City Desk » delicious

Commonwealth Worth the (Really Long) Wait

Brianne Downing — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 21:37:04 +0000

My good friend, roommate, and I decided to check out Commonwealth, the new restaurant in Columbia Heights, last night, and though many of the menu items were unavailable, we ended up having a pretty good meal. Our server was very helpful and knowledgeable about the menu, though it was obvious the kinks with the service haven't been ironed out yet. Thank goodness we weren't in a hurry, and all three of us are pretty patient. The restaurant was out of most of the beers I wanted to try, so I settled on a monkey ale, and it was pretty good. The highlight of my meal, though (besides the company), was the roasted trout with stuffed bread and butter. I was warned that the fish would come with its head and tail still on, but I was up for something new. Boy, was it delicious (and expensive)!

I know Ruth said she'd probably wait until sweater season to sample the entrees, but I'll be headed back to try a new dish.

The Cupcake Quest Continues

Brianne Downing — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 20:16:30 +0000

Yesterday afternoon, I was called upstairs to the production room to try a couple cupcakes an account executive had picked up from Baked & Wired, a bakery near the Shops at Georgetown Park. I guess someone up there had read my previous post about Cakelove and knew I'd be interested in a tasty treat. For sample were the carrot cake cupcake, a chocolate cupcake with mocha frosting, and, er, one other variety I can't remember at the moment.

By the time I got up there, most of each cake had been eaten, but it looked to me (judging by the wrappers) that Baked & Wired's goods are slightly larger than Cakelove's concoctions. And in this case, bigger is definitely better. The cakes were that perfect consistency (not too dense, not too crumbly), and the frosting was delicious. The type of frosting you'd eat out of the container while watching a rerun of your favorite show. If that's what you're into.

I didn't have a whole cupcake, so I think it will be necessary to try a (much) bigger sample before giving this shop a true recommendation. I mean, it's only fair. And wow, look at that: Baked & Wired is open till 7 p.m. on weekdays...just enough time after work to cruise down there on my bike. Hmm.

“Burger Crawl” on Saturday

Mike DeBonis — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 18:28:31 +0000

Received a somewhat mysterious note plugging a "burger crawl" Saturday inspired by Young & Hungry columnist Tim Carman's local burger roundup last week in the Washington Post. The (somewhat ambitious) schedule is:

11 a.m.: Elevation Burger, Falls Church
11:45 a.m.: Big Buns, Arlington
12:30 p.m.: Good Stuff, Capitol Hill
1:15 p.m.: Five Guys, Dupont Circle
2 p.m.: Z-Burger, Tenleytown
2:45 p.m.: BGR, Bethesda
3:15 p.m.: Urban Burger, Rockville

And, if you're really nuts, you could always saunter over to Ray's Hell-Burger in Arlington in the evening if you're still hungry. No names were on the note I was sent; e-mail burgercrawldc@gmail.com for further detail.