Posts Tagged ‘Warren Rojas’
Posted by Warren Rojas / Monday, August 22nd, 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: Pleasant Pops truck – www.pleasantpops.com; @pleasantpops
The prescription: Chongos paleta. There I was, sitting on a public bench, minding my own own business when the realization that I was being watched swiftly crept over me. When I turned she was almost on top of me, her hawk-like gaze tracking the every move of my diligent digits as I gingerly unsheathed my gently perspiring afternoon delight. “Where did you get that?” the obviously spellbound young woman begged me–quickly followed by “And do they take credit cards?” That passionate interlude was made possible by Pleasant Pops, the upstart dessert vendors who’ve chosen Mexican-style paletas as their refreshment medium. Their fruity exploits are legendary, but I was captivated by the sultry chongos, a dreamy pop forged from Mexican crema (sweet as can be) mischievously dusted with bright, sexy cinnamon.
Need a break from frozen dairy? Pleasant Pops mixes up their catalog every week, but if they’ve still got’em, we recommend cooling off with: summer peach (absolutely exhilarating), cantaloupe or blackberry-mint (equal parts ripened fruit and steadfast mint). –Warren
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Keep tabs on the month long Freeze Jag trek here.
Posted by Warren Rojas / Sunday, August 21st, 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: Moo Thru – 11402 James Madison Highway, Remington; 540-439-6455; www.moothru.com
The prescription: ice cream cookie sandwich. “What’s the specialty here?” a first timer sheepishly inquires at the window of Moo Thru’s 21st century barn (yep, that’s an XLERATOR hand dryer in the unisex restroom). “Everything’s good here, boss,” a grizzled old timer assures him, the overall-clad regular basically bouncing in line while waiting for his double scoop of ice cream (“Look! They’ve got black raspberry!” he about squealed to his equally white-haired partner). Once I spotted the tray of big, chewy chocolate chip cookies, I knew I had to go meta: a chocolate chip cookie sandwich built around cookie dough ice cream. It was a melty treat par excellence, the twin cookies a testament to the exquisite pleasures of real butter, chocolate and sugar, while the homespun ice cream was milky, creamy and generously chunked with sugary cookie dough.
I have no idea when the bulb went off in dairy farmer cum Moo Thru founder Ken Smith’s head, but if his plan to capitalize on all the milk his Holsteins produce by churning it into home made ice cream and dishing it out to sun-parched locals isn’t proof that that whole “build it and they will come” hookum actually works, I don’t know what is.
–Warren
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Keep tabs on the month long Freeze Jag trek here.
Posted by Warren Rojas / Friday, August 19th, 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: Snow Moon – 7233 Arlington Boulevard, Falls Church; 571-259-7250
The prescription: diablito. Latinos love fruity stuff. And hot sauce. But this dessert is a total mind fuck. Its sinus-clearing spicy. Its teeth-numbing cold. Its stick to your gums sweet. And that’s just the first bite. The magic begins with mountain of shaved ice that’s liberally doused in a mixture of lemon juice fused with habanero hot sauce (El Yucateco). Then comes a heaping spoonful of pulpy, clingy tamarind preserves. The lemon juice adds respectable tang, the hot peppers underlying fire, but it’s the chewy, gooey tamarind that ultimately steals the show with its lingering sweet- and sour-finish and jam-like consistency (puts commercial syrups to shame).
Not up to the capsaicin-spiked challenge? Snow Moon can put out most inner fires with its more traditional snow balls flavors, including: French vanilla, margarita, pineapple (que rico), pink champagne, black cherry, passion fruit (refrescante), pina colada and cotton candy. Your standard offerings feature machine shaved ice doused in your choice flavored syrup and tamped down with fresh cream.
–Warren
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Keep tabs on the month long Freeze Jag trek here.
Posted by Warren Rojas / Thursday, August 18th, 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: Sinmobile – www.sinplicityicecream.com; @Sinplicity1
The prescription: Mango madness sinwich. Sinplicity founder Leland Atkinson has been a fixture at the Falls Church farmers market for quite some time now. But he’s only recently taken his sweets catalog on the road, dishing out artisan ice creams, sorbets and baked goods on random streets from a self-styled “Sinmobile.” When we happened upon the mobile munchies depot, Atkinson’s paean to luscious fruits–lemon-ginger, blood orange, magical mojito, blackberry & cabernet–appeared to be in full swing. Which made the mango madness sinwich a no-brainer. The house made sandwich is a frosty fruit fiesta featuring a happy marriage of mango sorbet and lemon custard (seriously citrusy, with a dose of tropicality) nestled between lime-infused macaroons. The wondrous cookies were flaky around the edges, cakey towards the center and pleasantly tart throughout.
Non-sorbet sinwiches include: the javariffic mud pie (fudge-cappucino ice cream surrounded by mocha macaroons) and willpower straining cow pie (brownie-studded chocolate ice cream bound by chocolate macaroons). Oh yeah, and they’ve got many of their signature “sins du jour”–dark Belgian chocolate, Madagascar vanilla, salty caramel, Thai peanut, strawberry shortcake, snickerdoodle were all on tap when we swung by–too.
–Warren
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Keep tabs on the month long Freeze Jag trek here.
Freeze Jag: Peterson’s Ice Cream Depot
Posted by Warren Rojas / Wednesday, August 17th, 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: Peterson’s Ice Cream Depot – 7150 Main St., Clifton; 703-830-7898; www.petersonsdepot.com
The prescription: Patti Hopkins Clifton Red shake. “Hey, Nishi was here!” an obviously excited local pointed out to her companion after spotting another friend’s name on Peterson’s “conehead enrollment form” (promotional tool). Seems like everyone who pops by this award-winning ice cream shop are on a first name basis with everyone else. The chalkboard menu reads like the Clifton phone book, with most of their specialty items sporting the names of the intrepid regulars who helped inspire them. My love of fresh fruit and frosty beverages led me to the Patti Hopkins shake, a frothy refresher weaving together freshly chopped strawberries—juicy bits of real fruit pop up in every other spoonful—with velvety soft serve cut with the lemon-lime kick of tingly, bubbly Sprite.
Sundae junkies are well rewarded here, enjoying their pick of 10 (and counting) signature creations tricked out with all kinds of fanciful treats. Dessert seekers can also indulge in: traditional soft serve cones, custom shakes–amaretto, Georgia peach, mint chocolate, pumpkin pie and English toffee caught our eye–ice cream-cookie sandwiches, frozen malts and iced coffees.
–Warren
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Keep tabs on the month long Freeze Jag trek here.
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
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Keep tabs on the month long Freeze Jag trek here.
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
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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
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
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Keep tabs on the month long Freeze Jag trek here.
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
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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
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Keep tabs on the month long Freeze Jag trek here.