An early morning and an easy Saturday drive into the city allowed for a twofer in Alexandria before entering DC to visit the National Zoo – the first a brief shopping jaunt to Cathal Armstrong’s Society Fair and the second to oft raved Buzz Bakery and in my typical fashion these would be the first of five stops on a Saturday culminating with an epic meal at Rogue 24.
Beginning first with Society Fair, it would be hard to say any chef has contributed more to the Alexandria food culture than Armstrong and having already visited Restaurant Eve on my previous trip plus plans to stop by Virtue Feed and Grain to catch the Kings game the following day it only seemed natural to stop by SF for provisions – specifically Eve’s signature blend by Ceremony plus a second bag of Sumatra Mandheling; one of the most robust and creamy beans I’ve ever had the opportunity to brew at home in my French Press.
Moving past the coffees – a collection that includes both local roasters and those stretching from coast to coast – the selection at Society Fair additionally contains any number of provisions ranging from jams and jellies to charcuterie and wine plus sodas from Fentimans, juices from Purity organic, and a wide selection of baked goods, sandwiches, and salads served throughout the day. Priced as one would expect for high quality artisan goods and with a staff both knowledgeable and friendly it goes without saying that I had to try something – eventually settling on a $3.25 Butter Croissant rife with Kerrygold Butter that rivaled the best I’ve had stateside in both texture and flavor; the exterior particularly marvelous and literally exploding into flakes to the tooth.
Admittedly a bit limited compared to the Dean & Delucas of the world Society Fair is a great spot to pick up provisions and artisan goods without dealing with the hassles of entering DC proper – the sort of place every suburb wishes they had.
With brunch plans at Birch & Barley the following day I’d already read up a bit about pastry chef Tiffany Macisaac before I even realized that she was the brains behind Buzz Bakery and with strong reviews plus a convenient location I decided to visit Buzz after Society Fair for some more pre-Zoo carbs and caffeine.
Bright and cheery, pastels and cartoons aplenty I will first note that Buzz is a lot of fun – a place where families and their children go to spend the morning – and as such there wasn’t a seat available when I arrived just after 9:00 while the line stretched approximately fifteen deep. Featuring both kitchen composed items and baked goods continually emerging from the kitchen to replete the supply I notably had plenty of time to make my decisions and chatting with some folks in line I was told the cookies were the best, but decided to expend my calories elsewhere along with a cup of Illy to go.
Walking outside where the sun was bright and the day was already warm I took a seat outdoors at a nearby restaurant yet to open for the morning and with photos taken and fork in hand began to work through my options; the first two still warm from the oven in the form of a Brioche Cinnamon Roll and a Triple Chocolate Bread Pudding. Difficult to decide where to begin but with the roll weighing a few ounces while the bread pudding had mass similar to a brick I started with the cinnamon roll and found each swirled layer rife with butter and cinnamon while the frosting was lightly applied – a good thing in that it added sweetness without overwhelming and although the crumb could have been lighter overall the flavors were excellent.
Moving next to the bread pudding, if a picture is worth a thousand words then I guess all one needs to do is look at the picture to know just how rich it was – thick chocolate brioche melded together with chocolate custard and topped with cocoa frosting. High in quality, both in terms of ingredients and texture, I cannot even pretend there was anything subtle or nuanced about this bread pudding – just a whole lot of cocoa that demanded coffee, milk, or (ideally) someone to share with.
For the last item of the morning, a Red Velvet Cupcake was sampled with part saved for later as I was rather cocoa overloaded at this point and going the opposite route of many cupcakeries I really appreciated the judicious use of frosting on Buzz’s version – a light and airy cream cheese adding a little bit of tang to the cake without overwhelming it or making it overly sweet. Moist and aromatic without being heavy or too spongy the cake itself also held its own, and at $3.00 proved a veritable bargain compared to the smaller, overpriced, and overrated versions with a two-hour wait at Georgetown Cupcake.