amanda mcclements

When the thermostat climbs to 100 degrees, it would only make sense that the craft cocktail movement would spawn some very grown-up versions of frozen treats. That means it's easy to acquire some cooling brain freeze with your buzz. From "poptails" to "slushitos" and speakeasy ice cream floats — all made with attention to quality ingredients — this seems to be the summer the frozen cocktail grew up. Let's start with dessert, shall we? On the patio cocktail list at neo-speakeasy The Gibson , a line-up of boozy floats ($13-$17) are made with custom Dolcezza gelato flavors. In the Soyer au Champagne No. 2, Angostura bitters gelato gets paired with Louis Roederer Champagne, cognac and pineapple gomme. The Slightly Odd Duck is made with beetroot-green peppercorn gelato, Old Tom gin, mango syrup, balsam fir tincture and lemon soda. Slightly odd indeed. At a recent media tasting, I got to try Cafe Saint-Ex 's new poptails ($6). Like those plastic ice pop stick...

Take some dough, mix up a filling, be it savory or sweet, and wrap the dough around it. Fry or bake. Grab one and go. The pastry-as-pouch culinary technique spans the globe, from Spanish empanadas and Indian samosas to Bolivian salteñas and Louisiana's Natchitoches meat pies. (Not to mention their processed cousins, Hot Pockets and Pop Tarts.) Replace whatever handheld device may be glued to your fingers with one of these stuffed pastry pies available in the DC area: Acadiana 's trio of pies: Did you know the Louisianan town of Natchitoches (say it nack-uh-dish) has a whole festival dedicated to their famous meat pies? You can try them right here in DC at Acadiana, served alongside a crawfish pie and a vegetable pie with black pepper buttermilk dipping sauce. Patty Boom Boom 's Jamaican meat patties: This reggae hot spot on U Street sells the Jamaican spin on this global dish, filled with jerk chicken, spicy ground beef, veggies, or my favorite, guava goat. Wash them dow...

WHAT: Fluffy root beer marshmallows made from scratch. WHERE: Alexandria's Buzz Bakery . A package of 12 is $1.95. WHY EAT THIS: If you love root beer (like me), these whimsical treats pack in surprising sassafras flavor. Pastry chef Josh Short adds root beer extract to his vanilla marshmallows to create them. And if they don't disappear straight outta the bag, drop the marshmallows in a root beer float, or pick up some of Short's homemade graham crackers for a twist on the summer s'more. Or how about a sweet garnish for a Root liqueur cocktail?

Just in time for summer's full swing, Pleasant Pops will start selling all natural frozen ice pops from a bike cart this Saturday at the Mount Pleasant Farmers Market . Started by two Columbia Heights residents who were inspired by Mexican-style paletas , Pleasant Pops is creating its frozen treats from locally sourced fruits, vegetables, herbs and dairy. Following the lead of gourmet pop shops like Durham's Locopops and Nashville's Las Paletas , Pleasant Pops is creating an inventive mix of popsicle flavors. Cucumber chile, strawberry rhubarb, avocado cream, and blackberries and cream are just a few of the combos listed on the site. Having downed my fair share of Locopops, I can tell you the odder combinations are often way better than they sound. Which makes me want to try Pleasant Pops guac flavor. Oh, and the Carolina sweet tea, of course. Check them out on Twitter @pleasantpops .

A strawberries and cream "Whoop." As whoopie pies seize the West Coast in their quest for nationwide dominance, one enterprising baker here in DC hopes to bring the city its first bakery dedicated to the sweet, cream-filled treats. Last week, I sat down with McKee Floyd, who left her job on Capitol Hill in March to pursue her dream of opening a whoopie pie bakery. She's hoping Whoops! will open sometime next spring in a location to be determined. In preparation, she's been trained by two of the city's best local brands, working at Sweetgreen and cutting her baking chops at CakeLove . The New England native says she's drawn to whoopie pies — or "whoops" as she's taken to calling them — for a number of reasons, like a great frosting-to-cake ratio in every bite and endless flavor combinations. And, "it has that great nostalgic quality that people love," she says. She's been working on recipes, and the classic chocolate version I go...

The Laurel Park snow cone cocktail at Art and Soul layers crushed ice with gin, St. Germain liqueur, sparkling rose, cucumbers and strawberries. Photo: Moshe Zusman Photography Crushed ice. I swear just saying those words out loud takes the edge off a 90-degree day. And this first official — and appropriately steamy — day of summer seems like a good time to look at all the attention being heaped on crushed, slushed and shaved ice. Preferably with the addition of booze. Last week, The New York Times took a look at the evolution of the snow cone , and Washington Post spirits columnist Jason Wilson examined the swizzle with two recipes for crushed ice cocktails: a rum swizzle and Derek Brown's Chartreuse swizzle . Here in DC, Capitol Hill's Art and Soul just launched a new Sno-Cone cocktail menu featuring spiked versions of the childhood treat. (Deal alert! The Sno-Cone cocktails, regularly $12 each, are $6 during happy hour from 4 to 7 p.m. Monday – Thursday.) And I'll ...

The tables were turned and I became interviewee when I sat down with NPR intern Rachel Lushinsky over a meal at Bar Pilar recently. We talked food writing, blogs and more (and she caught me on camera slurping down some pho). Check out her story on NPR's Intern Edition — and find out my 5 Bites from the previous two weeks — here: Tapas with Food Blogger Amanda McClements . (Thanks, Rachel!)

Photo: Robyn Lee for Serious Eats This is way too cute not to share. The enterprising candy culinarians over at Serious Eats have created a tutorial on how to make Peepshi , or Peepushi or Susheep. You get it, sushi made from Peeps. I think they could've been a contender in the Post's Peeps contest ...

Salmon tartare cones, one of 20 bites on Poste's special menu. Photo: Michael Harlan Turkell I'm full but not uncomfortably so as my 20th (yes 20th) dinner course, a warm chocolate bread pudding, lands in front of me. The 19 courses that preceded, like a dainty cone of steelhead salmon tartare and the petite pan of crispy pig's tail, were perfectly manageable, more bite sized than entree sized. And that's the idea behind Poste chef Rob Weland's "20 Bites" menu, which (as a guest of the restaurant) I had the opportunity to eat my way through the other night. Once upon a fine dining time, a decadent multi-course tasting menu featured a single-digit number: five courses, maybe seven or nine if you were really up for a big night. But more chefs are pushing the numbers game, taking the traditional multi-course menu and super sizing it. It sounds positively indulgent, but in practice, when well-paced and well-portioned, these types of menus don't offer an o...

Me and my adventures in pho in Saigon, Hanoi and Hoi An, Vietnam. metrocurean photos It was back in December 2007 that Metrocurean first discussed pho , and you helpful readers gave loads of good suggestions on where to get the best versions of the Vietnamese noodle soup in the area. ( Pho 75 is a favorite of commenters and chefs.) Two years later, I headed to Vietnam and had the chance to eat the native soup on its home turf. Pho bo (beef) was breakfast most mornings during our two-week stay in the country in December. If my husband and I didn't get a morning fix, we'd go hunting for afternoon soup. My love affair was sealed. Back in the States, international foods traditionally served from stalls or carts have been coming in off the streets and getting gussied up in restaurants. And I think pho is about to have its crossover moment. A few weeks ago at the upscale PS 7's , while being treated to Gina Chersevani's seven-course cocktail and food pairing menu (detail...

Chef Brian Robinson's housemade Peeps Spring officially starts March 20, and that means homemade Peeps have returned to Clarendon's Restaurant 3 . You can get them during the restaurant's Easter Sunday low country brunch or try them out at home. Restaurant 3’s Homemade Peeps Recipe courtesy executive chef Brian Robinson Powdered sugar, as needed 2/3 cups cold water 2 envelopes unflavored gelatin 1 1/3 cups granulated sugar ½ cup light corn syrup ½ teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Colored sugar, fine granulated, as needed Decorating icing, as needed Vegetable oil for coating the pan Oil the sides of a 13x9x2 inch pan and dust with powdered sugar. In the bowl of an electric mixer, add 1/3 cup cold water, then sprinkle gelatin in water. In a pot over medium high heat, add 1/3 cup water, granulated sugar, corn syrup and salt, stir and cover until the syrup bubbles lightly. Using a candy thermometer, reduce the temperature to 240 degrees. Slowly whisk the syrup into the ...

Greg Engert of Birch & Barley has elevated beer to wine's exclusive territory. Photo: Powers & Crewe Food & Wine magazine's annual Sommeliers of the Year list is out, and DC represents two of the seven winners. Not a bad ratio. What's even more notable is that one of those isn't even a sommelier. He's a beer guy. Greg Engert, the incredibly talented beer director for Birch and Barley and Churchkey , may be the first person to make the list working primarily with beer. If you've had the pleasure of hearing him wax poetic about the flavor nuances of a rare cask ale, you'll understand why. Chef-turned-sommelier John Wabeck of Inox also makes the list. Having worked for years as a chef (one whose cooking I loved at Firefly ), Wabeck can collaborate with Inox chef Jon Mathieson on pairings in a very fundamental way. The results are often stunning. Cheers to both for the national recognition. (Full disclosure: I do reporting for Food & Wine .)

Photo: The Source I don't know about you, but I'm craving spicy Asian food thanks to all this snow, and I've got a hankering for noodles thanks to Melissa McCart's delicious story in today's Washington Post . To satisfy both once you dig out of your igloo, head to The Source for happy hour in the lounge featuring dishes from chef Scott Drewno's new Izakaya menu. You can choose any three items for $20.10 — and one of your choices can be a drink, say a glass of shochu or a cold Hitachino Nest beer. I'd pair the latter with pan-fried noodles with pork belly and an order of mini banh mi. Happy hour runs Monday through Friday from 4-6 p.m.

It's a sweet match-up of Colts vs. Saints at Hello Cupcake. You can't influence the outcome of Sunday's Super Bowl match-up (unless you're some kind of shady, all-powerful game fixer), but you can determine the winner of what's sure to be a messy fondant face-off at Hello Cupcake . Let the frosting fly. Through Sunday, support your team by purchasing Colts or Saints cupcakes at the Dupont Circle shop. One cupcake equals one point for your team. Get 'em individually or by the dozen. Order by Saturday at noon if you plan on serving them at a Sunday party. The logos can go on any flavor you like. Three hours before kick-off on Sunday, Hello Cupcake staffers will announce a winner. May the best cream win.

click image to zoom Chocolates, roses, jewelry. Yawn. Ditch the tired and predictable and opt for more distinctive gifts for your loved ones this Valentine's Day. 1. A little luxury for your favorite cook's kitchen, this soy candle smells amazingly like cilantro and orange, and it's not too perfumey. Lafco Cilantro Orange Kitchen candle, Timothy Paul Home (1529 14th St. NW), $ 58 2. Cupid has landed. With your morning coffee. Angel wings mug, Pylones , $25 (send an IOU — it's available in March) 3. For a sweet gift, pair this cheerful dipper with a jar of local honey from the Dupont FreshFarm Market ). "Make my day" honey dipper, Pylones , $14 4. A serious splurge, this maté drinking gourd, made of engraved sterling silver and red leather in Argentina, has an exotic sex appeal. Motorcycle Diaries, anyone? Red maté gourd , Vivre , $695 5. For the beer lover in your life, a grinning Kabuki mask helps crack open a cold one. Kabuki bottle opener, Pulp (1803 14th...

A new underground supper club has hit the scene, promising intimate evenings filled with vegetarian Indian cooking. Hosted in a home a few blocks from U Street, Hush is the latest addition to a secretive class of unofficial eating establishments. These guerrilla restaurants, as some call them (makes them sound deliciously edgy, doesn't it?), have been popping up around the globe for several years now. Two years ago, a club of the same name was operating in DC (still out there?). The new Hush hopes to add a little spice to your DC dining experience with organic, vegetarian Indian cooking from the state of Gujarat. "During the meal, we tell stories about the spices, origins/history of the food, and maybe even a song or two," writes Geeta , the cook, author and raconteur of Hush. The club is taking reservations for Saturday, Feb. 6 and for two special "Single Hearts" dinners (that's for singles only!) over Valentine's Day weekend, Feb. 13 and 14. Read a...

In lieu of your regularly scheduled Five Bites, here's a look at how the chefs tastes break down from all Chef Five Bites lists.

Macarons from Adour, now available for purchase. Whoopie pies have been stealing the spotlight from cupcakes, but me thinks macarons* may be having a sweet moment in the sun, as well. It seems the little French confections are partout . Starbucks will carry them this month . Jason Wu (he of Michelle Obama's inauguration gown) learns to bake them with famed pastry chef Francois Payard in the December issue of Food & Wine . Gossip Girl loves them. And just Googling "macarons Gossip Girl" after writing the previous sentence turned up this very thorough examination of macarons vs. whoopie pies in the trend war to become the next cupcake. (And here I thought I was onto something original...) Restaurant Eve's birthday cake flavored macarons. At Restaurant Eve , pastry chef Ed Jiloca features them on the mignardise plate in a host of creative flavors including PB&J (a brioche macaron with black currant preserves and peanut butter buttercream), chocolate with foie g...

Though the place hasn't been spit-polished, brothers Derek and Tom Brown are throwing open the doors to The Passenger (1021 Seventh St. NW), their first solo venture, this evening at 5 p.m. The new joint is kind of a neo-speakeasy version 2.0. It subtly nods to the Prohibition era (Derek was donning a vest at last night's preview) but it's a less contrived, more relaxed take on the trendy genre. Sure, you can snag a well-balanced craft cocktail the Brown brothers are known for. But there's also Miller High Life, plenty of canned beer, beef jerky (albeit artisanal ) by the stick, and a delicious kimchi hot dog (left). Oh, and there's isn't a cocktail menu. "I appreciate cocktail lists for what they are, but they don't really tell you what a drink's going to taste like," Tom explained. Instead, he prefers to get to know guests preferences and create cocktails to suit them. Derek will take that philosophy a step further when he opens the Columbi...

Like it, love it or gimme a big ol' eye roll, the cupcakes and gourmet burgers just won't quit. On the burger front, Eater posted a video of former Top Chef contestant Richard Blais (right) telling NBC Washington's Lindsay Czarniak that he's hoping to open a Flip Burger Boutique around the Verizon Center next spring. Flip Burger serves some eclectic spins on the classic like a Southern burger with a country fried beef patty, pimento cheese, pickles and green tomato ketchup and non-beef options including crab, tuna and lamb burgers. But will his liquid nitrogen Krispy Kreme milkshake give fellow Top Chef alum Spike Mendelsohn's toasted marshmallow shake at Good Stuff Eatery a run for its money? Moving to DC's other dominating food trend, we just got a cupcake cart: Curbside Cupcakes . You can track them on Twitter here , and read more over on Washingtonian . Cupcake lovers read on ... the Washington Business Journal reports that New York City-based Crumbs Ba...