Top Five Sweet Eats of 2011

Posted by The Editorial Desk / Tuesday, December 27th, 2011

Alright, the countdown begins … five more days till we kiss 2011 goodbye and welcome 2012 with open arms as the year of the world’s possible termination. Just kidding. Maybe.

Anyway, I think now would be an appropriate time to put together a list of the top five things I’ve eaten in the year 2011, since that’s really what determines how successful a year was.

Let’s start with sweets.

Top Five Sweet Eats of 2011:

5. Nutella doughnuts at EatBar/Tallula (Arlington)

These little delights were an unexpected treat before my Sunday morning brunch at EatBar (next-door parent Tallula shares the same menu). The tiny ball of classically airy donut glazed with Nutella, possibly my favorite form of chocolate ever, was the perfect backwards dessert.

 

4. Mochi Ice Cream at Izakaya Blue Ocean (Fairfax)

As you can see, I’m really just all about frozen sweets. After an amazingly fresh sushi lunch at Blue Ocean, their mochi wrapped green tea ice cream was the caviar on the sushi — okay, fine, icing on the cake just sounds better. It was so good that I went next door and bought some at Trader Joe’s. 

3. Chocolate Chip Pecan Pie (My kitchen)

I don’t bake things that are that good that often, but Thanksgiving only comes once a year. And yes, I bake this every year, but this year it was particularly good. Reasons for the outcome: my Aunt Carol’s homemade pie crust recipe and an excessive amount (way more than the recipe called for) of chocolate chips.  

2. FroZenYo (Crystal City) and Sweet Frog (Chantilly)

I probably consumed more frozen yogurt this year than the amount of five people combined. Seriously, it’s been my favorite thing ever. I frequented the store in D.C. way too often and when the opening of FroZenYo in Crystal City happened, I knew it was bad. But the discovery of their multiple flavors of frozen yogurt and endless self-serve toppings made my year that much better — I couldn’t have survived without it. The same goes for Sweet Frog in Chantilly. As soon as I tried it the day of my interview at Northern Virginia Magazine, I knew that alone would make the food internship experience worth it. Their taro flavor is incredible.

1. EVERYTHING at Heidelberg Bakery (Arlington)

Seriously, you really thought I’d leave this out? As I’ve been raving about it for the past two weeks, it’s clearly freshest on my mind, so much that I have sweet dreams about Heidelberg and their heavenly cookies. Everything I’ve tried has been good, especially the pfefferneusse.

Well, that’s it for sweets today, with more to come! Up next: savory.

-Julia Harbo

Tags: 2011, 2012, blue ocean, countdown, dessert, doughnuts, EatBar, frozenyo, Gut Check, heidelberg, izakaya blue ocean, julia harbo, mochi ice cream, New Year's, Northern Virginia, Northern Virginia Magazine, NoVA, Pecan Pie, sweet eats, sweet frog, sweets, Tallula, Thanksgiving, top eats, top five eats