Posts Tagged ‘Warren Rojas’
Posted by Warren Rojas / Friday, August 12th, 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: Cultured – 216 Loudoun St. SE, Leesburg; 703-771-1116; www.culturedleesburg.com
The prescription: fro-yo with chocolate-covered pomegranate. “Have you ever had plain yogurt? It’s like that,” was the circular reasoning my tongue-tied server tossed out when pressed about the difference between the newish Cultured (debuted, briefly, last fall) and all the other preexisting fro-yo slingers. Turns out their “naturally tart plain yogurt”–the raw material is provided by neighboring South Mountain Creamery (located across the river in Middletown, Maryland)–lives up to its name. The end product is more icy than creamy, with that tell-tale tang that suggests all the promised probiotic magic is still happening. It’s “plainness,” however, is counterbalanced by the panoply of toppings available (one free flavoring agent per order; extras will run you $0.50 a pop), including the dark chocolaty and luscious pomegranate pieces that ultimately found their way into my cup.
Feeling naughty? Load up on all your commercial favorites, including: Reese’s Pieces, Coco Roos cereal, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, chocolate sauce, crumbled brownies from the adjoining Mom’s Apple Pie bakery, ginger lemon cookies, crushed York peppermint patties and/or crushed Oreos.
Counting calories? Sidestep snacker’s remorse by indulging in guilt-free sweeteners, including: blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, mango, peaches, honey, organic blue agave and/or Japanese mochi (plain or sesame).
Hell, if you doctor a cup with nothing but fresh fruit and wholesome grains, you might just walk away with the healthiest “treat” in town…
–Warren
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Keep tabs on the month long Freeze Jag trek here.
Posted by Warren Rojas / Thursday, August 11th, 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: Hau Lani – Manaport Plaza, Manassas; 571-249-2261; www.haulani.com
The prescription: Tiger’s Blood shaved ice. I’ll never be president (damn background checks). But, thanks to Hawaiian-style shaved ice pusher Hau Lani, I can cool off like “44″ undoubtedly did during his island-bound youth (the birthers don’t disavow that Obama had a childhood, do they?). The exurban refreshment hut specializes in imaginative flavors, including: Bahama mama, blue raspberry, citrus island (packed with orange, lemon and extra pucker-y grapefruit), fuzzy navel, pina colada, red hot (infused with the same, slow-building cinnamon-fueled heat familiar to jawbreaker aficionados) and yellow cake batter. Blame Charlie Sheen. But I absolutely had to have the Tiger’s Blood–and it was, in fact, a WINNING! proposition. The sanguine slush incorporated a splash of every red fruit syrup plus a dash of coconut, loosing a flood of wild cherry, strawberry and watermelon upon my ever-so-grateful, sun-parched palate.
Chipped ice not enough of a draw for you? Hau Lani encourages patrons to go to town in the toppings department, offering up everything from bonus scoops of neighboring Nathan’s Dairy Bar ice cream to “sour spray” (mystery concoction that auto-amps up the acidity of every selection) to chewy azuki beans.
–Warren
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Keep tabs on the month long Freeze Jag trek here.
Posted by Warren Rojas / Wednesday, August 10th, 2011
The Vintage Restaurant Group–the trade name of restaurateur Anthony Cavallo’s burgeoning hospitality empire–has officially pulled the plug on their seafood-centric experiment, Catch 52.
“We have discovered over the past few months that the seafood desired by our community was just as easily executed at Vintage 51, our ‘sister’ restaurant, located right next door,” V51 general manager Ty Allison said of the recent consolidation. According to Allison, V51 has already absorbed C52′s most popular menu items–beer battered fish and chips, calamari, fish tacos, snow crab legs–with more (oysters on the half shell) soon to follow.
“We will be relinquishing the lease,” Allison said of C52′s now-twice abandoned pad (if memory serves, a chain Italian joint failed there previously).
–Warren
Freeze Jag: Plush Gelato & Coffee
Posted by Warren Rojas / Wednesday, August 10th, 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: Plush Gelato & Coffee – 175 Maple Ave. E., Vienna; 703-938-2655; www.plushgelato.com
The prescription: gelato affogato. Perhaps I’m too literal. But when a retailer plugs both wake up juice and Italian confections into their business name, I have to assume they want me to try them together. Plush is only too happy to oblige with its affogato–a dual tempered pick-me-up featuring your choice of homemade gelatos inundated with a steaming shot of made-to-order espresso. The piping hot coffee quickly burrows through the hyper dense dairy balls, carving grooves into which the robust liquid will ultimately while also speeding the general dissolution of the extra rich ice cream. Fight as you might to scoop every last bit of frozen bliss into your mouth before the coffee has its way with it, you will ultimately be left with an addictively sweet latte.
I’m partial to the white chocolate cherry (creamy and tart) and mint (so very fresh) gelatos. But I could just as easily see myself slurping a double shot bolstered by blood orange, toasted almond, Vietnamese coffee (boasting an impressive 10 espresso shots per batch), roasted banana, gianduja, tiramisu, dulce de leche or lemon tart scoops. “Sometimes, we also have bourbon [gelato],” the attendant informed me with a devilish grin.
Buddy, you may have just resolved all of my eating/drinking needs.
–Warren
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Keep tabs on the month long Freeze Jag trek here.
Posted by Warren Rojas / Tuesday, August 9th, 2011
Bangkok Golden III toque Seng Luangrath is just chomping at the bit to flood the market with her native Laotian cuisine.
Mind you, she’s still cranking out all the terrific Thai food that’s been the restaurant’s bedrock cuisine since its inception. But she’s always brainstorming new ways to share the signature tastes she experienced as a youth and has grown to treasure as an adult–like putting a distinctly Asian spin on Continental standbys like escargot and steak tartar.
WR: Salt. Pepper. What other spices/herbs could you not live without?
SL: White pepper, ground Thai chiles, lemon grass, Kaffir lime leaves, galangal root, lime basil, garlic
WR: What’s the very first dish you ever mastered? How long did it take? Do you still make it today?
SL: Larb, a mince meat mix with herbs. It take [about a] half hours [sic] to make. [I] make this every day.
WR: What seasonal ingredient(s) get your creative juices flowing?
SL: Lime juice
WR: My latest cookbook obsession is …
WR: What’s the most challenging dish you’ve ever attempted? Would you make it again?
SL: Vietnamese rice crepe stuffed with pork and black mushrooms
WR: If I could the spend the day working alongside any local chef, I’d love to collaborate with …
SL: Andy Bennett
WR: What’s the easiest/quickest–but still wholly satisfying–meal you make for yourself?
SL: Papaya salad
WR: In the next six months you won’t want to miss my …
SL: Lao cuisine with a modern twist. I am working on grilled fish and larb with a modern cooking method.
WR: It’s quitting time. I’m pouring myself …
SL: I drink a lot of hot, organic soy milk to help me relax.
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Laotian-style tartar sounds like en epicurean trip I desperately want to take. Count me in, chef.
Come back next Tuesday for another helping of Red Meat.
–Warren
Posted by Warren Rojas / Tuesday, August 9th, 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: Dairy Queen – Multiple NoVA locations; www.dairyqueen.com
The prescription: Cookie dough Blizzard. EVERYBODY mixes stuff into their soft serve these days. But the DQ was the first to give it a clever name–the highly imitated “Blizzard” burst onto the dessert scene over a quarter decade ago–and they’re been thinking up new and exciting ways to sneak candy into our diets ever since. Crushed cookies and crumbled candy bars are all fine and dandy. But sometimes, nothing but gobs of teeth-rotting cookie dough (or a reasonable facsimile thereof) will do–particularly when said blobs of chocolate chip-studded decadence are integrated into creamy vanilla ice cream that is then drenched in a lo00000ng pump of chocolate syrup and vigorously spun into a gravity defying treat.
Traditionalists will be pleased to know that the peanut butter cup, cookie dough and Oreo Blizzards remain evergreen, while more adventurous palates can continue to explore the next frontier–triple chocoholic (with truffles), strawberry-golden oreo or French silk pie Blizzards, anyone?–in frosty ecstasy.
Better yet, indulge your sweet tooth this Thursday (8/11), AKA Miracle Treat Day, and at least part of your purchase will benefit Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.
–Warren
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Keep tabs on the month long Freeze Jag trek here.
Posted by Warren Rojas / Monday, August 8th, 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: Yolly Molly Cafe – 12164 Fairfax Town Center, Fairfax; 703-272-7007; www.yollymolly.com
The prescription: AYCE fro-yo. I’ve seen adults wander into this newish fro-yo pipeline and stare wide-eyed at the bank (eight in all) of self-serve machines, somewhat perplexed by how they should proceed. One dessert-savvy tot, on the other hand, instinctively marched directly from the front doors to the fro-yo nozzles and began dictating his mix-and-match order to his doting guardians. Lucky for him–and us–no one need wait in line or dawdle at the front counter during Yolly Molly’s weekly all-you-can-eat promotion (Mondays and Tuesdays from 4 p.m.-7 p.m.).
For $6.99 (regular price: $0.59 an ounce) one can indulge in all kinds of probiotic goodness, including: California tart (standard base favored by the entire froyoverse), wild strawberry, triple chocolate (billed as low-fat, but definitely delivers a mousse-y, uber chocolaty experience), pomegranate energy, pink lemonade sorbet (sweet-tart palate cleanser with plenty of citrusy staying power), plain raspberry and vanilla bean (spicy and creamy standard bearer).
And don’t forget to travel down the toppings bar, a customization carnival stocked with: fresh fruit (mango, pineapple, blackberries, strawberries, blueberries, shaved coconut), cookies (whole animal crackers, crushed oreos), sugary cereals (Fruity Pebbles, Captain Crunch), straight up candy (gummi pieces, M&M’s, toffee bits) and sauces (honey, white chocolate syrup).
–Warren
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Keep tabs on the month long Freeze Jag trek here.
Posted by Warren Rojas / Sunday, August 7th, 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: Burgers N’ Things – 12000 Lee Highway, Sperryville; 540-987-8311
The prescription: Black and white shake. You can imagine how thrilled this refreshment seeker was–particularly after spending umpteen torturous hours baking in a car fruitlessly searching for illusory exurban dessert huts–when this unassuming chow house appeared seemingly out of nowhere. The excitement only grew when I spotted those three magic words–black-and-white–on the menu. The shake was textbook, bonding Galliker’s vanilla soft serve and chocolate syrup into a frosty mass of muddy brown sweetness. Mind you, it was real work, dutifully aspirating every last bit of dairy goodness through the narrow straw. But reaching rock bottom proved eminently rewarding (the point of contact where the ice cream and syrup first met conjured up an almost coffee like-flavor, expressed, no doubt, by the residual concentrate).
Perhaps more importantly, this pilgrimage rekindled my long held fantasy (I’ll never actually do it; but it’s fun to imagine) to open up a greasy spoon/dive dubbed “Beer N Stuff.”
–Warren
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Keep tabs on the month long Freeze Jag trek here.
Posted by Warren Rojas / Saturday, August 6th, 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: Red Fox Creamery – 130 N. Cameron St., Winchester; 540-545-8630; www.facebook.com/Redfoxcreamery
The prescription: Honey-Walnut scoop. Middleburg’s loss–founders Brian and Kathy Lewis actually began cranking out their homemade ice cream over a decade ago in Middleburg; it’s still carried by certain area retailers–turned out to be Funchester’s crazy sweet gain. For it is they, our neighbors to the northwest, who now get first dibs on the Lewis’ intensely flavored frozen treats, including: after dinner mint chip, vanilla malt-chocolate chip, mocha-toffee crunch (javariffic), cookies and cream, french vanilla-capuccino, cinnamon-oatmeal cookie (zesty cinammon and crunchy oatmeal crumbs were muy simpatico) and key lime pie. But the most mind blowing of the bunch we tried had to be the honey-walnut. This one goes, well, totally nuts, littering dulcet, honey-laced ice cream with huge, honking whole walnuts.
The modest shop appears to be a must stop for everyone from tow-headed tots to snowy-browed retirees traveling along the bustling pedestrian mall .”I do believe this is the third time I’ve seen you today,” the scoop girl remarked to one particularly circuitous regular. If we lived closer, confidence is high we’d be in the same rotation.
–Warren
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Keep tabs on the month long Freeze Jag trek here.
Posted by Warren Rojas / Friday, August 5th, 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: Bayou Bakery — 1515 N. Courthouse Road, Arlington; 703-243-2410; www.bayoubakeryva.com
The prescription: Hurricane sno-ball. Blame it on the stifling heat or my inherent dimwittedness. But I was totally confused to find everyone at cheflebrity David Guas’ restaurant feverishly shoveling what looked to be Chinese takeout into their gaping maws. It was only after I inched closer to a clique of heat relief-seeking patrons that I came to realize they were actually guzzling rainbow colored-clusters of syrup-drenched shaved ice. Always one to join the crowd, I tossed my money–okay, the magazine’s money–on the counter and cast my vote for a taste of The Big Easy: the Hurricane.
The rust-colored refresher was addictively cool, shocking my gullet with white rum-spiked ice crystals–I may also have detected some pineapple and coconut flavors, but you gotta write what you know, ya know?–that was, in turns, tart, tingly and deliciously boozy.
Guas prefers the almond-infused “wedding cake”–”[Topped] with condensed milk, it is like icing on the cake,” he gushed–but said locals have beelined for more familiar shores (dreamsicle, cherry, strawberry). Most of the syrups are imported from Guas’ native N’awlins, though he has ventured out to the surrounding farmers markets to snatch up ripe, summer berries for in-house juicing.
The real question is: do these signature sweets stand a snowball’s chance in hell of sticking around past the autumnal equinox.
Guas seems optimistic.
“We will go as long as the weather holds out in the 70’s,” he predicted.
–Warren
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Keep tabs on the month long Freeze Jag trek here.