Takeout Tuesday - Sweets By Caroline's Macarons at URBNmarket Pike and Rose

There were a lot of great vendors at the URBNmarket held in Pike and Rose recently, including Sweets By Caroline's amazing macarons!  The "regular" macarons all look great but the character ones are on another level - so cute!  I'm glad I got there early to get my pick of the whole selection, especially since it looked like she sold out in two hours.  I could see why she sold out so quickly - the macarons were all so fun to look at and the character ones were so detailed.

 

The macarons all tasted as good as they looked and were the perfect afternoon treat in the middle of my work days.  This URBNmarket was a great chance to check out vendors that I haven't seen in person before like this one, and try out some delicious treats at the same time! 

 

Takeout Tuesday - Dunkin' Donuts Cherry Blossom Doughnut

 I just couldn't resist snapping this cherry blossom photo when I got the Cherry Blossom-themed doughnut from Dunkin' Donuts - too cute!  While this is technically a strawberry frosted doughnut, the little flower shaped sprinkles definitely bring a festive spring feel to this treat.  I normally only get iced coffee at Dunkin' Donuts but I'm glad I happened to come across this cute spring doughnut while it is available! 

Lunchtime Links for March 24th, 2021

• My Baking Addiction: Funfetti cookies. 
• Love and Lemons: Avocado salad.
• Serious Eats: Basque cheesecake.
• Weelicious: Miso scallops.
• SoraNews 24: Starbucks Japan's Sakura Frappuccino.

Georgetown Cupcake - March Flavors

Happy March everyone! There are lots of fun specials this month, especially for the start of spring and St. Patrick's day!

- Chocolate Mint Crunch: Valrhona chocolate cupcake baked with chocolate mint cookie pieces, topped with a mint-infused whipped chocolate ganache frosting, mint cookie crumble and a mini green fondant heart

- Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Twist: Peanut Butter cupcake studded with Callebaut chocolate chips and topped with a peanut butter and Callebaut chocolate "twist” frosting

- Mocha Chocolate Chip Cheesecake: Mocha cheesecake cupcake studded with Callebaut chocolate chips with an oreo cookie crust, topped with mocha frosting and a chocolate-covered espresso bean

- Cherry Blossom: Classic Madagascar vanilla cupcake baked with cherries and topped with a cherry infused cream cheese frosting and a fondant cherry blossom

- Cherry Cheesecake: Classic Madagascar vanilla cupcake baked with cherries and topped with a cherry infused cream cheese frosting and a fondant cherry blossom

- St. Patrick's Vanilla: Classic Madagascar vanilla cupcake infused with St. Patrick's nonpareils, with light green-tinted vanilla buttercream frosting, and a fondant four-leaf clover

- St. Patrick's Chocolate: Valrhona chocolate cupcake with light green vanilla buttercream frosting and a fondant four-leaf clover

- Rainbow: Classic Madagascar vanilla cupcake infused with rainbow nonpareils and topped with a baby blue-tinted Madagascar vanilla buttercream frosting, and a sour candy rainbow

- Unicorn: Georgetown Cupcake's classic Madagascar vanilla cupcake infused with nonpareils and topped with purple-tinted Madagascar vanilla buttercream frosting, rainbow sprinkles, and a whimsical fondant unicorn

- Lucky Chocolate Chip: Madagascar vanilla cupcake studded with Callebaut chocolate chips and rainbow nonpareils, and topped with a light green-tinted vanilla buttercream frosting and a sprinkling of Callebaut chocolate chips and rainbow nonpareils

Lunchtime Links for April 24th, 2019

• The Kitchn: Beef and broccoli.
• Kirbie's Cravings: Cherry blossom raindrop cake.
• Table for Two: Lemongrass pork meatball lettuce wraps. 
• Handle the Heat: Chocolate sheet cake.
• Damn Delicious: Korean beef Bulgogi.

Shake Shack - Cherry Blossom Shake

Shake Shack came out with some very exciting news this spring by bringing the famous cherry blossom shake from their Japanese outlets over to the US!  I have seen the cherry blossom/spring themed items being offered at their locations in Japan on social media in the past, and really wanted to try them out here. 

This shake is a "vanilla frozen custard blended with cherry blossom and topped with pink chocolate curls".  I was so relieved that Shake Shack stayed true to the cherry blossom flavor and didn't default to a cherry flavor.  A lot of places (especially in the DC area) offer "cherry blossom specials" during the spring, but cherry blossoms are not cherries!  Since I don't like cherry flavors to begin with this is particularly a problem when I see it, haha. 

I will admit that it's hard to describe the cherry blossom flavor, but it's slightly floral, sweet, but also a little salty, if salted cherry blossoms are used.  The real draw is the pretty pink color and a distinctly spring flavor.  I grew up enjoying sakura mochi and other cherry blossom chocolates and sweets, so I really enjoyed this shake.  Especially with the pretty pink chocolate curls on top which resemble cherry blossom petals - so cute!  This shake is only available for a limited time, depending on the location - I hope they bring it back again next spring!     

Georgetown Cupcake - April Flavors

Happy April everyone!  Springtime brings lots of seasonal cupcake flavors at Georgetown Cupcake, with lots of pastel colors and cute designs. There's a lot of special flavors this month especially with Easter being in April!

- Cherry Blossom: Classic Madagascar vanilla cupcake baked with cherries and topped with a cherry infused cream cheese frosting and a fondant cherry blossom.

- Cherry Cheesecake: Cherry cheesecake cupcake with a graham cracker crust and topped with a cherry infused frosting and cherry blossom fondant.

- Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip: Salted caramel cupcake studded with Callebaut chocolate chips, topped with a salted caramel buttercream frosting, fudge and caramel drizzles, and Callebaut chocolate chips.

- Hummingbird: Georgetown Cupcake's version of a Southern classic — fresh banana, pineapple, and pecan cupcake topped with a vanilla cream cheese frosting, chopped pecans, and a blue fondant hummingbird.

- Lavender Earl Grey Teacake: A Madagascar vanilla cupcake infused with lavender sugar and Earl Grey tea, topped with an Earl Grey tea–infused buttercream frosting, a sprinkling of lavender sugar, and a pink fondant flower.

- Lemon Cheesecake: Lemon cheesecake with a graham cracker crust and topped with a lemon frosting and candied lemon wedge.

- Pink Tulip: Classic Madagascar vanilla cupcake decorated with baby pink vanilla buttercream frosting "tulips".

- Purple Tulip: Classic Madagascar vanilla cupcake decorated with light purple vanilla buttercream frosting "tulips".

- Yellow Tulip: Classic Madagascar vanilla cupcake decorated with light yellow vanilla buttercream frosting "tulips".

- Chocolate Caramel Easter Bunny: Valrhona chocolate cupcake filled with caramel and topped with a light green vanilla buttercream frosting and pink fondant bunny.

- Easter Egg Hunt Chocolate: Valrhona chocolate cupcake topped with green grass vanilla buttercream frosting and a colorful fondant Easter Egg. Valrhona chocolate cupcake topped with green grass vanilla buttercream frosting and a colorful fondant Easter Egg.

- Easter Nest: Valrhona chocolate cupcake filled with caramel, topped with a Callebaut white chocolate buttercream frosting, and a toasted coconut nest with 3 candy-coated chocolate Easter eggs.

- Vanilla Confetti Bunny Face: Vanilla cupcake infused with rainbow nonpareils and topped with a light yellow vanilla buttercream frosting, retro pastel confetti and a fondant Easter Bunny face. Vanilla cupcake infused with rainbow nonpareils and topped with a light yellow vanilla buttercream frosting, retro pastel confetti and a fondant Easter Bunny face.

- White Chocolate Easter Bunny: Callebaut white chocolate cupcake topped with a Callebaut white chocolate buttercream frosting and a chocolate fondant Easter bunny and small pink fondant blossom.

- Vanilla Confetti Easter Egg: Classic Madagascar vanilla cupcake infused with rainbow nonpareils and topped with a baby pink-tinted Madagascar vanilla buttercream frosting, and a fondant Easter Egg.

Lunchtime Links for March 27th, 2019

• Oh Sweet Basil: Simple garlic butter Parmesan chicken with lemon rice.
• Sora News 24: Sakura Mochi hat.
• Table for Two: Crispy baked Haddock.
• Handle the Heat: Chocolate chip muffins. 
• The Kitchn: Cheese Tortellini in garlic sauce.

Lunchtime Links for February 1st, 2019

• I Heart Naptime: Chicken and vegetable stir fry.
• Damn Delicious: Creamy Tortellini soup. 
• SoraNews24: Starbucks Japan's cherry blossom drink.
• The Kitchn: Chocolate brownies.
• Crazy for Crust: BBQ chicken pizza.

Lunchtime Links for April 23rd, 2018

• Two Peas and Their Pod: Easy Marinara sauce.
• The Kitchn: Crispy chicken Carnitas. 
• Oh Sweet Basil: Brown butter sage Gnocchi.
• Love and Olive Oil: Sakura Matcha mousse cake.
• How Sweet Eats: Pickled shrimp avocado salad.

Bon Matcha - Matcha and Sakura Soft Serve

I finally had a chance to try the soft serve at Bon Matcha after seeing their perfect-looking soft serve swirls on Instagram, and I'm happy to say that it looks even better in person! 

 

This cone consists of a swirl of their matcha green tea soft serve + the new seasonal flavor, sakura cherry blossom!  I liked that it was a real cherry blossom flavor, and not just cherries as a lot of restaurants and shops tend to do around cherry blossom season.  It's a very light and not too flowery taste (like a lavender or rose) which I prefer, and to me it had a hint of a salty taste, which is always in Japanese sakura mochi and other sweets from the preserved cherry blossoms.

Bon Matcha also serves a few drinks, and this seasonal menu was too cute!  In addition to these sakura menu items, I believe there's a few matcha-based drinks on the regular menu as well.  You may have to wait or find a way to kill some time as their soft serve availability doesn't seem to be very consistent yet, so be prepared or plan on grabbing food somewhere nearby just in case.  But make sure you go because the soft serve is totally worth it!

Bon Matcha
1928 I St NW
Washington, DC 20006 
(attached to Poppa Box)

National Cherry Blossom Festival Pin

Surprise, it's another cherry blossom post :o)  I saw this National Cherry Blossom Festival's 2018 collectible pin online and I knew I had to get one because it's so cute!  This year's official pin was designed by Julia Walther of Shiny Apple Studio, and I love the combination of the different colored blossoms in the design.  The pin (and other cherry blossom goods) are available online on the National Cherry Blossom Festival website, and I think they will be sold in person at the festival which is tomorrow in DC as well. It's the perfect little way to celebrate the cherry blossom season!

Cherry Blossoms 2018 - Kenwood, MD (2nd Visit)

Since I can't get enough of cherry blossom season, here's some photos from my second visit to the Kenwood neighborhood this past Sunday.  Sunday was a little chilly but otherwise bright and sunny day to go walk through the neighborhood - and a lot of other people had the same idea!  There were even more flowers than my first visit and it was a beautiful sight all around, especially with the bright blue sky!  

 

Lunchtime Links for April 9th, 2018

• The Kitchn: Parmesan Risotto with roasted shrimp.
• Serious Eats: Finding a Tempura spot to call my own. 
• Damn Delicious: Chicken Wonton soup. 
• Oh Sweet Basil: Biscoff banana bread.
• Sora News 24: Legoland Japan's Lego cherry blossom tree.

Cherry Blossoms - Kenwood, MD

Continuing with the cherry blossom theme from earlier this week, I went over to the Kenwood neighborhood last night after work to see how those cherry blossoms were doing as well!  Kenwood is easily accessible from both the Bethesda and Friendship Heights metro stops if you walk along the Capital Crescent Trail.  From downtown Bethesda, it's about a 10-15 walk on the trail that brings you right to the entrance of the Kenwood neighborhood.  It was a bright and sunny afternoon which made for a perfect backdrop to the flowering trees!  Many of the trees still had buds that have not opened up yet, but there was still plenty to see while walking around the beautiful neighborhood!  

Cherry Blossoms - DC Tidal Basin

It can be so hard to time the DC area's cherry blossom blooming period, especially when the weather gets a little crazy in the beginning of the year.  There seem to be so many factors that play into when the flowers are at "peak bloom", and you really have to be flexible with planning on seeing them.  One great resource is the DC Cherry Blossom Watch website, which is really helpful in seeing the most current conditions for the cherry blossoms. 

That being said, if you are able to catch the cherry blossoms at the Tidal Basin (or various surrounding areas), it's really an amazing sight!  I decided at the last minute on Monday after work to head over even though it had been cloudy and gloomy all day, since there looked to be rain in the forecast later on.  I was very happy to see that a lot of the cherry blossoms had bloomed and there were lots of very pretty trees all around the Tidal Basin.  And best of all, there were a lot less people than a usual weekend during this season, so it was a great chance to walk around the area and take a lot of photos.  If you ever get a chance to see the cherry blossoms while they are in bloom, I highly recommend taking the time to check them out! 

Georgetown Cupcake - April Flavors

I love all the fun spring-themed flavors that pop up at Georgetown Cupcake this time of year, they're all so pretty!

- Cherry Blossom: Classic Madagascar vanilla cupcake baked with cherries and topped with a cherry infused cream cheese frosting and a fondant cherry blossom.

- Cherry Cheesecake: Cherry cheesecake cupcake with a graham cracker crust and topped with a cherry infused frosting and cherry blossom fondant.

- Hummingbird: Georgetown Cupcake's version of a Southern classic — fresh banana, pineapple, and pecan cupcake topped with a vanilla cream cheese frosting, chopped pecans, and a blue fondant hummingbird.

- Lavender Earl Grey Teacake: A Madagascar vanilla cupcake infused with lavender sugar and Earl Grey tea, topped with an Earl Grey tea–infused buttercream frosting, a sprinkling of lavender sugar, and a pink fondant flower.

- Lemon Cheesecake: Lemon cheesecake with a graham cracker crust and topped with a lemon frosting and candied lemon wedge.

- Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip: Salted caramel cupcake studded with Callebaut chocolate chips, topped with a salted caramel buttercream frosting, fudge and caramel drizzles, and Callebaut chocolate chips.

- Rainbow: Classic Madagascar vanilla cupcake infused with rainbow nonpareils and topped with a baby blue-tinted Madagascar vanilla buttercream frosting, and a sour candy rainbow.

- Unicorn: Georgetown Cupcake's classic Madagascar vanilla cupcake infused with nonpareils and topped with purple-tinted Madagascar vanilla buttercream frosting, rainbow jimmies, and a whimsical fondant unicorn.

- Purple Tulip: Classic Madagascar vanilla cupcake decorated with light purple vanilla buttercream frosting "tulips".

- Pink Tulip: Classic Madagascar vanilla cupcake decorated with baby pink vanilla buttercream frosting "tulips".

- Yellow Tulip: Classic Madagascar vanilla cupcake decorated with light yellow vanilla buttercream frosting "tulips".

I also like that there are so many flavors to choose from - so there's definitely something different for everyone this month!

DC CineMatsuri Film Festival

While the Tidal Basin cherry blossoms in DC haven't quite come out for the season just yet, there are a lot of fun Cherry Blossom festival activities starting in the DC area!  One of my favorite events is the CineMatsuri film festival, which started earlier this week on March 20th this year.

The CineMatsuri film festival is a showcase of a variety of Japanese films, and it's a great opportunity to catch some popular films that you might not have a chance to see otherwise.  So far I have been to see both "Teiichi No Kuni" and "Jinsei Fruits", and they were both really entertaining in different ways.  "Teiichi No Kuni" has a lot of physical comedy and a very creative story line (based on a manga series) that can relate to both school life and politics worldwide.  "Jinsei Fruits" is a very heartwarming look at an elderly couple in Japan that highlights incredible architecture, local and urban farming, and a "slow living" way of life.

Even if you're not specifically a fan of Japanese films, I highly recommend checking out the film offerings to see if any of them are of interest to you.  I'm glad I had a chance to see these films thanks to the festival, and I look forward to the future film selections as well!

Lunchtime Links for March 21st, 2018

• Dessert for Two: Mini vanilla cake.
• Bakerella: Eggstremely cute chicks.
• Sora News 24: Snow and cherry blossoms in Japan.
• A Spicy Perspective: Easter bunny chocolate peanut butter truffle spoons.
• Kirbie's Cravings: Avocado pesto pasta.

Georgetown Cupcake - March Flavors

Happy March everyone!  There are a lot of special flavors this month at Georgetown Cupcake, including the start of very spring-like designs and the return of the Unicorn cupcake!

- Chocolate Mint Crunch: Valrhona chocolate cupcake baked with chocolate mint cookie pieces, topped with a mint-infused whipped chocolate ganache frosting, mint cookie crumble and a mini green fondant heart

- Pink Tulip: Classic Madagascar vanilla cupcake decorated with baby pink vanilla buttercream frosting "tulips"

- Cherry Blossom: Classic Madagascar vanilla cupcake baked with cherries and topped with a cherry infused cream cheese frosting and a fondant cherry blossom

- Mocha Chocolate Chip Cheesecake: Mocha cheesecake cupcake studded with Callebaut chocolate chips with an oreo cookie crust, topped with mocha frosting and a chocolate-covered espresso bean

- Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Twist: Peanut Butter cupcake studded with Callebaut chocolate chips and topped with a peanut butter and Callebaut chocolate "twist” frosting

- Unicorn: Georgetown Cupcake's classic Madagascar vanilla cupcake infused with nonpareils and topped with purple-tinted Madagascar vanilla buttercream frosting, rainbow jimmies, and a whimsical fondant unicorn

- Cherry Cheesecake: Cherry cheesecake cupcake with a graham cracker crust and topped with a cherry infused frosting and cherry blossom fondant

- Rainbow: Classic Madagascar vanilla cupcake infused with rainbow nonpareils and topped with a baby blue-tinted Madagascar vanilla buttercream frosting, and a sour candy rainbow

- St. Patrick's Day Chocolate: Valrhona chocolate cupcake with light green vanilla buttercream frosting and a fondant four-leaf clover

- St. Patrick's Day Vanilla: Classic Madagascar vanilla cupcake infused with St. Patrick's nonpareils, with light green-tinted vanilla buttercream frosting, and a fondant four-leaf clover