Except for cupcakes, what's better than a burger?

DC is known for two foods: cupcakes and burgers.

Though not nearly as cute or compact as their cupcake counterparts, DC's delicious burgers have helped spawn the gourmet burger. Five Guys originated in Arlington in the mid-80's and put DC on the map as a burger destination. Since then, the burger scene has grown exponentially and shows no signs of slowing.

Ray's Hell Burger is phenomenal. Definitely worthy of visiting heads of state or your Uncle Bob. Though it would be nice if fries were on the menu.

The Burger Joint is impressive too. I especially like it because it's walking distance from my house, though I'll admit, walking is the last thing I want to do after I've eaten there. Sometimes it is not physically possible, and the Burger Joint staff is forced to cut me off and call a cab.

In spite of multiple visits to Ray's and the Burger Joint, burgers have taken a back seat to my cupcake addiction, and I haven't covered a lot of ground in the burger community.

So, I was excited to finally try Good Stuff Eatery with Amanda, in hopes of redeeming DC after our traumatic Bangkok Joe's experience.


I was relieved to find that Good Stuff's burgers lived up to the hype. Though it doesn't offer the range of gourmet cheeses as Ray's, Good Stuff holds its own. The eatery takes a more basic approach to the burger, sticking with simple, quality ingredients prepared well. As weird as it sounds, the burger made me nostalgic for fast food joints, even though it was 100 times better than anything you could get at McDonald's.

Sadly, McDonald's definitely comes out ahead on the fry front. Good Stuff's fries were soggy. There's no excuse for that.

Amanda and I were so shaken that the only way to get over it was to order a milkshake The s'mores milkshake is supposedly out-of-this-world, so we were disappointed to learn it is seasonal. Apparently summer is not the season for camping outside and making delicious toasted marshmallow, chocolate, graham cracker sandwiches.

Fortunately the cookies n' cream and black and white milkshakes were incredible. I almost forgot all about s'mores.

Where NOT to take friends and family visiting DC

When a friend or family member from out of town visits you in DC, restaurant choice is critical. For my friend Amanda, the perfect choice seemed to be Bangkok Joe's dumplings and flourless chocolate cake, a bit of shopping, topped off with a trip to Georgetown Cupcake.

Sadly, there was a flaw in my plan: Bangkok Joe's.

I was surprised to find that Bangkok Joe's has declined significantly since my last visit. The service was sub par - the waiter wasn't attentive, but when he did stop by, he hovered uncomfortably. (This was especially awkward when he gave us the checks and was clearly trying to see what we were tipping.) The dumplings were okay, not as good as I remembered. But the tragedy was the flourless chocolate cake. I loved this cake and raved about it to Amanda - it was a driving force behind choosing the restaurant. So it was embarrassing when they served us a soggy chocolate cake smothered with whipped cream and rum. This was NOT the cake I know and love. The betrayal was heartbreaking.

Fortunately, Georgetown Cupcake saved the day.

Moral of the story: Bangkok Joe's may disappoint, but Georgetown Cupcake never will.

Chocolate Squared, Milk Chocolate Birthday Cake, and Maple Cupcakes

Beat the summer heat...

Recent weeks have been unbearably hot, and as far as I can tell, there's no end in sight. The only option is to fight it. I like to do this by making refreshing drinks. (Similar to my "fight the blizzard" strategy of making warming drinks like hot buttered bourbon.) My current favorites include...

Leland Palmer Tea
This deliciously tangy tea is perfect for summer. I can't wait to substitute the gin with bourbon, seems like a great twist.

Raspberry-Rose Gin Rickey
I've never been a huge gin drinker, but bought a bottle for the Leland Palmer Tea and have plenty left over, so I've had to get creative. This is a refreshing drink and has me thinking that gin may be the perfect summer spirit.

Raspberry Champagne Cocktail
Since I now have all the raspberries from the gin rickey's (and who wants raspberries to go to waste), I thought I'd try something light and fun.

6 Tablespoons of raspberry vodka
As many raspberries as you want
Champagne

Smash the raspberries with the vodka in a martini shaker. Add ice. Shake. Pour into two glasses (don't strain) and top off with champagne.

The only risk of summer drink fun is finding yourself in the ingredient holding pattern I'm obviously experiencing. Though there are worse things, like summer heat without a cool drink...

For more inspiration, Food and Wine has a list of their 20 Best Summer Drinks.

UPDATE: Ted's Bulletin Pop Tarts

I happened to find myself in Capitol Hill again this weekend and picked up some homemade pop tarts from Ted's Bulletin.

As a child I was always wary of pop tarts with their cardboard edges and pasty strawberry sugar filling. But after last weekend, I trusted Ted enough to give his pop tarts a try. My trust was not misplaced. Ted's pop tarts were made of flaky pastry, topped with perfectly sweetened icing and sprinkles. The filling was fresh, homemade strawberry jam. It was an incredible breakfast pastry, and perhaps the first time in history that a mass-produced, processed food has inspired such an amazing gourmet copycat.

Ted's Bulletin

Ever since reading that the guys behind Matchbox were opening Ted's Bulletin in Capitol Hill, I've been dying to check it out. A retro Americana eatery seemed appropriate for the 4th of July, so last weekend some friends and I tried Ted's.

The restaurant has a great ambiance, incorporating art deco fixtures recycled from the 1928 Philadelphia Convention Center.

The Soda Shop/Bar

The Very Tempting Bakery Counter
(Yes, those are home-made pop tarts on the green cake stand.)

If you can make it past the bakery counter and soda shop (not an easy feat), you'll find yourself in one of the dining room's booths watching a retro movie and checking out the daily desserts (written on a chalk board next to the tv screen) or completely engrossed in an all-American menu. The servers are great and very understanding about the sensory overload thing.

The food is spectacular. There are some interesting twists on the classic burger, like Drew's Peanut Butter Bacon Burger. I opted for the irresistible blue cheese burger combination and will have to try the more creative burgers in future visits...

And I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to try their fantastic mac n' cheese.

But Ted's strength was its out-of-this-world desserts. I am in love with the peanut butter chocolate cake. The peanut butter icing was more peanut buttery than overly sugary sweet, and the chocolate cake was rich and decadent.

The new love of my life.

The fresh blueberry pie was perfect for a summer day and inspiration for my seasonal pie making fantasies.

I also tried the best chocolate milkshake I've ever had in my life, but unfortunately the shake did not make it into a picture as it disappeared too quickly. And if you're looking for a kick to your milkshake, Ted's also has adult milkshakes.

Heaven on earth.

Boozy baking, what's not to love?

Today I received what might just be a life-changing email. A friend sent me an intriguing article about a new cookbook, The Boozy Baker, that is dedicated to one of my favorite things: alcohol laced desserts. I don't think I'll ever be the same.

Because you can't just have one crepe...

Last weekend I checked out Point Chaud, the new crepe place on 14th Street. It's a reasonably priced, unassuming creperie that feels more like a coffee shop than a new hot spot. The wide variety of savory and sweet crepes posed the difficult dilemma: should I do the practical thing and get a savory crepe (it was dinner after all) or go for the taste adventure that a chocolate, banana, and coconut crepe promised? There was only one answer...

I got both.

It was so worth it. The turkey, swiss, and cranberry sauce crepe was very good. (I also tried a friend's spinach, sun dried tomato, and feta crepe, which was even better.) As for the sweet crepe, the picture says it all...

The Chocolate Banana Coconut Crepe