Mikawaya mango mochi ice cream: This brand claims to be the "original and best" Mochi ice cream. Whether it's true or not I cannot say, but the brand has permeated American supermarkets, with chains like Trader Joe's as stockists. It also seems to be the de facto choice for restaurants selling Mochi ice cream they don't make themselves. Luckily, the ice cream is very good. They have found a way to maintain a chewy and soft Mochi texture despite being frozen, and the ice cream is smooth and creamy. I usually find myself dus... (read more) 4.0/5.0
mikawaya icecream mochi mango 4.0 recommended dessert traderjoes ice cream
Echo Farm miracle's chocolate pudding: I had a craving for pudding, and the only reasonably priced option at Whole Foods was chocolate. Not my first choice (I prefer rice or tapioca), but I thought I would give this brand a shot. This pudding is made from whole milk, Ghiardelli cocoa, vanilla extract, corn starch, and vanilla extract. These simple and straightforward ingredients make for a homely and satisfying treat. I have no experience purchasing pudding in anything but single-serving containers, but it seemed like there was s... (read more) 3.5/5.0
echofarm pudding chocolate wholefoods dessert 3.5 recommended ghiardelli miracle's
Pitango Gilato: I stumbled across this highly regarded gelato shop during my travels in DC and tried four different flavors (two of which I purchased). The star anise was barely sweetened and distinctive in flavor; the blood orange, while very refreshing, tasted more of raspberry than citrus (the sign said it contained a bit of raspberry). I ended up ordering the milk and honey (very rich whole milk, the honey was slightly too sweet) and the cardamon (nice level of spice). Both had a great creamy texture. B... (read more) 4.0/5.0
pitangogelato pitango gelato cardamon icecream dessert frozen milk honey bloodorange staranise dc 4.0 recommended gilato
Maeda-En black sesame ice cream: Barely sweetened ice cream with a distinctly savory black sesame flavor. Very creamy and rich. Smooth texture. 3.0/5.0
maedaen japanese hmart 3.0 icecream blacksesame dessert black sesame ice cream
Drop the Mic Ice Cream: Chikalicious is my favorite dessert bar, and I highly recommend it if you haven't been before. They recently launched an ice cream menu at the bar when it had normally been closed M-W. The ice cream I previously had, both in plated desserts and across the street at their dessert club shop, were all impressive. On my last visit, I tried each of their current offerings and will share my thoughts on each one, though the overall score is representative of all the ice cream. Pictured here is the... (read more) 4.0/5.0
dropthemicicecream recommended icecream sweetpotato chikalicious coffee grapefruit sorbet eastvillage dessert sweets cake semifreddo 4.0 dropthemic ice cream
Suzukake sogetsu Doriyaki: This Japanese treat was a gift from a visitor to my lab. The packaging had zero English, but with the help of Google Translate, I determined that the brand is Suzukake, and the snack is called sogetsu. I expected it to be dorayaki, but the pancake wrapper was actually made of glutinous rice instead of cake. As a huge fan of mochi, I am completely in favor of this substitution. Beside the texture, it tasted just like dorayaki, with a red bean filling that was sweeter than other Japanese confe... (read more) 4.5/5.0
sogetsu dorayaki japanese redbean 4.5 exceptional dessert sweets suzukakesogetsu doriyaki