Eastern Market (Washington, D.C.)

[Eastern Market]
225 7th St SE
Washington, District of Columbia 20003
http://www.easternmarket-dc.org/

My only disappointment is that I didn’t go to this place sooner. This farmers market has everything. Outdoors, they sell local produce, jewelry, and local artwork. There are also outdoor tents that sell food. Indoors, there is a bakery, vendors that sell fresh meat, freshly made pasta, flowers, prepared meals, and made-to-order sandwiches.

At an outdoor tent, Crepes at the Market, I ordered a savory crepe. I think mine was turkey, spinach and gouda. Yum!

Cupcakes were $1.25! I ordered the German Chocolate Cupcake and my friend got the Red Velvet. They were actually not very good as they were probably baked using cake mix boxes. Oh well.

This Cuban sandwich was amazing. You can buy it indoors.

How can you go wrong with fresh-squeezed lemonade and the juice of fresh raspberries? So good!

Georgetown Cupcake (Washington, D.C.)

[Georgetown Cupcake]
3301 M Street NW
Washington, DC 20007
(202) 333-8448
http://www.georgetowncupcake.com

Georgetown Cupcake: the menu

Everyone talks this place up and after all this time, I finally got the chance to check it out for myself.  The cupcakes were $2.75 each, which was a bit cheaper than a lot of cupcakeries I’ve visited.  There were so many cupcakes to choose from, but ultimately, I ordered the chocolate ganache cupcake.

Georgetown Cupcake: Chocolate Ganache ($2.75)

Although I think the cupcake could have been a bit more moist, it was still pretty good.  I thought it was very small compared to other places.  I guess that partly explains the price.  The place is really tiny so we didn’t have a place to sit.  We didn’t want to spend 50 cents each on a box for our cupcakes, so we just ate our cupcakes standing.  Charging for boxes seems a bit ridiculous.  Could we have at least gotten a little tray?

MizzSmiley ordered the Red Velvet, her fave.

Georgetown Cupcake: Red Velvet ($2.75)

I had a bite and thought it was good, but also not as moist as it could be.  Basically, good, but a little below expectations.  Georgetown Cupcake better watch out for Crumbs!

Sprinkles cupcakes

!!!!! Sprinkles cupcakes will be here in the summer. Can’t wait!

http://www.sprinkles.com/locations.html

Sprinkles Cupcakes
3015 M St. NW
Washington, D.C. 2007

I’ve never had Sprinkles cupcakes before, but I’ve heard their name dropped in Entourage at least twice.   haha

Red Velvet Cupcakery (Penn Quarter, NW DC)

[Red Velvet Cupcakery]

675 E Street, NW
Washington, DC 20004
Phone: 202-347-7895
Fax: 202-347-7894

http://www.redvelvetcupcakery.com/

On a Sunday afternoon, we hit up the International Spy museum (compliments of groupon.com), and afterwards got a mid afternoon treat at Red Velvet Cupcakery at Penn Quarter in DC. I took my nieces to get a sugary treat before returning them to my sister (LOL). The place is a very cute and small cupcakery. There was a line, but it went quickly.

Red Velvet: Cupcakes

Devil’s Food (top) -”chocolate buttermilk cake, bittersweet chocolate ganache.”

It tasted a little too bitter for cupcakes or at least for me.

Southern Belle (left): “red velvet cake, whipped cream cheese topping. “This was delicious soft and creamy, way better than the Buzz one, I had earlier in the month. I even ventured to take the last remaining one, which could have been stale, but surprising ly it wasn’t! =)

B-Day (right): “almond scented butter cake, milk chocolate ganache”

The cake it self was delicious with a faint hint of almond. The topping was a little bitter but it complimented the cake well.

Key West (bottom): “key lime cake, white chocholate buttercream”

I liked the topping the most! The cake and the icing combined is like heaven in your mouth. =o

Overall, I enjoyed this placed more than Buzz, I still love Magnolia’s in NYC the most! I will venture locally to find one that can compare to it.

Enjoying cupcakes on the steps at the National Art Musuem!

P.S. Sorry, for the not so great photos. I didn’t have my camera with me and I don’t really like my blackberry camera. Also, I have a super old digital camera (brick size) which I hate to carry around. Until I get a new upgraded camera there won’t be many pictures.

BUZZ: Bakery, Coffee and Lounge (Alexandria, VA)

BUZZ

[BUZZ: Bakery, Coffee and Lounge]
901 Slaters Lane
Alexandria, VA 22314
(703) 600-BUZZ
http://www.buzzonslaters.com

I came up with the idea of visiting all cupcakeries (or any place with gourmet cupcakes) in the area. I’m a cupcake monster! As you can imagine, it’s not that difficult to convince your friends to join in on this kind of quest. And so it began…

Buzz: Seating

Although I had originally planned to go during the daytime (since cupcakes aren’t typically fresh near closing time), I wanted to include more of my friends, so we decided to go on this Thursday night at around 10pm. Buzz doesn’t close until midnight. How fantastic is that? Who doesn’t love a late-night mini-adventure?

Buzz: dessert selection

Buzz’s menu offers a lot. They have freshly brewed coffee, tea, and bottled drinks. They also have cakes, cupcakes, cookies, and other gourmet desserts.  I ordered the chocolate Guinness cupcake. It was on the dry side. Others believed it was too hard and tasted like stale beer. It was probably baked two minutes too long and it didn’t help that it was sitting out all day.

Buzz: Guinness Cupcake ($3)

Micky ordered the Red Velvet cupcake. I liked their butter-cream frosting, but the top of the cupcake was pretty hard.

Buzz: Red Velvet Cupcake ($3)

Jerry’s cupcake was the best – vanilla with chocolate frosting. It was moist (like how I expected all of them to be).

Buzz: Vanilla Chocolate Cupcake ($3)

Anna got a cinnamon roll. Don’t know exactly how she felt about it. She should write a little review (ahem).

Buzz: Cinnamon Roll ($2.45?)

Mo and I both ordered Chai Tea Lattes. This is my favorite drink. Although it wasn’t quite as creamy as Starbucks, it was still pretty good. I am happy with it.  I really want to give this place another chance, but you will not catch me spending $3.00 on another cupcake.  I actually did grab a Vanilla Crème Brûlée to go.   It looked so good, I couldn’t say no.  I will obviously blog about it later.  [EDIT: It was fantastic! I loved the vanilla custard.]

Buzz: Vanilla Crème Brûlée ($2.45?)

What I do love about this place is that the decor was so kitsch. It was funky, but it still worked out. They had a line of honey jars on a counter behind a seating area, a kite made of random metal pieces hanging on the wall, a sign high above the register with three stories from the perspective of a child, a dog, and an adult.  Nothing quite went together, but it worked.

Buzz serves alcohol too, and even have a happy hour (begins at 4pm). Alcohol + Sweets? Nice. I would visit again for a chill night out with friends.  They also have free Wifi.  I only wish they had more seating.

Buzz: Decor

Shilla Bakery (Annandale, VA)

Shilla Bakery

[Shilla Bakery]
7039 Little River Tpke
Annandale, VA 22003
(703) 333-2001
http://www.shillabakeryusa.com/

People have been raving about this place (a Korean bakery chain). They keep talking about the awesome Bing Soo, which I have had in various countries during my travels.  I’m not sure where this shaved ice, condensed milk, and fruit combination originated, but it seems to be a growing phenomenon in Asia.

We ordered Fruit Bing Soo.  It was quite large and we shared it between three people.  It includes mixed fruit (watermelon, kiwi, strawberry, banana, and honeydew), condensed milk, tteok (rice cake), shaved ice and fruit syrup.  I would’ve enjoyed it more if they excluded the syrup.

Shilla Bakery: Fruit Bing Soo ($6.50)

Someone else ordered the frozen yogurt with strawberries and blueberries.  I meant to take a bite, but it was gone within seconds.

Shilla Bakery: Frozen Yogurt ($3.49 Small/free one topping)

I liked the atmosphere, people seemed so cheerful.  It seems like a great place to mingle.  They had a huge menu including decorative cakes.  I would love to try their Thai tea latte and their shakes (without boba/tapioca balls).