Macaroons and Melange at Kafe Leopold
You have to wander a little bit off Georgetown’s beaten path to find Kafe Leopold.
This Austrian cafe is in Cady’s Alley off M Street and after several friends recommended I stop by, Allie and I finally made it to Kafe Leopold for coffee.
In warm months, the patio looks perfect for sitting outside but on this on cold, grey, rainy day — really the ideal weather for hanging out in a cafe — we were happy to pull up chairs at a small table indoors by a window.
Kafe Leopold’s extensive menu covers everything from entrees and appetizers to sweets, soups and salads. Breaking away from my usual cafe au lait, I ordered an Austrian specialty, a Viennese melange (coffee with steamed milk and foam, sprinkled with cocoa powder).
One sip was so rich and creamy that I was immediately hooked. On the side was a small hazelnut milk chocolate with a Nutella-like filling that immediately stole my heart.
Melange (or Viennese coffee) is typically served with a glass of water to help the coffee go down and prevent dehydration.
Everything on the sweets menu sounded delicious, especially traditional Austrian desserts like apfelstrudel and sacher torte, and it was hard to choose. We ended up splitting a colorful plate of French macaroons.
Few foods are as beautiful as macaroons, no? Our sampling plate included chocolate, caramel, strawberry, blueberry and pistachio macaroons. My favorite was the pistachio, which was surprising since I never order pistachio-flavored foods, but every bite burst with flavor. For Allie, it was all about the chocolate.
Making macaroons has definitely been added to my to-bake list. Perhaps Jenna’s Raspberry Rose Macaroons?
All of the savory entrees that passed by looked delicious but we were perfectly content with coffee and cookies. A man at the next table commented to his female dining companion that our macaroons looked delicious and she asked whether he wanted to order a plate. ‘No,’ he said, ‘I’m trying to be healthy.’
You don’t eat macaroons every day. You especially don’t eat these macaroons every day.
So… eat the macaroons. For my sake.
What’s your typical coffee shop order? I tend to stick with cafe au lait or a latte unless there’s a local specialty or something like Viennese coffee/melange, which isn’t served a lot of places.
I adore macaroons, and loved reading about the flavors. I’m usually not into pistachio, but that flavor sounds really wonderful.
Oh my! Those look delicious. I love the look of macaroons.
The macarons are so nicely colored – I always overcolor. If you want to make macarons, definitely read up on it first, there are a lot of important things to know. See http://www.tarteletteblog.com/ for really good tips and recipes. I’ve got a few illustrated tries on my blog that turned out alright, but not perfect.
Those macaroons look amazing!
I normally get a coffee (whatever they’re brewing) with half & half (hopefully they have the kind from Des Moines, AE, so it’s local!!!) and cinnamon and honey. Sometimes they try to put in cinnamon SYRUP but I always have them do real cinnamon. I love it.
The macaroons look so good — and so pretty!
I usually get a latte too. Or sometimes a chai tea.
I usually get cafe au lait, too… and on rare occasions a chai tea. I’ve never had a macaroon before… those look so pretty! Jenna’s are on my to-make list, too
While the macaroons look lovely, you had me at sacher torte! I am drooling just thinking about it. In Europe, I’m definitely a cappuccino kind of girl. But for whatever reason, back in the States I switch to a vanilla latte.
FAKE macaroons!