaroon: This little cookie was almost perfectly balanced, though just a tad too sweet for my taste. The cookie itself had the right level of chewiness and stickiness so that it wasn’t overbearing. and the thin layer of sugary crunch on the top only made it better. The taste, however, is where this treat really passed the test. Being a pistachio flavor, it was nutty, downplaying the sweetness, at least in the beginning. Moreover, the layer of pistachio mousse sandwiched between the two cookie layers was delicious, being very light and airy. It had the taste of a vanilla cream with a very slight infusion of pistachio, which I think should have been stronger. Overall, though, the cookie actually tasted like what it should and was very nicely made. 4.5/5.0 (compared to other macaroons in America—the ones in Europe are in a whole ’nother league).
2. Blueberry Macaroon: This macaroon was a bit bolder than the last, which I appreciated, but at the same time it was far sweeter and at times could be cloying. Here, the texture of the cookie layers was more or less the same, so I won’t focus too much there. What set this flavor apart, though, was the thick, rich layer of blueberry jam right in the middle. Not only does jam have a much stronger flavor than a light cream or mousse (as in the pistachio’s case), it also has a stickiness that really increases the viscosity and chewiness of the cookie, giving it even more of the texture of bubblegum or of a very chewy marzipan—a texture of which I’m a huge fan. Moreover, in contrast to the pistachio, here the jam’s flavor was very strong, if not too strong, with a heavy, very sweet fruitiness that was both refreshing and a bit too much, if not potentially cloying. 4.5/5.0 (again, by American standards).
3. Raspberry Macaroon: The same applies more or less. I did find this flavor less enjoyable, however, largely because it was the sweetest of the bunch. It was, however, very light, with an airy raspberry mousse that was both intensely fruity and tangy, causing the mouth to pucker up just a bit. The flavor, again, felt a bit much, verging on the extreme in terms of both tanginess and sweetness. 4.0/5.0
4. Coffee Macaroon: This macaroon, on the other hand, displayed an almost perfect balance, and it is easily my favorite of the bunch. What really sets this one apart is the intensity of the roasted, espresso kick. It is filled with a light coffee cream, coming off as very soft at first. The coffee, however, continually picks up in flavor until it becomes very pronounced, leaving the palate refreshed with a nice roasted sensation or aftertaste, as though you’ve gotten a jolt of coffee. Moreover, the strong, more bitter flavor of the coffee complements the sweetness very well, such that you barely even notice that sweetness. 4.6/5.0
5. Dark Chocolate Salt Cookie: This cookie is meant to accompany tea, but how it’s to do so is beyond me, since the flavors just seem extremely muddled and bland. As a tea cookie, it’s of course going to be on the firm side (I guess that makes it better for dipping), though it crumbled nicely once I bit into it. Still, I found it to be just too tough, giving it a sense of extreme dryness, which just made its crumbliness taste like gritty mud. Even more disappointing was the chocolate, which felt bland, to put it lightly. The only real chocolate I tasted was in the chocolate chips, which helped to give a nice, intense burst of cocoa at times. Finally—and this was perhaps the most egregious of all the faults—the salt was overpowered by the chocolate. It was so light, in fact, that I wouldn’t even mention it in the cookie’s title. 1.0/5.0
6. Almond Tuile: Another disappointing tea cookie, though much better than the last. Like the last, this one is very hard—even harder, in fact, since it includes actual chunks of almonds. That chunkiness actually took me by surprise, though. This cookie is extremely thin, and the fact that they managed to fit such small chunks of almonds without so much as a lump on the top attests to their skill. I did find the crunch and snap on this cookie to be nice, too. But that’s really where the positives stop. This cookie is extremely one-dimensional, and the one dimension that it does do—almonds—it does poorly. The almond is downplayed in favor of a more buttery, cookie dough flavor, but that cookie taste comes off as bland. To be fair, this cookie, with its neutral taste and intense snap, probably does accompany tea well. 2.0/5.0

Scores

There’s just too much disparity in the cookies to factor them into the same score.

Score, for the Macaroons (Value included): 4.4/5.0
Score, for the Tea Cookies (Value included): 1.5/5.0

Cuisine: American Baked Goods.
Specialty: Cupcakes.
Location: 1501 U St NW, Washington, DC 20009.
Price: $3.25 for Cupcakes.

I was craving an amazing red velvet cupcake, my absolute favorite variety, and for red velvet there is only one place to go in town: Love Café. The first and only time I had gone to Love Café, I had had just one bite of the Red Velvet Cupcake, but it had been so decadently rich, so packed with such a deliciously balanced, tangy cream cheese frosting, and just so plain good that I knew it had to be the best in town. It had been so good, in fact, that nearly every one of my friends remembered it as an unforgettable treat, and within my group it had attained that semi-mystical status that is the stuff of legends and myths.

12►

It thus came as no surprise that after eating at one of the local restaurants with my friends, one of them had a sudden craving for the cupcake. Love Café was 15 minutes away and would toss us completely off course, costing us even more time on the way back. It didn’t matter, though, because everyone concurred: We just had to go get that red velvet cupcake.

We felt right at home, too, as Love Café is a pretty trendy coffee shop, catering to a younger crowd. While it’s small, it’s almost always crowded, and unlike most decent cafés/bakeries, it actually stays open pretty late—up to 10:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. I’m not too surprised either, because it has a really nice, relaxed atmosphere, like you’re walking into an upscale version of Starbucks where the treats are freshly made daily.

And when I say freshly made, I mean they’re literally made on the other side of the street. Love Café has its own professional baking operation, Cake Love, which directly faces the café.  Needless to say, it’s a killer combo, as you get the freshness of a typical bakery but with a very casual décor. The seating may feel a bit dull and may be a bit uncomfortable, and the plain brick walls can be offsetting, but overall it’s a pretty decent place for a quick slice of cake and some coffee, especially while you’re out in the ever-popular bar/jazz/Ethiopian district of town.

The quality of the food is quite good, too. Love Café is known for its cupcakes, which really form the vast majority of its bakery arsenal. Normally I wouldn’t go sit at a coffee shop just for a cupcake, but Love Café’s really are more like cake slices, since they’re large, thick, and dense. I like the overall balance of the cupcakes, too. Love Café tends to emphasize the cake portion a great deal, as the cupcakes have very little frosting, which typically forms a thin glaze on the top. The frosting is made with buttercream, so it’s extremely rich and creamy, though a bit overly so for my taste. Still, the thin layer means the frosting doesn’t overpower you in any way, especially in the sweetness. That’s probably where Cake Love succeeds the most—in balancing the sweetness really well. The cupcakes aren’t the sugar fests that you’d find at other places. Instead, the point is actually to make a mini-cake, and the cupcakes prioritize a very moist, large cake layer that you can eat almost without the frosting.

At the same time, the cupcake doesn’t seem “whole” because the frosting isn’t used to its best. It’s especially problematic because there’s a certain blandness to the cakes, possibly due to the fact that they’re served a bit frosty. The frugality in the frosting also runs the risk of causing the cakes to taste dry. While the cupcakes are definitely balanced, they lack bold flavors, and many of the cakes actually taste quite similar—like a good pound cake, with a very light, smooth, and slightly whipped cream on top.

Finally—and this is perhaps most disappointing of all—that red velvet cupcake we had so fantasized about turned out to be little more than a memory. Perhaps we had had a bad taste before or there had been a change in recipe, but this time the cake was too dry. Before, the frosting had been placed in multiple layers throughout the cupcake, adding just enough flavor and moisture, to the point that the cake practically slid down. I’m sure the actual red velvet cake will be closer to that old magnificence, given its multiple layers of frosting, but the cupcake was easily the biggest letdown of the night.

Overall, though, Love Café is a pretty safe choice for a solid cupcake. It is, however, also far from astounding.

What I Tasted

1. Vanilla on Vanilla: This is actually a great take on a cupcake that I normally can’t stand to eat. Typically, vanilla frosting is unbearably cloying, but not here. The vanilla on top is smooth and extremely whipped, practically sliding down your mouth. In fact, it’s so whipped that it is a bit offsetting and too light for me (I never thought I’d say something can be too creamy, but it’s true). Even better, it actually tastes like vanilla—pure vanilla, without the overload of sugar.  The vanilla cake is also solid, with a good vanilla accent that is complemented well by the frosting. While the cupcake is a bit frosty, it’s better than most of the others I tried. 4.0/5.0
2. Banana Split (Banana Cake with Vanilla and Strawberry Buttercream Frosting, Chocolate Drizzle, and Caramelized Nuts): This, unlike the other flavors, has some complexity, which I really appreciated. I especially love the caramelized nuts at the top—nuts are always a bonus for me. Still, I found the flavor to be a bit confused. The banana cake has a very similar taste to the vanilla. It’s simple, good, soft pound cake, though again a bit frosty. I just don’t get much of a sense of unity, since you have the vanilla, strawberry, chocolate, and sweet nuts all tossed in gratuitously. I definitely do like the idea of incorporating the traditional ingredients of a banana split, though. 3.5/5.0
3. Red Velvet: This is a disappointment. I remember eating the Red Velvet here once before and thinking it was the best I’d had in DC, but this time around it is a bit dull, mostly because the cake has even less flavor than the others. It still has the same great consistency (and I mean the exact same), but the frostiness really harms it, and I can’t really taste much cocoa or vanilla at all. The frosting, however, more than makes up for the deficiencies of the cake. It is real cream cheese frosting, with very little sweetness at all but with an incredibly tangy, whipped cheese taste that is definitely one of the best in town. And even though it’s only provided in a thin layer, it really packs a lot of flavor, which helps out the subpar cake. It is also probably the lightest/most whipped of all the frostings I tried, meaning it may be slightly cloying for some. 3.7/5.0
4. Mud Cream (Chocolate Cupcake with Peanut Butter Dot on Top and Fudge in the Center): Unlike the others, this one has some big flavor, mostly because of the fudge in the center and the heavy PB on top. I would prefer more PB, which is left in a small dot just on the center, but it is still rich, flavorful, and surprisingly light for a PB frosting. It actually has more of a ganache consistency, too, which I like. I think the fudge really helps the cake as well, giving it a smoothness that the others lacked. Still, this cake is probably the blandest and driest of the bunch, and the big flavors can’t cover that up. 3.2/5.0

What I’ve Had Before

1. Red Velvet Cupcake: I mention this again because the shop used to have an even better version, where the frosting was actually layered throughout the gigantic cupcake, meaning you would get a perfect balance of frosting and cake in every bite. Since then, I haven’t seen it, but with that added layering, this cupcake was unbeatable, as it had a perfect creaminess, moistness, balance, and sweet tanginess throughout.
2. Velvet Elvis Cupcake: It was great, but not something I’d come back for. The cake was especially moist and fluffy. The frosting was like biting into a topping on ice cream, i.e. a real chocolate cream combo that wasn’t overpowering. The cake was fresh too, so it tasted better than most of the other choices. The frosting mixed very well with it.
3. Chocolate Mocha Cream: This one was decent, as the mocha cream gave it a nice balance. Still, it was very plain.

Scores

Ambience: 3.0/5.0
Taste: 3.6/5.0
Value: 4.0/5.0
Overall Score, as a cupcakery (excludes ambience): 3.8/5.0
Overall Score, as a café: 3.6/5.0

Specialty: German Baked Goods, Cakes and Tortes.
Location: 3315 M St NW, Washington, District of Columbia 20007.
Price: $6.50-$7.50 for cake.

While living in Georgetown, there were two things I absolutely loved about the neighborhood: the scenery and the bakeries. Georgetown enforces rather strict building regulations, so everything looks like it’s ripped straight out of the past: old brick and cobbled roads, classic stone architecture, and, in the residential part, beautiful little plots of trees. At the same time, if you do manage to make the trek out to those parts, a vast array of delicious sweets await you, as the countless local bakeries and cafés sell everything from traditional American goods to French pastries to cupcakes. In fact, I’d go so far as to call Georgetown the baking HQ of Washington, DC.

123456►

So imagine waking up and taking a nice brisk run to one of those stores to get incredibly fresh baked goods every morning. Well, that was indeed the paradise that I enjoyed for the last semester of my senior year. After eating through the whole scene, though, there were, not surprisingly, only a couple places I really cared to return to on a frequent basis.

One with which I never became bored, though, was Leopold’s Kafe & Konditorei, a German café (hence the K in the spelling) that produces easily some of the best cakes, pastries, and cookies in the District, along with a whole breakfast, lunch, and dinner menu. I never really bothered with any of the savories, though, because the desserts were so good (at times) that I wanted to save all the room I had just for them.

You may be wondering why I chose to return to Leopold’s, given the fierce baking scene in the city. It mostly has to do with the variety. Whereas I could get a good cupcake, cookie, or croissant at other places, it was almost impossible to find just about any treat I could ever want under one roof. Leopold’s, though, produces nearly all of my favorites: rich, decadent cakes (with lots of chocolate!), delectable macaroons, croissants, etc. In that sense, it’s thankfully a bit less German than I expected, as you find European specialties of all sorts represented, from French macaroons and croissants to German-style cakes and desserts (apple strudel included!), to Belgian waffles.

If there’s one thing that stands out on the menu, though, it’s the cakes, which are the main subject of today’s review. Georgetown may have a variety of outstanding baked goods, but the art of cake-making is an almost archaic, outdated skill that is nearly lost on the area. Sometimes, I want a dessert, but a substantial one, and I could only find that at two places in all of Georgetown: Patisserie Poupon and Leopold’s. Of those two, Leopold’s had by far the larger selection, featuring a whole thirteen different cakes, ranging from the decadently nutty Esterhazy to the Earl Grey-infused Karamell-Grey to the fruity Fraisier.  Even better, the shop tends to overrepresent chocolate cakes, my single favorite variety.

You better believe, though, that the quality is great, especially surprising given how different the flavors can be. Every cake is moist, often coming with numerous layers to keep everything extra moist. From what I’ve heard, some cakes do suffer from just a bit of dryness at times, but that’s never been a problem for me, since I got there early enough in the morning that the cakes hadn’t been sitting out too long.  Moreover, the cakes tend to be very rich, with a lot of cream, ganache, or custard. They can be a little bit heavy or cloying for some, but I personally prefer them that way.

The one area that can be problematic is in the balance of flavors and ingredients. Sometimes Leopold’s will make some poor design choices, such as by overloading the Karamell-Grey with so much sweet caramel that it is overbearingly sweet, or by overstuffing the Fraisier with humungous strawberry slices that break up the texture and taste. Even with those flaws, though, I do appreciate that the cakes are all intense and bold. For once, you can actually taste the ingredients. Thus, for instance, if you get the Karamell-Grey, you can expect to taste both an intensely sweet caramel and an intensely aromatic, herby Earl Grey, even if those flavors may collide at times. Still, due to the lack of balance, the cakes can be inconsistent in their excellence.

As an added bonus, Leopold’s knows how to present. You might not be blown away, but its treats all come beautifully arranged, sometimes even with miniature signs, designs, or decorations on top (such as gold leaf on the domes). The café, too, has a bit of that chic presentation, with vibrant colors, a wacky spiraling couch right in the middle, and iridescent abstract portraits. It’s not the greatest scene, but it still beats out the majority of its competition in the area. Add in the table service, and the expensive $6.50-$7.50 price tag for the cakes doesn’t seem nearly as bad, though it’s still pricey.

While Leopold’s doesn’t astound enough for me to give it an unconditional recommendation, I do admire its dedication to the art of the cake. The cakes may be inconsistent, but Leopold’s easily surpasses the vast majority of the city’s cake selections. It may thus be worth a shot, especially if you’re looking for nutty flavors.

What I had

1. Karamell-Grey (Belgian Dark Chocolate Cake layered with Earl Grey Tea Caramel Chocolate Ganache): This cake is as impressive as it sounds, though I found it to be just off the mark in its flavor. First of all, the presentation is spot on, especially for such a normal-looking café. The cake is nicely dusted with cocoa powder for that faded appearance on the top, decorated with an artistic splotch of dark chocolate fudge, and topped with a piece of gold leaf right in the middle of that design. More importantly, the cake delivers on that presentation. The chocolate cake is quite decadent, made all the more so by the numerous layers of caramel chocolate ganache that are layered throughout (three times, to be precise). The cake itself is crumbly, but with a buttery softness that prevents it from being dry, while the ganache adds a thick layer of viscous, rich cream to make the cake even smoother. The ganache is definitely the highlight, too. The cake layers have a good taste of dark chocolate, but they are pretty neutral. The ganache, though, is bold, coming off as bitter (from the chocolate and the tea), very sweet (from the caramel), rich (the chocolate and caramel), and finally herby and aromatic (the tea). That ganache, however, does not have the right balance of flavors, and I found the cake to be inconsistent. On my first bite, I was taken aback (in a good way) by the very noticeable, but subtle, black tea bitterness that not only gives the cake a nice complexity, but leaves the palate refreshed, breathing out the aroma of a strong earl grey. However, that effect quickly dissipated and refused to return, as the Early Grey was almost completely suppressed by the much stronger, semi-cloying, very decadent caramel sweetness. Don’t get me wrong—it’s delicious caramel. But it really is just a bit much, even with the chocolate balancing it. 4.2/5.0
2. Esterhazy (5 layers of hazelnut cake with a light buttercream and toasted almonds): I’ve heard some people have bad experiences with this cake, but mine was fantastic. Not only was the cake itself moist, it really captured the essence of roasted hazelnut, leaving you with a very strong, smoky, nutty taste, rather than a sweet or buttery one. The big thing that stood out here was the focus on the nut, and it seems that everything was done to let it shine. First, the buttercream was very light, which was a great choice—hazelnut is already an extremely heavy, bold ingredient, so you don’t really need to make it worse with something dense. Instead, the cream helped to soften the edges, integrating some creaminess into the already moist, buttery cake. The toasted almonds had a similar supporting role. They were slivered very thin, which meant that they didn’t interfere with the creaminess of the cake with too heavy a crunch, but that they could still add in another layer of toastiness. Finally, the cake layers themselves were delicious—very buttery, but with a heavy emphasis on the hazelnut, perhaps even incorporating very small minced chunks of it in there, given the semi-gritty texture. That grittiness really suits the taste, making it feel a bit more nutty, and it thankfully didn’t detract from the creaminess. My one complaint about this cake was the frosting, a layer of sweet white chocolate, drizzled across with bitter chocolate. It was a nice presentational touch, but I found it to be far too sweet, overshadowing the hazelnut if the bites were too small. Once I began to take larger bites, though, the roasted hazelnut started to accumulate and shine through regardless. 4.5/5.0. I’m not a big fan of hazelnut, but even I thought this was an extremely flavorful take on the nut.
3. Milano (Light chocolate mousse dome, piled with vanilla and caramel fudge, on a chocolate macaroon base): This cake has the makings of greatness—an austere look, layers of strong flavors, a nice lightness with just a bit of chewier, cookie denseness—and yet it falls flat, for two reasons. First, it feels very unbalanced, with the flavors constantly clashing and tending to downplay, rather than enhance, each other. The main culprits here are the chocolate and vanilla mousses. The vanilla particularly is very bold and tends to overpower the chocolate with its sweeter flavor, especially when it combines with the very heavy, sweet caramel, which would probably be cloying if any more had been provided. Moreover, the mousses are not proportionally distributed, so that at certain points in the cake you end up eating far more chocolate or far more vanilla mousse. Thus, almost by default the cake seems confused about its flavor. Just as large a problem, though, is that some ingredients seem completely extraneous. This shell of the dessert is covered by thin pieces of chocolate which add very little to the actual taste, nor does the chocolate macaroon come out in any way, being lost in the vanilla and caramel barrage. On the more positive side, though, this cake does still demonstrate excellent technique, and the flavors themselves, while a bit much when together, are delicious in themselves. The mousse is light and airy, the chocolate having a strong cocoa intensity and the vanilla an even stronger vanilla accent that really lasts on the palate. Moreover, the caramel, while too sweet, is very rich and viscous, adding a nice bit of weight to the whole creation. 3.0/5.0. Really not that bad, but its jumble of flavors just pales in comparison to the other treats.
4. Fraisier (Almond Cake layered with Pistachio Mousse and Fresh Strawberries): The mousse in this dessert is incredible. Pistachio can be tasted in every part of every bite perfectly, culminating in a semi-sweet, big pistachio finish. The strawberries, moreover, are extremely fresh and ripe, really exploding with juice and flavor, unlike the strawberries you get in most desserts. To top it all off, there’s a nice strawberry semi-jelly glaze, with a very intense fruity sweetness that blends incredibly well with the much heavier, more balanced pistachio mousse and the almond cake. I really liked how nicely the glaze captured the strawberry flavor, and it was obvious that it was made with real strawberries, as you could even see the strawberry seeds in it! Moreover, the texture of the cake is just as much a knockout as the flavor. The almond cake has a bit of thick, chewy, richness, like a marzipan, but it’s very thin, covering solely the very top and bottom of the mousse. The mousse is on the opposite side of the spectrum—light, smooth, and creamy—and fills up the vast majority of the cake. I like that it has some body to it, too, like a good custard. I do, however, have one big complaint, and this is mostly a technical, rather than a flavor, problem: The strawberries are just too gigantic, and they really take away from just how easy it is to eat the cake. There are only two or three strawberry chunks within the actual cake, but they take up about half the cake because the cafe leaves the strawberries in huge halves. That’s not to say they’re not good. In fact, thought they are some of the freshest strawberries I’ve had in a cake. But because they’re so big, it’s almost impossible to eat them together with a decent amount of pistachio mousse, and they end up overpowering the mousse. Moreover, they really ruin the extremely light, smooth texture. 4.5/5.0.
5. Sacher Torte (Chocolate Cake with Apricot Jam): The one true disappointment of the bunch, this cake suffers from one major fundamental flaw: the lack of balance. In fact, the apricot jam comes in one rather small layer in the middle of the cake, yet it is so sweet that once you get it into your mouth, you practically don’t taste the chocolate at all. Instead, you’re left with a very fruity, but very cloyingly sweet, taste. Moreover, the crust on the bottom—a thin layer of hardened chocolate and one of the few flavorful chocolate components—is hard and crackly, falling apart and very difficult to cut. To be fair, though, the cake does have some positives. The chocolate cake is very nicely done, as it’s moist and flavorful, even though the apricot jam completely overshadows it. It’s also topped with a thin layer of chocolate ganache, which I find to be delicious. It’s smooth and thick, with a strong bittersweetness. 2.1/5.0. If I wanted to just apricot jam, I’m sure this cake would be lovely—but then I wouldn’t have ordered a $7 chocolate cake now, would I?

Scores

Ambience: 2.5/5.0. Nice for the Georgetown area, but still underwhelming.
Taste: 3.6/5.0. Very inconsistent.
Value: 2.2/5.0. Pricy and small, though the quality is great.
Overall Score, as a café: 2.8/5.0
Overall Score, as a bakery (excludes ambience): 3.1/5.0

It’s no secret that Patisserie Poupon is my favorite bakery in the DC area. I’ve already sung endless praises of the croissants and of some of the cakes, and I’ve constantly been impressed with its consistent excellence in the art of French pastry-making.

Never did I imagine that Patisserie Poupon would even make the best cookies in town, though. I normally don’t even see a selection of cookies at a French bakery, except perhaps for some macaroons. Patisserie Poupon, however, attempts to cater to its American audience with two very American cookie varieties: the chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin.

123►

I know what you may be thinking: A French bakery making an amazing chocolate chip cookie? What is a chocolate chip cookie even doing at a French bakery? I can’t imagine the item being overly popular either, since most people don’t go into Patisserie Poupon expecting to find a cookie.

But, trust me, that cookie is perhaps the best-kept secret in town. I’m a huge fan of cookies, and I’ve taken the time to eat all the supposed “best” in the city. The ones at Firehook Bakery were large and jam-packed with ingredients, but still a bit bland. At Baked and Wired, they were a bit too sweet, as with everything else in the store. Marvelous Market’s were decent, but pre-packaged, so they weren’t quite as fresh.

Patisserie Poupon, though, does nearly everything right. In the chocolate chip cookie, it balances out the sweetness by adding in the more neutral walnut, which also adds a big crunch. The cookie itself is so buttery and the chocolate is so gooey and semi-melted that the whole cookie practically slides down your mouth.

The oatmeal raisin has the same type of melt-in-your-mouth interior, but it comes with a much crunchier, burnt top that adds a deliciously refreshing smokiness, making it one of the most interesting, complex oatmeal raisins I’ve tried in a long time. It is so good, in fact, that it’s changed my distaste for oatmeal raisin, which I consider to be the most boring of the traditional American cookies.

It’s even more surprising just how good these cookies are when one considers that they far surpass Patisserie Poupon’s macaroon selection. While the macaroons here are still great, they can be a bit light on flavor, and they never reach that truly balanced sweetness that any phenomenal macaroon needs. If I have the choice of paying a bit less than a $1 for one of these small treats, or paying $1 for the absolutely phenomenal and much more filling American-style cookie, you better believe that I’m going to choose the latter.

Again, Patisserie Poupon never ceases to amaze me with its excellence. Croissants? Check. Cakes? Check. And now, cookies too? Check. With an outstanding selection like that, do I even need another bakery in DC anymore?

What I Tasted

1. Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookie: Full disclosure—I had this as it just came out, piping hot and very fresh, so my review will reflect that freshness. Even so, I’ve had this cookie at other times, and it is always excellently articulated and balanced. There isn’t too much sweetness at all. Instead, the focus is on the chocolate, nutty, and really buttery flavors, as should be the case with a good French pastry. The cookie is so buttery, in fact, that as soon as you touch it you can see a gloss of oil on your fingertips. It can thus be cloying for some. Still, I love how soft it is, as it practically falls apart in the mouth. And even though it’s so soft, it has an amazingly crunchy, slightly firm top that I think gives it some nice contrast in texture. Where this cookie really stands out, though, is in the flavor. The shop chooses to go with a dark chocolate chip, so the chocolate flavor is very intense and not overly sweet. Even better, the chips are melted, so a whole layer of fudgy chocolate runs throughout the entire cookie, meaning you get an even amount of chocolate in every bite. Finally, because the chocolate is melted, it helps add a great gooeyness to the cookie that integrates all the other components, especially the large nut chunks. Those chunks add both some crunchiness and a more neutral, pronounced nutty flavor for some contrast, but because the cookie is so buttery and gooey, they don’t really harden the cookie at all. 4.6+/5.0
2. Oatmeal Raisin Cookie: I normally am not a fan of oatmeal raisin at all, but this one hits the mark, offering a new take on the traditional oatmeal raisin cookie. The big kicker is that the cookie has an extraordinary semi-burnt top, making for one of the crunchiest cookie experiences you can imagine. Patisserie Poupon also infuses the whole cookie with a bit of smoky toastiness that works amazingly well with the oats. The overall combo has somewhat of a cooked oatmeal flavor. Moreover, even though the cookie is so crunchy, the interior is surprisingly not hard at all, and it has a great chewiness, which you pick up as you get nearer to the fluffy center. The one area that may be offsetting for some is the scarcity of the raisins, which I actually think is a wise choice because it means that the cookie isn’t very sweet but rather emphasizes the oat taste. I do like, moreover, that the raisins are in large chunks, which add a fantastic chewy contrast to the crunch of the top.  4.6/5.0
3. Pistachio Macaroon: This one is interesting, for two reasons. First, unlike a real French macaroon, this is more like a mini macaroon sandwich, with a layer of custard in between two layers of cookies. The custard helps to add a bit of chewiness to the mixture, softening the layers of cookie. It also adds a slight vanilla taste. Second, to its great benefit, this macaroon is not very sweet, rather emphasizing a very balanced sweetness that is not cloying in any sense. It’s very fitting for a nut-based flavor. The consistency is also great, verging on a bubblegum-like chewiness. While the macaroon does the basics well, though, it just doesn’t have a pronounced flavor, and the pistachio was almost lost on me. Moreover, I found the custard extraneous, both lacking much flavor in itself and possibly suppressing other flavor. 3.3/5.0.
4. Chocolate Macaroon: Now this is a macaroon! I’m always hesitant with chocolate macaroons because they tend to be on the muddy side, with an intense flavor but a really gritty/dull consistency. That’s no problem for this macaroon, though. While it’s a little bit harder than other macaroons, it retains its form well and has a nice chewiness. And instead of a custard layer like in the pistachio, it has another layer of pure, dark chocolate for an added flavor boost. 4.0/5.0. Intense and nicely made.

Scores

Taste: 4.2+/5.0
Value: 4.6/5.0. $1 for cookies this good? What a steal!
Ambience: 3.0/5.0
Overall Score, as a bakery for cookies (excludes ambience): 4.4/5.0.
Overall Score, as a café: 4.1/5.0.

Ironically, instead of delivering the best macaroons in the city, Patisserie Poupon serves up the best American-style cookies. Take just one bite of the chocolate chip cookie, and you might never need to go to another bakery for a cookie.

Puro Café is a new hot spot in the Georgetown area, located right on the lower part of Wisconsin St., an area known for its bakeries and ice cream. The owners must be pretty confident in their goods if they think they can compete successfully in the area, especially since their area of baking specialty—French pastries—is the same as that of Patisserie Poupon, located just a block up, which I consider the best bakery in DC. That competition, though, doesn’t seem to be affecting business. When I walked by at 8:30 am on a Saturday—too early for most people to be at a café—Puro was serving quite a few customers. It really must be good, I reasoned, and I decided to give it a shot.

12►

From the outside, Puro Café does indeed look quite good. The café itself is modern and very bougy, though overly so for my taste. When you go inside, you don’t really see a bakery or café, but rather a hang-out spot, complete with loungy couches with beaded pillows, a long table looking out on the street, and even outdoor seating for a nice summer day. The color scheme, which is pure white (and I mean for practically everything, from the couches to the walls), is very simple but works extremely well, giving the café a very pristine, quaint, cutesy look. I would go so far as to say it’s tailored more for a younger female clientele, but oddly enough it was crowded with just the opposite—middle-aged males. It’s thus not the type of place where a guy would feel uncomfortable, even though it has an overly polished, austere look that will be a bit bougy, at best, or downright unsatisfying, at worst. Still, I enjoyed the relaxed vibe.

But that’s really all the café has to offer. Like I said, I came because of the appearance of the shop, and as I’ve learned time and time before in doing these reviews, appearances tend to be deceiving. The shop is very hip/cutesy, but that’s because it really needs to be to compete, especially since its pastries just don’t live up to the standards of its competitors. I got two small croissants, yet both were on the dry side, even though you’d expect a smaller pastry to be easier to keep moist. Moreover, they didn’t have much flavor, nor did they utilize their key ingredients well—i.e. the almond croissant didn’t taste much like almonds and had very little sweetness to it, while the chocolate croissant had virtually no chocolate in it. What I got, then, were really a couple of plain, tasteless croissants. Nor did the supposed “Puro tea,” a rather poor take on Moroccan mint tea, make the matter any better.

Honestly, I was planning on going back and reviewing a few more of the treats, but I had such a horrible experience with the pastries here that I decided it wasn’t worth it. For a Frenchman to serve such horrible croissants is a downright embarrassment (and I do think the owner is probably French, since French was being spoken in the shop). Do yourselves a favor and head down one more block to Patisserie Poupon for an amazing, decadent almond croissant.

What I Tasted

1. Almond Croissant: This croissant actually had some good nuance to it, but the flavor ultimately just wasn’t there. The croissant was way too tough in the crust, while the inside, which was rather fluffy, was also disappointingly on the dry side. This dryness struck me as odd, since I went to the shop early in the morning (at 8:15 a.m.), so if the croissant was dry, it wasn’t because it had been left out for too long, but rather because the shop hadn’t actually used enough butter in it. As for the almonds, they were merely sprinkled on the top with a very, very light sugar glaze. The almond glaze added some crunch and sweetness, but it was so subtle that it couldn’t compensate for the poor croissant. Ultimately, this was a plain croissant with a few nuts, rather than a croissant in which the flavor had become a key component. 1.0/5.0
2. Pain au Chocolat: Like I said before, this croissant had almost no chocolate in it at all. The shop really tricks you, putting a small dot of chocolate right on the outside to convince you that the small, puffed croissant is just loaded with chocolate. Yet, when you actually bite in, you’re just disappointed to see that there’s really nothing there except for the fluff, which isn’t particularly satisfying at all because of its lack of butter. In fact, I took two bites and then began to dismantle the whole croissant looking for just one more bit of chocolate, and I couldn’t find any. Really misleading. 0.0/5.0. This isn’t a chocolate croissant at all.
3. Puro Tea (Moroccan Mint Tea): The tea was a bit better. They had placed actual Moroccan mint tea in the kettle itself, giving the tea a nice aroma and herby quality. I don’t think the tea was actually filtered through that mint, though, meaning that the mint flavor was just tacked on to the end. The mint was, in turn, very light, and I felt like I was drinking some light, plain tea. 2.5/5.0

Scores

Taste: 0.5/5.0
Value: 0.5/5.0. The treats, though cheap, are extremely small. Really not worth it.
Ambience: 4.0/5.0
Overall Score for a bakery (excludes ambience): 0.5/5.0
Overall Score, as a café: 2.0/5.0

There are some shops that grow on you after a while. They may not always be the most inventive, they may not be the most renowned, and they may not even always have the best treats, but there’s something about them that just intrigues you into coming back.

12345►

Baked and Wired would certainly fall into that category. I’ve never really been overwhelmingly impressed by the shop, as its specialty cupcakes fall more than flat, while the cookies and brownies don’t impress to the point that I’d return for them.

There is a certain mystery to the café, though. It’s partly the trendy, college vibe, which I find pleasantly unique for the Georgetown area.

It’s more than that, though. In the past, I came to try traditional cookies, brownies, and cupcakes. The best part about this shop, though, is the untraditional, as can be seen in the rest of Baked and Wired’s selection, which includes many playful innovations on the classics.

Baked and Wired doesn’t just make granola, for example. Instead, it makes “Hippie Crack,” chock full of literally everything you could ever want in a granola mix: toasted oats, toasted pecans, toasted slivered almonds, toasted coconut, dried cherries, dried apricots, dried currants, dried cranberries, and a touch of honey. Just read over that mouth-watering list, and you’ll understand just why it’s called “Hippie Crack”—it’s easily the most overloaded, most delicious, and most hands-down addictive granola mix I’ve tasted.

Just as addictive as the Hippie Crack, though, are the fantastic bars. Most come with a deliciously crumbly, almost biscotti-like shortbread base. They are, like the Hippie Crack, also overloaded with ingredients, whether the bars come in simple combinations like honey pecan or in another huge medley, as in the case of the Soccer Mom Bar (loaded with 7 ingredients). In either case, Baked and Wired manages to truly capture the flavors, yet even in the sweeter combinations—honey pecan comes to mind—the sweetness is very well-controlled so that it’s never cloying. That is, in a sense, what distinguishes these treats from the others I’ve reviewed from Baked and Wired in the past: Whereas the famous cupcakes and even the relatively good cookies and brownies could overwhelm with their sugar, Baked and Wired actually does a great job with balancing out its bars, meaning the flavors come through far better.

The bread selection is, unfortunately, not quite as good as that of the bars. While I’m a huge fan of both banana and zucchini breads, neither truly impressed me at the shop, even though they come with numerous nuts and dried fruits (and chocolate chips in the case of the banana bread) to liven them up a little bit beyond their traditional renditions. Ironically, the breads don’t have enough sugar—a first for this shop. Moreover, they tend to be on the drier side.

Still, that’s a small flaw, considering just how good the other treats are. Every time I eat at Baked and Wired, I just gain more and more respect for it, realizing that it’s not just a place for a sugar high but a café where the bakers really show a penchant both for creativity and technique. I was initially offset by the barrage of sweetness in the cupcakes, but since then I’ve realized that this shop does produce some fine combinations of (dare I say it!) balanced flavors, even if the sweetness can be a bit much at times.

In turn, I have no problem recommending Baked and Wired, at least for the delicious bars and the Hippie Crack.

What I’ve Tasted

1. Banana Bread w/ Walnuts and Chocolate Chips: The banana bread is very moist, with an almost zucchini bread-like consistency that makes it a pleasure. Still, it can get dry and hard on the corners and in the crust, especially with so many gigantic chunks of walnuts and chocolate chips (to be fair, I got the corner piece, so it should be just a bit harder). As for the flavor, the banana is definitely there, but it’s very subtle and really gets overshadowed by the much bolder walnut, which means the bread itself can taste bland at times. Finally, the mix-ins have mixed results. I really like the walnuts, precisely for their boldness, and because the crunch really adds a lot to the texture. The bread is, moreover, just stuffed with these, so the crunch is very prevalent. The chocolate chips, on the other hand, don’t fare so well. They are, like the banana, easily overpowered to the point of becoming unnoticeable, both in texture and flavor. On the more positive side, there isn’t too much sweetness here, as is often the case with the banana bread, nor is it overly oily or buttery, and this bread never gets cloying in any way. In fact, (and I can’t believe I’m saying this about a Baked and Wired treat), I could have actually used more sugar. Overall, though, this bread isn’t bad by any means. It is, however, a rather one-dimensional affair. 2.8/5.0
2. Bee Sting Bar (Shortbread Base with Sliced Almonds and Honey): This is perhaps the best bar in the store, showing both great balance and a very complex combo of the buttery and sweet. The shortbread is delicious, with a consistency similar to that of a biscotti (firm, with a texture reminiscent of rolled oats), but even softer and more crumbly. That crumble is all the more delicious because Baked and Wired opted for something on the buttery side, meaning the shortbread really rolls around nicely and moistly in the mouth, leaving a semi-thick film of sweet cake around the mouth. Adding to that is an excellent layer of crunch on the top, which has a whole slew of toasted almonds. Those almonds, though, don’t clash with the much softer cake, largely because they’re trapped in a thin layer of gooey honey, which softens and integrates the crunch very nicely with the cake. That honey, moreover, serves as the main source of sugar here, giving the cake a very natural sweetness that is refreshing and complements the nuttiness very well. This bar, then, manages to both balance the flavors—nutty, sweet, and buttery—very well, while attaining a fantastic mix of gooey, crunchy, and crumbly textures. The one big complaint is that it, too, can get a bit cloying, but the sugar rush mostly occurs at the very end as the palate picks up more of the sweetness in the cake. 4.4/5.0. Probably the best dessert in the shop.
3. Honey Pecan Bar: With a name like Honey Pecan, is there any doubt how sweet this dessert is going to be? And yet, Baked and Wired does manage to make a fine dessert out of something that, by its nature, will tend to be cloying. The pecans are tossed in gratuitously, stuck in a toffee-like, thick layer of honey, and that combo surprisingly works very well, both in texture and taste. The pecans add a great crunch, but it’s not too abrasive because the firm gooeyness of the honey layer adds some smoothness. The texture of the honey is fantastic, as it is more reminiscent of fudge, losing a bit of that sickening stickiness that I would associate with most honey-based desserts. Adding to the combo is a firm layer of shortbread on the bottom to give just a bit more substance. That layer also helps to add a more neutral backdrop for the intensely sweet and very nutty flavors. Finally, while this can easily get overly sweet because of the oversupply of honey, the large amount of nuts really does help to take the edge off that sweetness, at least initially. I will say that this baked treat can be very one-dimensional, but I can’t fault it for that, because that’s really what the bar calls for, i.e. it’s supposed to be just honey and nuts.  4.1/5.0. I personally wouldn’t order a bar like this again because it’s not my type of treat, but for what it is—a very simple barrage of honey and nuts—it’s very finely made.
4. Hippie Crack (A Granola Mix with Toasted Oats, Toasted Pecans, Toasted Slivered Almonds, Toasted Coconut, Dried Cherries, Apricots, Currants, Cranberries, and a Touch of Honey): I don’t even need to write a review for this—just read the ingredient list. With that many bold, delicious ingredients, how can this jumble be anything but fantastic? In fact, I found myself constantly delighted with just how complex this seemingly simple, semi-health food (though in reality, quite fattening) can be. The granola comes off as perfectly balanced among strong, neutral, nutty flavors, the sugary sweetness of the honey, the much fruitier sweetness of the dried fruits, and (best of all) the sour punch of those same fruits, especially the cranberry. Adding to that balance is some very pronounced toastiness—half the ingredients are toasted, so the flavor comes through strongly. To top off those great flavors is an unforgettable texture, which is endlessly chewy and crunchy, as any good granola should be. As a final note, I really like that Baked and Wired reached out for the more exotic here—you don’t just get nuts, but you get coconut; not just cherries, but also apricots and currants. The café’s ability to expand the list of acceptable granola ingredients really shows both its imagination and sense of flavor. 4.5/5.0. Really as addictive as they say it is.
5. Soccer Mom Bar (A Take on the 7-layer Bar: Graham Cracker Base, Chocolate Chips, Butterscotch Chips, Coconut, Pecans): The crème de la crème of the Baked and Wired creations. This sucker packs a punch, as the whole medley of flavors comes together for a very big, though semi-cloyingly sweet, experience. Oddly enough, it’s the base, the graham cracker, that seems the weakest, since the toppings are heaped on so generously (and even gratuitously) that they overshadow the base. The chocolate especially stands out because it comes in two forms—the crunchy chips and a whole layer of sweet fudge. That fudge not only adds a deliciously gooey consistency that mixes nicely with the crumbly graham cracker, it integrates all the chips and chunks together with its smooth creaminess. That layer also acts as an adhesive so that this bar doesn’t fall apart (impressively, none of the toppings really fell off). Best of all, you can actually taste everything: chocolate, coconut, caramelized nuts (superb), butterscotch. The bar is far too sweet, but I found myself not minding too much because the flavors were so good. 4.4/5.0

What I’ve Had Before

1. Zucchini Bread: Not bad, but not sweet enough. Cake has nice moistness, good texture, and a decent taste of nuts/dried fruits in it. But it’s just not like real zucchini bread because the flavors are so bland/boring. Nothing stands out as a prominent flavor.

Scores

Taste: 4.1/5.0
Ambience: 3.8/5.0
Value: 4.0/5.0. While the treats aren’t the best, they really are dense, on top of being huge.
Overall Score, as a bakery (excludes ambience): 4.1/5.0
Overall Score, as a café: 4.0/5.0

I’ve already talked about Patisserie Poupon here on the Food Buster. Perhaps the only traditional French bakery in the Georgetown area, it is also easily my favorite bakery in town. It is thus well worth a second visit, and this time I decided to try my luck with the croissants.

Unsurprisingly, those croissants are easily the best treats in the whole house. Every single one impresses both for its technical excellence and for the explosion of flavor that it packs. The walnut croissant comes lightly glazed, with large walnuts integrated directly and seamlessly into the dough so that you get both the crunch and flavor of the walnut. In the chocolate croissant, the chocolate isn’t integrated so well, but the croissant uses real pieces of thick chocolate to give you an extra-large chocolate burst. Finally, the almond croissant is perhaps the all-star of the group, carrying a thick sugar glaze with a whole bevy of almond slices practically grafted on top, while the interior packs a thin layer of delicious custard that softens and sweetens the dough.

123►

The only croissant that slightly disappointed, in fact, was the ham and cheese. Unlike most bakeries, which stuff the ham and cheese into the croissant, Patisserie Poupon simply slices a croissant and puts some ham and cheese inside, making it more of a sandwich. Regardless, it’s pre-made and then toasted to heat it up, really detracting from the freshness.

Still, the croissants here can’t be matched. They may not compare to the ones I’ve had in Paris, but they are far and away the best I’ve tried in America (so far). In fact, the first time I tried them, they were old, since it was 5 minutes to closing time, and they were still mind-blowing. I later returned for a fresh batch at 8 am in the morning, and it was a culinary sensation that just can’t be adequately put into words.

Honestly, the more I talk about it, the hungrier I get. There’s nothing left to say except that Patisserie Poupon is the place in town for croissants.

What I Tasted

1. Almond Croissant: It’s unbelievable how this croissant mixes the buttery, the sweet, and the creamy. The croissant itself is extremely moist and chewy, more so than most. It, moreover, has a nice thin layer of custard on the bottom layer on the inside, giving it just a bit more sweetness and a slight vanilla accent, in addition to making the croissant even smoother and softer. Finally, the crust is topped off with a nice sugar glaze and a layer of thinly sliced almonds, adding both a light, balancing nutty crunch and a very strong, slightly overpowering sweetness. It’s really the combination of flavors that stands out, though, as the buttery, the sweet, and the creamy fuse into an almost perfect balance and create an extremely interesting, varied texture. The almond, though, is downplayed in the mixture. 4.6/5.0. My favorite, but definitely for lovers of sugar.
2. Ham and Cheese Croissant: In terms of technique, this is a fantastic croissant, yet it lacks the flavor to really match that technical excellence. The croissant itself is very oily, even glistening on the top, yet it is incredibly flaky, to the point that you hear a loud crunch every time you bite. And especially nice is that the ham and cheese is not simply stuffed into a large croissant, but rather Patisserie Poupon cuts layers into a plain croissant and covers each with cheese and ham, meaning the distribution of the ingredients is perfect, with ham and cheese coming through in every bite. I have two problems with it, though. First (and this is a major taboo), the croissant is heated up in a toaster. While I do like that it is heated slowly to preserve more of its flavor, heating in general destroys the taste of the food, and here it is even more noticeable, since the croissant was unevenly heated. The temperature throughout the croissant ranges from warm to lukewarm, so that the taste is never consistent. Second, the cheese they used is gruyere I think, and it really overpowers the taste of the whole combo because it is slathered on like no tomorrow. The croissant didn’t set well with me, becoming cloyingly greasy by the end. 2.5/5.0
3. Walnut Croissant: I consider this guy to be the much more balanced, more nutty brother of the fantastic almond croissant. That’s not to say it’s not sweet—actually, it has a light sugar glaze across the top that really adds a nice slight sweetness to the whole combo. But that top also seems to have an infused walnut flavor, so you really taste that heavy, nut flavor constantly. Moreover, the croissant is incredibly fluffy and thick, meaning actual, gigantic chunks of walnut can be integrated seamlessly into the croissant, adding a huge crunch and a big burst of flavor. At the same time, those chunks don’t interfere with the softness of the dough at all, which has that same thin spread of what seems to be custard on the inside. I do like, though, that the dough has some contrast in its texture. Since this croissant is presented in the form of a roll, the crust has a nice firmness that increasingly reduces into a perfect airiness as you approach the center. This croissant has it all, then: sweetness, balance, texture, and moistness. 4.6/5.0
4. Pain au Chocolat (Chocolate Croissant): This croissant is a bit underwhelming—not because it’s bad but because it just pales in comparison with the other masterpieces. Still, there are a couple things that stand out here. First, real pieces of chocolate are included. The chocolate is in rather large, semi-melted chunks (kind of like a chunky spread) throughout the croissant, which gives it a semi-firm texture. And the chocolate flavor is excellent, edging towards the dark side but having a lot of extra sugar added in so that you get a pronounced contrast of bitter and sweet as you bite into it. The croissant itself is just as soft and fluffy as the others, too. The problem lies in that the chocolate really isn’t integrated too well into the croissant. It’s spread in the corners, rather than evenly throughout, and the fluff really doesn’t add much to the flavor. The croissant also seems firmer and blander than the others because it’s (necessarily) missing the extra custard layer to soften and sweeten it. 3.5/5.0. Not bad, but definitely not at the same level as the others.

What I’ve had at other times

1. Cream Cheese and Raisin Croissant: Surprisingly good. No complaints. Just a normal croissant with an interesting flavor. Doesn’t even taste too much like cream cheese, since the cheesiness is so subtle. The raisins add the needed sweetness. I’d still go for the other croissants, though, because they are even better.
2. Apple Danish: Actually, if you like fruity, tart flavors, this is perfect. Problem: I don’t. It’s on the sour side for the fruit, the sugar level is right on, and the dough is perfect, but it’s just not for me.

Scores

Taste: 4.0/5.0
Value: 4.6/5.0
Ambience: 3.0/5.0
Overall Score, as a bakery (excludes ambience): 4.3/5.0
Overall Score, as a café: 4.0/5.0

The score may not adequately reflect it, but Patisserie Poupon does make my favorite sweets in town. Whenever I’m in the mood for a special treat, I always head over for an almond croissant.

As I’ve said before, Washington, DC’s Georgetown area isn’t the hippest, despite the large college community. While it has its fair share of classy restaurants, it always seems a little bit too uptight, with nowhere to go just to relax.

That’s why Baked and Wired stands out as such an oddity. In a neighborhood of suits and formal dining, Baked and Wired decides to serve up simple coffee in a modern, bohemian atmosphere, perfect for the young college crowd. That trendiness is really what keeps me coming back for more. While DC boasts its fair share of cafes and bakeries—many of them with better-quality goods, too—none really compares to Baked and Wired in terms of the intangible “coolness” factor.

12345►

So I decided to return again, this time to try out the cupcakes, the specialty of the house. While the brownies and cookies (which I’ve reviewed previously) are great, people seem to come for the cupcakes more than anything else. Everything I read or hear about Baked and Wired, in fact, seems to focus on these cupcakes: Yelp reviews, recommendations from personal friends, suggestions from the Baked and Wired staff itself, etc. And the fans are passionate about their love of Baked and Wired cupcakes, claiming that they are easily the biggest, most flavorful, and most unique in town.

The cupcakes, though, are also some of the most contested treats I’ve seen. While the large core of fans praise them beyond belief, quite a few detractors attack their overwhelming sweetness and artificial, almost candy-like taste.

That is, unfortunately, the camp into which I too fall. Having tried six different flavors, I can easily say that not only does Baked and Wired produce some of the worst cupcakes in the area, but they are nearly inedible at times.

I do give Baked and Wired points for the always moist and flavorful cake, but the frosting is so horribly sweet that it destroys almost every cupcake. In fact, I have never even managed to finish a single one of their gigantic cupcakes. The surprising part, though, is that the cupcakes don’t actually have all that much frosting, given how huge the cake portion is. The frosting is so strong, though, that regardless of how little you eat, it completely overpowers the taste of the cake.

Nor is the texture of that frosting right. It’s so hardened by all the sugar that it actually feels like a solid lump of sugar, falling like a brick in the stomach. I even tried poking it lightly with a plastic fork, and I couldn’t even pierce a hole in it.

On the more positive side, Baked and Wired does give the most bang for the buck out of all the famous cupcakeries in town. While most cupcakes in DC go for about $3, they’re only about 2 oz. large, i.e. I can finish them in about three bites. Baked and Wired, on the other hand, charges nearly the same price ($3.50 or less), yet gives you nearly a whole meal’s worth of a cupcake—so much so, in fact, that two people can easily share one and be satisfied. Unfortunately, given how sweet the cupcakes are, I don’t think I’d ever want to eat so much.

The cupcakes, then, aren’t very good, but they are cheap, huge, and perfect for people with a monstrously large sweet tooth. I just can’t understand why so many people love them so passionately, though.

What I’ve Tasted

1. Red Velvet Cupcake: This cupcake just barely manages to be enjoyable, but only in the most perverse, overly sweet way. The main problem is the frosting, as with all the cupcakes. I’ve said all the cupcakes suffer from this problem, but here it’s especially marked, because you don’t get any cream cheese taste at all. Instead, it tastes like a simple vanilla frosting, and you lose a lot of the traditional red velvet flavor. Nor does the cake help in that regard. While it has a nice slight cocoa, red velvet touch, I find its flavor very simple, verging on that of a vanilla cake. Still, it is very soft and has a great butteriness to it, without becoming too heavy or oily. That cake largely saves this cupcake. 2.0/5.0
2. Vanilla Latte Cupcake (Vanilla Cake, Espresso and Buttermilk Cream): This I consider a failure of a flavor, as the espresso is almost completely muted. The main problem is that the flavor is relegated solely to the frosting, and that frosting again has that sweet vanilla taste that completely overshadows every other flavor. That’s not to say the espresso isn’t there. For me to taste it, though, I had to eat the frosting alone, and even then it came through very subtly just in the aftertaste. The strongest espresso flavor on the whole cupcake is, unsurprisingly, the one chocolate-covered espresso bean placed on the top. The cake doesn’t help, either. It’s a solid vanilla, with some great butteriness, but it’s very bland. 1.3/5.0. Loses points for not tasting like what it should.

What I’ve Had at Other Times

1. Elvis Cupcake (PB and Bacon): The PB and bacon frosting is just way too much. The cake part isn’t bad in terms of texture, but the cupcake has a bad flavor in general, largely because of the frosting, as the PB taste is again cloying, just like in the PB brownie.
2. Chocolate Doom Cupcake (Chocolate with Chocolate Ganache): Frosting is great, if not too chocolaty, and the cake is right on. It’s a bit cloying and is very rich, but it’s pretty good, especially compared to all the other cupcakes
3. Vanilla on Vanilla Cupcake (Vanilla with Vanilla Frosting): Cake is delicious—light, fluffy, and huge. It tastes just like a nice pound cake. The frosting is just too sweet, though, with that same cloying vanilla taste as that of the other cupcakes.
4. Strawberry cupcake: This is one of the specialties of the house, and it’s actually the best cupcake I’ve had. It again tastes like a good pound cake, as the cake is very moist and nicely flavored. The problem: the frosting. It’s just not balanced, though the flavor, if moderated, would be right on.

Scores

Taste: 1.5/5.0 (For the cupcakes only)
Ambience: 3.8/5.0
Value: 2.5/5.0. While the treats aren’t the best, they really are dense, on top of being huge.
Overall Score, as a cupcakery: 2.0/5.0
Overall Score, as a cupcake café: 2.5/5.0. Good for a hang out spot, but nothing notable about the food.

Washington, DC is a veritable wasteland when it comes to cookies. Never, in fact, have I had a cookie in DC that simply knocked my socks off…that is, until I tried the Salty Oat Cookie at Teaism, a modern teahouse and café with a Chinese influence.

It’s all the more surprising because I absolutely hate oat or oatmeal cookies. Whenever I buy a cookie, I go immediately for the heaviest ingredients, typically something very chocolaty or very sweet (or even better, both!). The Salty Oat Cookie is not my type of cookie, then. Still, it has been hailed as the holy grail of DC cookies so many times that even I had to give it a shot.

While I’m still not convinced that the Salty Oat Cookie is the best cookie in DC, I can see why it has so many fans, since this is easily one of the most flavorful, complex takes on an oatmeal raisin cookie I’ve ever eaten. The cookie itself is rather thick, allowing Teaism to integrate tons of full raisins directly into the cookie without destroying its natural shape. And even though it’s so thick, that’s not a problem at all, because it is very moist. Best of all, though, the Salty Oat Cookie finds a perfect balance between the buttery and the gritty, the former being the perfect texture for a cookie and the latter for the oats. Moreover, it’s so packed with rolled oats that you actually feel like you’re eating oats in every bite. In that sense, the cookie largely succeeds, as it captures its flavor extremely well.

The Salty Oat Cookie is, however, much more than that, as it has a level of balance you just can’t find in any other oatmeal raisin cookie. In terms of flavor, the heavy, buttery oat and the slight salt help to balance out the raisin sweetness and the sugar in the dough. In terms of texture, the buttery dough, the gritty oats, and the chewy raisins come together with a semi-hardened (almost burnt) top for perfect harmony.

On the other hand, the Chocolate Salty Oat Cookie fares far worse than the original. It still has the heavy, gritty oat flavor, but here the addition of an equally strong, if not dominating, chocolate flavor makes the whole combination a bit muddy and interferes with the more natural, refreshing flavor of the oat. Nor does the salt seem quite so natural a fit, as the chocolate already has a balancing bitterness to it, and the salt only takes it a bit too far. I do appreciate the introduction of large, delicious chocolate chips into the batter, but those semi-melted chips are the only smooth part of the whole cookie. Unlike its much more delicious sister, the Chocolate Salty Oat Cookie is surprisingly dry and hard, especially with all those large chunks of oats and chips mixed in (It’s literally covered in oats, breaking up the smoothness). In turn, you can’t tear the cookie apart easily, as it crumbles into pieces. Really, it’s shocking just how much worse this cookie is than the last.

While Teaism doesn’t deliver on its Chocolate Salty Oat Cookie, though, it’s an easy problem to overlook, as its original Salty Oat is easily one of the best oatmeal cookies I’ve ever tasted. I won’t say this is the “holy grail” of oatmeal raisins, but it is a very natural-tasting, intense, and perfectly executed cookie. Just avoid the chocolate.

Scores for the Cookies

Salty Oat: 4.6/5.0
Chocolate Salty Oat: 2.0/5.0

Scores for the Café

Ambience: 4.0/5.0, though this will vary by location.
Taste: 4.0/5.0. Bonus points for a superb tea collection (easily the best I’ve seen in a café in DC).
Value: 4.0/5.0
Verdict: 4.0/5.0. Highly recommended for the Salty Oat Cookie and a great cup of tea, but I really can’t say much for the other treats.