While strolling through Georgetown the other day, we visited Kafe Leopold, an Austrian-style cafe located on Cady's Way, a fashionable and tranquil alley near M Street.
The cafe (pictured below) has an ultra-modern European feel with all sorts of cool decorative elements.
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| Kafe Leopold's stylish bar |
We sat down for a cup of joe (or is it Josef?) and a pastry. The coffee was excellent, with a rich flavor tempered by fresh cream.
The pastry was wunderbar! We selected a piece of gâteau opéra (opera cake). It was delicious!
What is opera cake? It is a classic of French pastry that dates from the Belle Epoque in the 1890's. It is made with layers of almond sponge cake soaked in coffee syrup, layered with ganache and coffee buttercream, and covered in a chocolate glaze.
The legend is that the cake resembles the stage of the Garnier Opera House in Paris, hence the name.
Apparently, opera cake was popularized in the 1950's by the Parisian pâtisserie Dalloyau. Greg has already found several Dalloyau locations in Paris and plans to visit one shortly after Year 4 begins.
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