Recipe: Mousse au chocolat

I’m spending a week at home before heading back to DC for the summer. Fortunately for me, my mom made her amazing chocolate mousse today! The recipe is actually one that my sister got in her middle school French class four years ago, and my mom has been preparing it every since. I helped out a bit and got the recipe to share with all of you.

This chocolate mousse recipe is pretty simple and requires only a few ingredients. The texture and flavor are so incredibly rich! You will impress yourself and anyone you’re willing to share the mousse with (although it’s so good, you’ll want to keep it all to yourself)!

Ingredients:

• 12 oz dark chocolate
• 1/2 cup milk
• 6 eggs
• 4 tablespoons powdered sugar
• 3/4 cup cream

Utensils:

• hand mixer
• spatula
• saucepan
• smaller saucepan
• mixing bowls

Preparation Time: 30 minutes

Cooling Time: 4 hours

STEP 1: First you need to melt the chocolate. I recommend using chocolate chips or breaking a chocolate bar up into small pieces. To melt the chocolate, you need to use a double boiler method. Fill the larger saucepan about halfway with water. Bring the water to a boil. Put the milk and chocolate into the smaller saucepan. Then balance the smaller saucepan over the boiling water and stir the chocolate until it is completely melted into the milk. Leave the chocolate mixture to cool at room temperature for about 10 minutes. In the meantime, continue to step 2.

Step 1

STEP 2: Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites. In a bowl, beat the yolks and sugar with a hand mixer. After the chocolate has cooled, pour the yolk-and-sugar mix into the chocolate mixture and stir them together.

Step 2

STEP 3: In another bowl, beat the egg whites until they are a firm and spongy consistency. Fold the egg whites into the chocolate. Make sure that the egg whites don’t stiffen.

STEP 4: In yet another bowl, beat the cream until it thickens.

Step 4

STEP 5: Fold the cream into the chocolate until it looks like this:

Step 5

STEP 6: Now that you have made the mousse, put it into individual serving dishes or a large serving bowl. My mom puts the mousse into glasses we got in a sundae kit. She puts raspberries and a dollop of Nutella in the bottom of a glass, then fills it with mousse and tops it off with whipped cream and a Milano cookie. Yum! *Keep the mousse in the fridge for at least 4 hours before serving so it reaches the proper consistency.*

Bon appetit!

Pizza No. 17 – Dupont Circle

My friend heard about Pizza No. 17 through an app called Scoutmob, which has coupons for local restaurants and shops that you can redeem directly from your phone. Scoutmob is kind of like Groupon, but the difference is that you don’t have to purchase the coupon in advance, you just eat at the restaurant and present the coupon on your phone at the end of your meal. The deal we had was for 50% off the check (max discount $15; 1 coupon per table).

Pizza No. 17 has a tiny indoor seating area and a larger, covered outdoor area. We sat inside because it was cold, but the outdoor area seemed quite charming with its picnic tables and fake tea light candles.

Photo credit goes to the Pizza No. 17 Facebook page

The interior had photos of (who I assumed was) the restaurant’s owner on one wall and a banner illustrating the restaurant’s neighborhood on the other wall. It included caricatures of hairy-legged drag queens running past Pizza No. 17 in high heels, reminding locals of that annual Halloween Drag Race that takes place on 17th Street. Hanging from the ceiling were awesome mason jar chandeliers… I’m still contemplating whether or not making these for my dorm room would be a feasible project…

I couldn’t decide on which personal pizza to order because there were so many options, so I did what the rest of my friends did and ordered the Pizza Sliders ($9.50): 3 mini versions of any of the pizzas on the menu. Let me start by saying that I left the restaurant hungry because the sliders were an appetizer. The waitress warned us that they weren’t big enough to be an entree, but my friends and I didn’t take her advice.

Left to Right: Pizza No. 17, Pizza di Pesto and Funghi pizza

The 3 sliders I chose were the Pizza No. 17 (tomatoes, pepperoni, squash, green peppers, sweet peppers and mozzarella), Pizza di Pesto (mushrooms, asparagus, pepperoni, mozzarella, pesto, roasted garlic and roasted pine nuts) and Funghi (tomatoes, mozzarella, mushrooms, fresh garlic and red onion).

The mini pizzas were a little bigger than the size of a Chips Ahoy cookie. They were pretty underwhelming; neither the Pizza No. 17 nor the Funghi had memorable, distinct flavors. The Pizza di Pesto, however, was quite good. It had a smoky, sweet taste.

Although I left Pizza No. 17 hungry, it was my fault because I ordered an appetizer as an entree. I would come back to sit outside on a summer evening and take advantage of the awesome Scoutmob deal!

Amsterdam Falafelshop – Adams Morgan

My friend Rachel (shout out!) has been raving about Amsterdam Falafelshop since I met her last semester! I wish I’d taken her advice and gone earlier because I did not know what I was missing out on!

Amsterdam Falafelshop is located on the upper level of an Adams Morgan townhouse. Its facade glows in red, fashioned after Amsterdam’s Red Light District, which is home to brothels and sex shops. While the Dutch capital may be known for such adult offerings, it is not (to my knowledge) known for falafel. Regardless, Amsterdam Falafelshop was a tasty and unique experience in its own right.

Amsterdam Falafelshop keeps the menu simple: falafel and fries. The small falafel ($5.55) gets you 3 balls of falafel in a white or wheat pita, while the regular ($6.55) size gets you 4 balls in a pita. The small size was plenty for me because you get to put on unlimited toppings!!!

I apologize for the blurriness of the above photo. These are the “Falafel Topping Strategies” to help you get the most flavorful experience! You are given your falafel in your pita and are then unleashed on the topping bar. The rule is that you can’t double dip or top, but you are allowed to come back for more sauce and salads and put them in little plastic cups.

The options are incredible and include hummus, tzatziki sauce, cucumber salad, beet salad, chickpeas, babaganoush, cauliflower, peppers, pickles, diced onions and more! They also have more sauces next to the soda fountain, including peanut sauce, which is unconventional, but I’d totally recommend!

In order to make the most of the space you have in the pita, make sure to crush the falafel balls! It’s pretty simple, but if you are in need of assistance, the servers are very keen on offering to help.

This is my beautiful creation: a small falafel with babaganoush, tzatziki sauce and cucumber salad! Although I’ve had more flavorful falafel (sans toppings) at Mama Ayesha’s (a Middle Eastern restaurant also in Adams Morgan), the endless options at Amsterdam Falafelshop and the atmosphere made it an experience, more than a meal.

The shop is decorated with “Make Falafel Not War” signs and other quirky memorabilia… such as Dutch concert posters and tables inlaid with photos of Amsterdam. The large window at the front of the shop is open on nice days, so grab a seat up there, nibble on your falafel and enjoy the people watching!

The view of Adams Morgan from Amsterdam Falafelshop

A collection of stickers on the restaurant’s door.

Tackle Box – Georgetown

Tackle Box opened in Georgetown fairly recently… probably sometime last year. It’s a seafood restaurant with fast food service on the ground floor and sit-down service and a bar on the top floor.

I went to Tackle Box with a bunch of friends because of a Groupon; you pay $15 for $30 worth of food (the deal has expired since I’ve written this post). I split the deal with my friend and it was the perfect amount of food for 2 people. We were able to get 2 meals and 2 drinks for $30.80. I thought that the food was a good deal for the $7.50 I paid by splitting the Groupon, but it would’ve been overpriced had I paid the full retail value of my meal.

I got the Tackle Box Meal ($11.50 without a Groupon), which consisted of 1 entree, 1 side dish and 1 sauce. I got the crispy fried calamari with grilled broccoli and the basil walnut pesto sauce. The calamari was garnished with jalapenos and lemons. The calamari was tasty, but the pesto sauce was a bad choice. Together it was just a very heavy combo. The broccoli was great though! It was super fresh and grilled to the perfect consistency: tender but still crunchy.

The decor at Tackle Box is charming and fits the cuisine. I didn’t go to the upstairs restaurant, so I’m only describing the ground floor. Guests sit in communal wooden picnic tables in a dark room decorated with lobster flags and seagulls affixed to the walls. Food is served in red plastic baskets on checkered paper, giving the pricy food an ironically cheap look.

I thought the quality of the food was good, but the meal really wasn’t worth its regular price because of the small portions, so I’m glad I had the Groupon.

Killer E.S.P – Old Town Alexandria

Killer E.S.P. gets its name from the three products it serves: espresso, sorbet and pie. Their coffee is provided by Stumptown Coffee, a fair trade Portland-based company. The sorbet and gelato are made in-house, allowing the shop to concoct and serve unique flavors like mascarpone and kiwi sorbetto. The sweet and savory pies are provided by Dangerously Delicious Pies, a DC-based bakery known for its pie truck.

There was also a display of empanadas sitting right next to the register. Even though I had just eaten lunch, I almost caved and got one because the flavors sounded so enticing: chorizo, Jamaican beef, spinach, chicken saltenas and more!

I was looking for ice cream when I passed Killer E.S.P. and I definitely chose the right place. I sampled the apricot yogurt gelato and the pear sorbetto and chose the latter ($3.75 for one scoop). The apricot yogurt tasted like its namesake but was a bit too sweet for what I was looking for. It wasn’t overly sweet by normal standards, I was just looking for something lighter and more refreshing. The pear sorbetto had a light flavor and was just what I was looking for.

Pear sorbetto

Although I’m not a coffee drinker, the affogato ($4.75) – 1 scoop of gelato or sobetto drowning in a double espresso – sounds delicious. I’m definitely coming back to try that with a chocolatey- or nutty-flavored gelato.

I loved the ambiance of Killer E.S.P. It was a very artsy, inspiring atmosphere. One wall was a chalkboard covered with Alice in Wonderland-themed illustrations that welcomed you into the cafe. Another wall was plastered with colorful paper money from all over the world.

Artwork cluttered the brick wall of the back seating area, which was occupied by locals working on laptops or relaxing with a cup of coffee. A surfer movie projected onto the back wall, adding to the artsy atmosphere.

A woodsy theme permeated through the outdoor seating area, which was located in a courtyard in the back of Killer E.S.P. From the Adirondack chairs to the raw wood fence and string of lights hanging above customers, the patio felt like an escape from hectic city life that Washingtonians come to Old Town Alexandria to experience.

I definitely plan on coming back to Killer E.S.P. the next time I’m in Alexandria. They offer hearty sweet and savory snacks, warm drinks and a relaxing atmosphere that’s a nice break from the chaos of Washington.

Closest metro stop: King Street, yellow line

Bread & Chocolate – West End

Bread & Chocolate is a favorite amongst my friends and me. I have had brunch with my girlfriends here and we have even gathered all our families together at Bread & Chocolate during GW’s parents’ weekend. We’ve shared memories and good food at the 23rd & M location, which is only a few blocks north of GW’s campus.

I’ve obviously been here on many occasions, so this post is a review of all the food that I’ve had on multiple visits, rather than based solely on one visit, which is how I usually write my posts.

Bread & Chocolate is the perfect place for brunch. They serve eggs in various shapes and forms along with their delicious morning sweets, many of which I’ve tried. The restaurant is also a cafe that offers various pastries, salads, sandwiches and small plates with French influences.

Chocolate Banana French Toast

One of my favorite dishes at Bread & Chocolate is the chocolate banana French toast ($9). I fell in love with this dish since the first time I’ve had it and have made a habit of ordering it almost every time I go. The French toast is topped with bananas (too few in my opinion) and drizzled with a generous amount of chocolate sauce. Bavarian cream, a delicious, pudding-like condiment, is served on the side. The French toast is sweet and delicious… it’s more like dessert than an entree.

Nutella Pfannkuchen

I had the Nutella Pfannkuchen ($9) – German crepes – on one visit to B&C. I remember being disappointed because there was nothing special about the crepes. They also had a slightly lemony taste, which I really don’t like in most foods. Because I grew up having crepes (or palacinke in Serbian) for breakfast practically every weekend, I was disappointed that I spent money on something unsatisfying that I could’ve easily made myself.

Cuisine A-Go-Go

My most recent trip to Bread & Chocolate was on my birthday! I decided to try a savory entree and went with the Cuisine A-Go-Go ($9), which is essentially ham, egg and cheese on one of their homemade croissants. It was served with a potato latke and a lettuce and cantaloupe garnish. I realized the dish was basically what I would get at Dunkin’ Donuts, but I really liked it. The croissant was warm and ever so slightly sweet. The latke was crunchy and not the best I’ve ever had, but it was a nice complement to the meal.

Chocolate Fondue

I concluded my birthday brunch with chocolate fondue ($6 per person/2 person minimum). The fondue was served with tons of fruit: apples, grapes, oranges, strawberries, bananas and pineapples. It also came with their apple crumb cake which was absolutely divine dipped in the chocolate. Although the fondue was kept warm by a candle, I was surprised that the chocolate didn’t solidify as my boyfriend and I struggled to finish the fruit and cake. Somehow, we managed to clean the plate and left Bread & Chocolate happy and full. I highly recommend that everyone try the fondue… it is amazing and a great way to end a meal!

Bread & Chocolate is one of my favorite brunch places in DC because of its proximity to GW’s campus, the quality of the food and the value for your money. Bread & Chocolate is the perfect place to gather with friends and sit outside by their yellow awning on a sunny day!

Bread & Chocolate also has locations in Chevy Chase, Old Town Alexandria and Takoma Park.

GBD: Fried Chicken and Fresh Doughnuts – Dupont

Doughnuts are the new cupcakes in DC. Boutique doughnut stores like GBD and Astro Doughnuts will soon replace Georgetown Cupcakes and Baked & Wired in their monopoly over the DC sweet treat scene.

GBD, which stands for Golden Brown Delicious, actually just opened last Friday and has been drawing hype for a while. I went there with my friend Rachel right after a concert last week. Little did we know, the restaurant turns into a bar at night so we almost weren’t able to get in (#under21problems), but we were able to convince the “bouncer” to admit us by telling him we walked all the way from Chinatown (which we did). We just wanted doughnuts!

By the time we got there, they only had one doughnut option left: tres leches. To my surprise, my plate came with an extra doughnut! The waiter said the chef had prepared them and they were on the house. So I tried a tres leches doughnut and a butterscotch doughnut with strawberry glaze. Tres leches is Spanish for “three milks,” which the doughnut is soaked in. The doughnut was pretty moist and topped with coconut flakes. The butterscotch doughnut was drier than the tres leches and also had a distinct lemon taste… despite supposedly being strawberry flavored. I wasn’t a fan of the second doughnut.

Tres leches doughnut (L) and butterscotch doughnut with strawberry glaze (R)

So it turned out that our doughnuts were on the house (!!!), probably because it was their first night of being open late and because we weren’t even supposed to be in there because of our youth. I must be honest though, despite the fancy names of the flavors, the doughnuts weren’t too special. Unlike cupcakes, which are satisfyingly sweet, the doughnuts were a bit bland.

I also wanted to mention that I came back a second time during the evening hours with a big group of people and they wouldn’t let us eat in because most of us were under 21. So, if you’re under 21 and want to have their fried chicken or fish and chips for dinner, like I wanted, you’re out of luck. We were bummed and went to Krispy Kreme across the street, which was super cheap (about $1.20 for a specialty doughnut) and comparable in quality.

So while I appreciated the free doughnuts I got the first night, the doughnuts weren’t spectacular and I was annoyed that they wouldn’t let me eat in the second night because I was under 21! It’s just a doughnut shop! What if Dunkin’ Donuts discriminated against its customers based on their age?!

I also don’t quite understand where this fried chicken and doughnut trend came from. Both GBD and Astro Doughnuts (which I will visit soon) serve both almost exclusively.

closest metro stop: Dupont Circle on the red line

I’m on Instagram!

Hello everyone! I just made an Instagram account for Better Than Ramen (@betterthanramen). Click the icon below to see my page!

Follow me because it’s basically food porn and I’ll be posting pictures of delicious dishes I’m eating before I write about them, so it will be kind of like a sneak preview of what’s to come on BTR.

Here are some Instagrams you can look forward to reading about here soon:

Black Forest Gnocchi from Ambar on Barracks Row

Bun Cha Gio from Pho DC in Chinatown

Fondue from Bread & Chocolate in West End

DGS Delicatessen – Dupont Circle

The first time I ever walked past DGS, I looked into the window and saw a large group of college-aged friends enjoying a meal together. The guy at the head of the table noticed that my gaze was on their food so he pointed to his corned beef sandwich, gave it a thumbs up and made a beckoning motion towards me, letting me know that the food was good.

I didn’t have to stop in then, but when my aunt was in town, I took her to DGS to see if this approving customer was correct with his assessment.

Located barely a block away from Dupont Circle, DGS is a sit-down version of a classic deli. The “modern Jewish cookery” features dishes like pastrami sandwiches and matzo ball soup in a modern yet homey venue.

I went on a Sunday when they were serving “brunch.” Their brunch menu is basically a condensed version of their everyday menu with some egg dishes. I didn’t know they were serving brunch so I ended up choosing less brunchy and more lunchy menu items.

House Salad

My aunt and I started with the House Salad ($8). It came with chickpeas, carrots, wheat berries and caraway vin on mixed greens. The salad was very fresh and each bite had new flavor and texture. The carrots were prepared in a way that reminded me of sweet potatoes; I liked the sweetness they added to the salad.

Corned Beef Sandwich

Next I had the Corned Beef Sandwich ($13), which was served with their house mustard on double baked rye and with a pickle. The sandwich was tasty, but I was expecting it to be much bigger and the meat to be less lean (I had a gargantuan corned beef sandwich at a cheap diner in Montréal, so this was my point of comparison). The seeds on the crust of the bread kind of ruined the flavor of the meat for me, but the crust-less middle areas were good.

Patatas Bravas a la Judea

Since the sandwiches don’t really come with a side (which kind of bothered me because it cost enough for there to be one), my aunt and I shared the Patatas Bravas a la Judea ($5). They were home fries covered with sour cream and Harissa, which is a hot chili sauce. I really liked how the sour cream cooled the spiciness of the red sauce. The potatoes would have been bland without the toppings.

Teiglach

For dessert, I wanted to try GBD doughnuts, which had supposedly opened next door. It was closed, but fortunately for us, we got a doughnut dessert at DGS. We ordered the Teiglach ($7), Hungarian doughnuts with hazelnut brittle. They were like beignets – puffy, fried balls of dough – drizzled with honey and topped with toffeed sliced hazelnuts. The teiglach were served served hot and fresh in a cast iron skillet. I thought the doughnuts were missing something though, like a creamy center or dipping sauce. They were too plain.

Despite the seemingly small portions at DGS, I was full pretty quickly. I wasn’t too impressed with the food I ordered (namely the sandwich), but I’d go back and try something else off the menu like the matzo ball soup or the bread pudding.

INFORMATION:

DGS Delicatessen

closest metro stop: Dupont Circle (red line)

Brunch is served on Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.

Hana Japanese Market – U Street Corridor

Inspired by my recent trip to H Mart at home, I went to Hana Japanese Market with a friend when I got back to DC from spring break. Hana Market is a very small grocery store located at 17th and U Streets NW. Despite its size, the shop was full of Japanese staples, snacks and surprises.

This lovely collection is what I bought. I was happy I could find my favorite snacks (the Hello Panda cookies and Lychee Gummy Candy) that I discovered at the H Mart at home. Clockwise from the top, I got those snacks, rice noodles, enoki mushrooms, bean sprouts (for only $1!), green tea ice cream, curry and purin, which is basically Japanese flan. The whole haul cost $20, which I thought was a pretty good deal.

This is what else I saw on my adventure!

Tiny aisles cluttered from bottom to top with Japanese goodies…

…rice flavoring packets…

….every flavor of mochi ever made…

….snacks on snacks on snacks…

…dried fish snacks?..

…hamburger candies…

…and animal crackers.

INFORMATION:

Hana Japanese Market
2000 17th St NW
Washington, DC 20009
(202) 939-8853

Hours: Mon-Sun 10 am – 8 pm

Closest metro station: U Street (yellow and green lines)