Freeze Jag: JoJo’s Original Soft Serve

Posted by Warren Rojas / Tuesday, August 16th, 2011

August is historically the steamiest, stickiest, sweatiest month of the year–brilliant move, Founding Fathers, building the nation’s capital on a swamp–in these parts. We’ve tracked down 31 frozen treats (one a day for the rest of this month) to provide you with some temporary, and often insanely delicious, relief.

The place: JoJo’s Original Soft Serve – 17986 Jefferson Davis Highway, Dumfries; 703-221-6363; www.jojosoriginal.com

The prescription: S’mores sundae. Short of sitting around a campfire, the opportunities to indulge in real, honest-to-god S’mores are few and far between. Mind you, I come across various iterations in the restaurant world–molecular gastronomists break it down into curious powders and foams, Cosi trots out lue flamed-hibachis for table-side roasting, etc–but they are almost always obsessed with melting the marshmallow and making a sticky mess of things. JoJo’s has gone in the entirely opposite direction, depositing its warmed but still intact pillows of fluff into a jumble of frosty soft serve, cascading hot fudge sauce and crushed graham crackers. I fully expected for the graham crackers to carry the day, but genuinely enjoyed the tacky, gummy sweetness of the puffed sugar, which proved integral to recreating that signature S’mores experience.

I doubt I’m alone in my admiration of JoJo’s S’mores tribute. But one cheery attendant informed me that the top seller this summer has been the cheesecake shake (cherry-topped shake mixed in with crumbled cheesecake pieces plus your choice of fresh strawberries or blueberries).

Go on with your bad selves, trend chasers. I’m perfectly happy staying old school.

–Warren

————————————————————————————————————————————————

Keep tabs on the month long Freeze Jag trek here.

Local Goodies: Peruvian Chicken

Posted by The Editorial Desk / Tuesday, August 16th, 2011

Chicken with a tortilla from Pollo Campero (Image: Mai Nguyen/Northern Virginia Magazine}

Clearly, “pollo a la brasa,” or Peruvian chicken, is not a new trend in the food world, but it is pretty new to me (I just tried it for the first time two weeks ago). After that first time, I was hooked so I went to two more places in the following two days. Here’s what I thought of the three places:

Meh – Pollo Campero (5852 Columbia Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041; 703-820-8400)
When I was in high school, almost all of my peers and teachers raved about this place. I used to even see long lines overflowing outside the door. So I was surprised to find myself disappointed with the food here. The chicken was really bland. I shared a side of fried plantains and yucca fries with my friend and they didn’t fare much better. Even though they were both fried, they were both soggy. The chicken did come with a complementary tortilla and they had a small salsa bar, but that didn’t make the chicken any better. This really turned out to be nothing special and I wouldn’t go out of my way to eat here again.

Good – Sabrina’s Grill (2962 Gallows Road, Falls Church, VA 22042; 703-698-9221)
The food here is kept under a heat lamp, but the food is still really fresh and good. Their chicken was okay, but I was much more interested in the fried yucca fries and fried plantains that I got. The yucca fries were a bit hard, but still retrained their natural texture after being fried and tasted really good. The fried plantains were cooked so that they had caramelized a bit and were sweet, but not overwhelmingly so.

Call me a regular – Chicken Loco (7610 Little River Turnpike, Annandale, VA 22003; 703-941-4377)
A friend actually bought this for me to bring home, so I’m not sure how their food is kept. The chicken here is the most flavorful out of the other locations since the other two locations didn’t have memorable chicken.  I absolutely loved the yucca fries here because they had a great texture and still tasted yucca. Their fried plantains were fried until they had caramelized a little bit and were just the right amount of sweet.

I do have a few more places to try out in the area, but Chicken Loco is definitely my favorite so far.

-Mai Nguyen

Freeze Jag: Intermission

Posted by Warren Rojas / Tuesday, August 16th, 2011

[We interrupt your regularly scheduled sweets sortie for this meditation on the state of frozen desserts in NoVA today.]

In Northern Virginia, summer can mean many things. But most of all it means that it’s hot out.

Not warm.

Not pleasant.

Hot. Sticky, wet, swampy horror heat that gets under your skin and steam-cooks your brain.

For years, a healthy dose of ice cream has been the go-to remedy for beating the heat, but lately the frozen favorite has seen an increase in frosty competition from the resurgence of the tangy, original style frozen yogurt, and the funky flavors of Italian gelato.

Boasting about its low-fat content and natural ingredients, frozen yogurt start-ups like Pinkberry and Red Mango stormed the country since their founding in the latter half of the last decade. Gelato producers took a similar approach, spinning its product as a classier, more delicate alternative to ice cream. Northern Virginia and D.C. has seen several specialty gelaterias open like Plush (Vienna) or Boccato (Clarendon, Old Town Alexandria); some are on their way to becoming successful franchises—Pitango has four locations, Dolcezza, three.

Gelato and frozen yogurt places have popped up in bustling civic centers like Reston Town Center, Old Town Alexandria, Tysons Corner, Clarendon and all over Washington.

Still, what’s wrong with ice cream? In all of the frenzy, how have the area’s old fashioned ice cream makers fared in the blitz of trendy treats?

“We’re selling more ice cream now than we ever have,” Kline’s Freeze owner James Croushorn said, he and his wife having bought the business from his father-in-law 13 years ago. “We’re pretty much maxed out when we’re busy; this little building wasn’t built to do the business we’re doing.”

Kline’s sells locally sourced, old fashioned, low-fat soft serve ice cream and has been in Manassas since 1965. Things haven’t changed much over the last half-century. “We’re selling the same product we’ve had for 30-some years,” Croushorn boasted.

Trends come and go in the dessert market, and Kline’s hasn’t been immune to trying out hot new items in the past. “I think years back my in-laws tried to sell a yogurt product here, and our customer base didn’t like it and didn’t want it,” he said. “I’m sticking with ice cream.”

The longstanding popularity of a place like Kline’s, which has weathered countless trends in the past, isn’t surprising. But it seems that even the newer home-made ice cream shops do not view gelato and frozen yogurt as a serious threat. “I know it has not affected us, our sales are also growing” Toby Bantug, who owns Toby’s Homemade Ice Cream with his wife, Monina, asserted.

Toby’s serves hand-dipped, super-premium ice cream, which Bantug makes on the premises. And while Bantug acknowledges the popularity of frozen yogurt and gelato, he doesn’t view them as a threat for the ice cream market. In fact, he welcomes them. “Although frozen yogurt has the healthy thing going for it, it makes people aware of frozen desserts and makes people think about ice cream. It’s all good,” he said.

David Tax, owner of Lazy Sundae, which serves hard ice cream made from dairy from the Shenandoah Valley, is equally unfazed by “it” dessert shops. “The quick hitters, the trendy places, you’re not going to see those places in three or four years because they’re hitting, and as soon as their business takes a downturn, and it’s going to because it’s a trend … they’re history,” Tax predicted.

Outside of the cities and suburbs, trendy frozen goods barely register with ice cream vendors. Moo Thru turned out to be a runaway success when it opened in 2010 despite its remote location. The modest stand sells ice cream made from cream sourced from owner Ken Smith’s own dairy farm, and he claims it’s not uncommon to see people coming from as far as 40 or 50 miles away just for a cone.

“It seems that the more [customers] taste our product the more they want of it,” Smith said.

Smith’s stand has been doing so well, in fact, that the dairy farmer turned ice cream magnate is considering opening a second location in Northern Virginia proper. Even with expansion on his mind, Smith hasn’t given competition from gelato and frozen yogurt much thought.

“I don’t think [gelato and frozen yogurt] are in my realm of thinking simply because they offer a different type of product,” he said. “When we were starting in this business, gelato was a name that was thrown at us a lot… a new dessert product people were striving for… and yogurt being the same, and it’s not that we’re without a thought of those products… but right now we’re focusing on our quality ice cream.”

So there you have it: ice cream—it’s still popular.

—Kris King

Red Meat: Keith Fedorko

Posted by Warren Rojas / Tuesday, August 16th, 2011

Being comfy in the kitchen is one thing. But chef Keith Fedorko is just as at home out in the fields:

The Willow Creek Farm toque treasures the 2-acre farm–featuring 21 planting beds that alternately support: tomatoes, French beans, peas, assorted hot and sweet peppers, rosemary, thyme, Swiss chard, escarole, potatoes, corn and, potentially, sunchokes–that rings his exurban restaurant, crediting it, and the seasonal  bounty, with constantly challenging his natural curiosity and culinary showmanship. “It keeps us on our toes,” he said of the steady rotation of raw materials.

WR: Salt. Pepper. What other culinary elements could you not live without?

KF: Butter, pork, root vegetables, stocks (veal,chicken, fish) and flour

WR: What’s the very first dish you ever mastered? How long did it take? Do you still make it today?

KF: The first dish that I ever mastered was lightly dusted skate wing with brown butter sauce and capers. Having to butcher whole skate wing was what took the most time in preparing this dish. I still make this dish occasionally.

WR: What seasonal ingredient(s) get your creative juices flowing?

KF: For winter monkfish, for spring soft shell crab, for summer tomatoes and for fall duck

WR: My latest cookbook obsession is …

KF: I’ve always been and will be obsessed with Harold McGee On Food And Cooking, and all of James Peterson’s cookbooks

WR: What’s the most challenging dish you’ve ever attempted? Would you make it again?

KF: The most challenging dish I’ve ever made was coq au vin. I make this dish in late fall every year.

WR: If I could spend the day working alongside any local chef, I’d love to collaborate with …

KF: Chef Cathal Armstrong

WR: What’s the easiest/quickest–but still wholly satisfying–meal you make for yourself?

KF: Kabob koobide with rice, grilled tomato and summak

WR: In the next six months you won’t want to miss my …

KF: New fall entrees from my chef team at Willow Creek Farm

WR: It’s quitting time. I’m pouring myself …

KF: Pint of Guinness

————————————————————————————————————————————————

Skate wing in brown butter is one of our favorites, too. Can’t wait to try your version.

Come back next Tuesday for another helping of Red Meat.

–Warren

Food News in Northern Virginia

Posted by The Editorial Desk / Monday, August 15th, 2011

Delicious Indian food returns to the neighborhood
Delhi Club in Arlington, Va. reopened this past Friday after a kitchen fire forced them to close in June. Their reopening has been well-received and they are definitely getting good business. This restaurant specializes in Indian cuisine and is easily accessible from the Clarendon metro station.

Lovable canines are no longer welcomed
The Columbia Pike Revitalization Organization is encouraging patrons and vendors at the Columbia Pike farmers market to leave their canines at home after a complaint was made to the county health department. Since dogs are not technically banned, if a person does decide to bring their furry friend, the dog should be kept away from vendor booths and tables containing food.

Local restaurant serves world’s hottest pepper
Härth, attached to the Hilton in McLean, is growing and serving the world’s hottest pepper. The bhut jolokia, also known as the “ghost pepper,” measures about one million units on the Scoville scale (a scale used to measure the hotness of chili peppers based on the amount of capsaicin that is present). Härth specializes in comfort food while also using seasonal, local, and fresh ingredients. (And just so you know, sriracha sauce has 2,200 Scoville heat units and a jalapeno can vary from 2,500 to 8,000 Scoville heat units. Yikes, that’s a spicy pepper!)

Five Guys French fries place second in a tasting
Consumer Reports rated Wendy’s, the fast food chain restaurant, to have the best French fries. Their reasoning? Because Wendy’s French fries had a “full potato flavor.” Second best French fry goes to Five Guys followed by McDonald’s, KFC, Fuddruckers, and then Burger King.

- Mai Nguyen

Freeze Jag: Milwaukee Frozen Custard

Posted by Warren Rojas / Monday, August 15th, 2011

August is historically the steamiest, stickiest, sweatiest month of the year–brilliant move, Founding Fathers, building the nation’s capital on a swamp–in these parts. We’ve tracked down 31 frozen treats (one a day for the rest of this month) to provide you with some temporary, and often insanely delicious, relief.

The place: Milwaukee Frozen Custard – Multiple NoVA locations; www.milwaukeefrozencustard.com

The prescription: custard-topped funnel cake. Poll any group of diehard frozen dairy fans and factions are likely to sprout up (ice cream lovers vs custard devotees is a familiar battle line in these parts). Yours truly is more of a lover than a fighter, particularly when it comes to dessert. Besides, what’s there to bicker about when our carny brethren have figured out how to marry sugar-covered, deep-fried dough with just about EVERYTHING. The brain trust behind MFC has picked up on the midway mindset and now serves up made-to-order funnel cakes (they make fresh donuts, too) topped with: powdered/cinnamon sugar ($4.50), syrupy fruit ($5.25) or a scoop of custard ($5.25; vanilla, chocolate or flavor of the day). Mine was the stuff childhood dreams–and fat camp recruiting posters–are made of. The web of hot, crunchy and oily dough was generously dusted with both powdered sugar (the standard bearer) and cinnamon sugar (extra zip) and then crowned with a a glassy scoop of candy-studded custard (crushed butterfingers, to be exact).

The monstrous serving is a triple-sugared delivery system no single human should face alone (and even team eaters should reconsider polishing one off in a single sitting). But god damn if that scrumptious cake and creamy custard don’t goad you into trying…

–Warren

————————————————————————————————————————————————

Keep tabs on the month long Freeze Jag trek here.

Alexandria Restaurant Week: 10 Days to Dine for $35

Posted by The Editorial Desk / Monday, August 15th, 2011

‘Tis the season for restaurant weeks, and while  the RAMW’s 18th annual D.C. Restaurant Week may be kicking off today, Virginia is not without its own summer week of glorious food. From August 19-28, you can patronize your choice of 62 Virginia restaurants and food establishments that are participating in Alexandria Restaurant Week.

Alexandria Restaurant Week was launched in 2009, and this August marks its second time as a summer event.

Participating establishments are offering one of two choices: either a $35 prix-fixe 3-course dinner or a $35 dinner for two. Looking to feast in a particular neighborhood? Take your pick from the following:

-Old Town/Parker Gray (which boasts by far the most participants, including Bastille, Jackson 20, Railstop Gastropub, and Pizzeria Paradiso)

-Carlyle/Eisenhower Valley (e.g., The Carlyle Club and Jamieson Grille)

-Del Ray/Arlandria (e.g., Cheesetique and La Strada)

-West End (e.g., Tempo Restaurant, Mango Mike’s)

or

-Regional restaurants (e.g., Finn & Porter and the Mount Vernon Inn Restaurant)

Many of the Restaurant Week establishments also offer the option of outdoor dining, so let’s hope that the weather remains balmy and mild. Want to see if your favorite Alexandria restaurant is on board? For a full list of participating restaurants, a sneak preview of the menus, and to make reservations, visit VisitAlexandriaVa.com.

-Johnisha M. Levi

Freeze Jag: Carl’s

Posted by Warren Rojas / Sunday, August 14th, 2011

August is historically the steamiest, stickiest, sweatiest month of the year–brilliant move, Founding Fathers, building the nation’s capital on a swamp–in these parts. We’ve tracked down 31 frozen treats (one a day for the rest of this month) to provide you with some temporary, and often insanely delicious, relief.

The place: Carl’s – 2200 Princess Anne St., Fredericksburg

The prescription: cherry slush. Carl’s has kept their vintage Electro Freeze machines–they traffic in vanilla, chocolate and strawberry soft serve exclusively–whirring since the late 40′s. But by the time I pulled into their perennially overcrowded parking lot, I had vastly superseded my recommended daily serving of calcium. But I was sorely in need of something cold. Enter: cherry slush. A potent blend of granulated ice spun with thrillingly cherry syrup, so sweet and cold–creeping anasthetically across the gums, staining the lips and tongue fire engine red and instantaneously transforming the blood to pure glycogen–one is inclined to siphon it up in protracted gulps. Though that invites the very real possibility of serious brain freeze (and insta-tooth decay).

“Would you like ice cream on top of that? It’s DEE-licious,” my teen server suggested with a wry smile as the crystalline slush cascaded into my wax-lined paper cup. One fantastic sin at a time, darling…

–Warren

————————————————————————————————————————————————

Keep tabs on the month long Freeze Jag trek here.

Freeze Jag: Carousel Frozen Treats

Posted by Warren Rojas / Saturday, August 13th, 2011

August is historically the steamiest, stickiest, sweatiest month of the year–brilliant move, Founding Fathers, building the nation’s capital on a swamp–in these parts. We’ve tracked down 31 frozen treats (one a day for the rest of this month) to provide you with some temporary, and often insanely delicious, relief.

The place: Carousel Frozen Treats – 346 Waterloo St., Warrenton; 703-351-0004; www.carouselfrozentreats.com

The prescription: Twinkie split. Mushy bananas have never really been my style (More of a roasted or bruleed man). All of which has culminated in a lifelong aversion to traditional “splits.” Until I stumbled upon Carousel. They applied carnival/state fair ingenuity when designing their ice cream catalog and came up with the irresistible Twinkie split–half Hostess mainstay, half soft serve-fueled mayhem. The bifurcated snack cake–the banana flavored-cream filling FINALLY came in handy–is accompanied by the soft serve flavors of your choosing, drizzled with hot fudge, smothered in whipped cream, sandwiched between stacks of syrupy fruit (strawberries at one end, pineapple at the other) and topped with a bright, shiny cherry. After digging into the dense, sugary cake and creamy soft serve, you can almost delude yourself that the fruit is actually healthy (it’s not).

Given the wide variety of soft serve flavors–we were smitten by: butterscotch, fudge ripple (tres chocolaty), dreamsicle, coffee and cream, green apple (extra tart), cotton candy and root beer (nice and spicy)–there’s no end to the different ways one could dress the incredibly accepting Twinkie.

Too frou-frou for you? Carouel also does traditional banana splits, plus cones (regular and dipped), shakes, sundaes, shaved ice and “waterloos” (1/2 shake, 1/2 sundae).

–Warren

————————————————————————————————————————————————

Keep tabs on the month long Freeze Jag trek here.

Have a Food-filled Weekend!

Posted by The Editorial Desk / Friday, August 12th, 2011

It’s been a long week and I hope you guys saved some room in your stomach for these yummy events.

Truckeroo III is today! In case you missed the previous two gatherings of food mobiles, here’s another chance. There are over 20 food trucks to choose from so there’s a little of everything for everyone (you can see all of the food trucks who are participating and their live twitter feed here). The event is scheduled to operate until 11 p.m. but some food trucks may run out of food before then. Be forewarned, a water bottle does cost three dollars and you will be stopped at the entrance gate if security sees you carrying a water bottle in. Located at Half and M Street, Southeast Washington D.C.

Saturday is National Filet Mignon Day! A filet mignon, taken from the tenderloin of a cow, is the tenderest cut of beef and it reflects in its price. Luckily for us hungry diners, some restaurants will be giving a discount in celebration of this piece of meat. The Main Street Pub (7140 Main St., Clifton, VA 20124) will be taking $2 off of their filet mignon for today and tomorrow, and Lost Society (2001 14th St. Northwest, Washington D.C. 20009) will be taking 20% off of their filet mignon for tomorrow. Both restaurants too far of a drive? Feel free to cook and eat a filet mignon at home to celebrate.

End your weekend with free frozen yogurt! Josie’s Frozen Yogurt (10625 Braddock Road,
Fairfax, VA 22032) will be hosting a summer bash this Sunday. Free frozen yogurt will be given out from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., a scavenger hunt will start at 2 p.m., get your face painted in between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m., and there will be a live DJ and raffle drawing from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Happy Friday!

- Mai Nguyen