C is for cookie

D. and I were out enjoying the sunshine, mushing our way through M street. A friend had told me that a chocolate shop had taken over the old Chez Mamma-San location by Cadey's Alley, so we decided to check it out. J. Chocolatier smells wonderful, even from the outside. The truffles gave me palpitations, but D. spotted the lovely cookies. Another patron, who heard our dilemma over whether to try the hot chocolate or something else, recommended the chocolate chip cookie. He appointed himself a cookie connoisseur, and at 2 for $3, they seemed a great deal. We ordered the chocolate chip and chocolate sparkle (still wonder what made them twinkle). The man behind the bar offered to warm them up. There's plenty of drink options, including milk, several kinds of coffee, and a small selection of teas. I had a very ripe and fruity coffee, which went well with our cookies.

Having grown up Bambi-eyeing people out of their Danish cookies (ah, the days of import substitution), I have impossibly high standards. These are definitively a chocolate lover's cookie - the chocolate sparkle is dark and gooey, a brownie with a cookie texture, earthy but not overwhelmingly rich. The chocolate chips do not compete with the butter, and are just a touch salty. Get there early - patrons kept ordering two at a time, and by the time we left the store they were gone but not forgotten.

J Chocolatier, Georgetown
1039 33rd St NW, Washington, DC 20007
www.jchocolatier.com