Another year, another birthday reward from Rita's!…read more I stopped by to redeem my birthday freebie and decided to try the limited-time Shirley Temple Water Ice. It was just okay to me. I was expecting more of that classic Shirley Temple flavor, but it leaned much more toward cherry than anything else. That said, my all-time favorite is still Rita's Black Cherry Water Ice. It's the flavor I find myself coming back for year after year and never disappoints. One thing I've realized after all these years of visiting Rita's is that I've never tried one of their Misto Shakes! I think it's finally time to change that because it's definitely next on my list. Despite the steady stream of customers, the staff was friendly, fast, and incredibly efficient. They kept the line moving while still providing great service, which is always appreciated. Thanks for the birthday treat, Rita's! I'll definitely be back to satisfy my water ice cravings--and maybe finally check that Misto Shake off my list.

Not only do steal pennies. Now just outright, want to keep your change whether it's 30 cents or .90…read morecents. Thieves. You use to fill the cup now you shrink the cup. Thieves! You use to have overflow now you barely get it to the top of your shrink cup. Thieves! Very Displease! Thieves! Ratng is Zero!

I wanted to support a local business for Thanksgiving and happily chose Queen Cheesecake. Her…read morepictures on her website looked amazing and she had a great selection of deliciousness to chose from. In theme with the holiday, I selected the sweet potato cheesecake. I was able to place my order online and received a text message to confirm. The bakery is a home based business and was easy to find. Queen greeted me at the door and the cheesecake was beautifully decorated. Queen also included a written thank you card along with a chocolate-nice touch! The cheesecake had a layer of sweet cream cheese with cute little marshmallows and whipped cream on top of a layer of perfectly sweetened sweet potato. The crust was also an amazing graham cracker cookie! My family and friends devoured this cheesecake! Luckily I did manage did get a slice and it was just melt in your mouth awesomeness! I am so looking forward to trying out some other goodies. Queen offers cakes and cupcakes along with her wonderful cheesecakes. I think I started a new holiday tradition!

I ordered 4 cheesecakes from Queen and they were all delicious! I even asked if sold cheesecake by…read morethe slices or frozen cheesecake pops. She told me that it would be coming soon! I love supporting women in business and I read all the reviews and research the companies before doing business with them. I will continue to support this business!!!

So literally, I just got home from Sweet Tooth Cafe & Cakes, and I went there on happenstance after…read moremy sewing class because I was so close to Sonic. We do not have one where I live, so I naturally get excited every time I'm near one, and I make it my mission to stop and get a slushie. I traditionally get the lemon slush or the lime slush. But unbeknownst to me, Sonic redid their menu. Since there isn't one close to my house, I had to update the app and sign back in. Then I tried to order my usual drink, but because it had been more than 90 days since my last visit, my previous order was gone. So I started looking through the menu, only to realize the lemon frozen slush and the lime frozen slush were no longer there. I literally spent over 30 minutes sitting in the Sonic stall scrolling through the app because you have to order through it to get the half-price slushes. Now they have these new slushes with some type of tea concentrate, and I already know I don't like green tea. I didn't want to risk paying for something I probably wouldn't enjoy, especially since there wasn't an option to sample it. So I opened my Maps app to see what was nearby. That's when I noticed that a young lady I'd been following on Instagram had her Italian ice shop close by. I thought, "Oh my goodness!" It was less than a mile away, so I drove over to Killa Italian Ice & Smoothie and picked up some lemonade and a slice of cake. After that, I thought, "Let me see what other small businesses I can support while I'm over here." I wasn't really interested in any of the other food options because they were things I could already get in Woodbridge. So I searched for bakeries and found Sweet Tooth Cafe & Cakes, just a short drive away. I walked in, and to my surprise, they had a full restaurant menu in addition to their baked goods. Let me tell you, these people were so amazingly welcoming the moment I walked in. "Hey, sis!" "Hi, welcome!" I immediately felt at home, and I honestly haven't felt that way in an establishment in a very long time. I ended up telling the young lady behind the register about my whole Sonic adventure, and she said, "Well, let me let you try my chicken curry salad." Now, I didn't have the heart to tell her that I don't like chicken salad, so I said, "Okay." Let me tell you...that chicken curry salad was banging. I was like, "Oh wow. This is good." As we kept talking, I looked over the menu and realized I didn't want my usual comfort foods like pizza, collard greens, or macaroni. I wanted to try something different. So I ordered their Chicken with Attitude with rice and cabbage. The chicken had a Middle Eastern rustic flavor. It was roasted, incredibly tender, and unlike anything I'd had before. It's definitely a different taste and probably an acquired one, but I really enjoyed it. Although I'd only had that sample of the chicken curry salad, it was so good that I ordered half a pound of it to take home, along with a piece of pound cake. Like I said at the beginning, I DO NOT EAT chicken salad, but it completely surprised me. But beyond the food, they brought me a complimentary lemonade while I was sitting there eating. It tasted so fresh, like freshly squeezed lemon with other fresh fruit over ice. It was absolutely delicious and refreshing. Everywhere throughout the restaurant were little signs about genuine kindness. The whole place just felt welcoming. Being from Alabama, I grew up with Southern hospitality. You make eye contact, greet people, and make them feel at home. That's not meant to discredit businesses in DC, Maryland, or Virginia. This area is a melting pot of people from all over the world, and culturally, not everyone expresses hospitality the same way. But when I walked into Sweet Tooth Cafe & Cakes, every single person embodied that welcoming spirit. It wasn't just one employee. It was the people behind the counter, the people coming out of the kitchen, and even those arriving for work. I just remember thinking, "Wow." I felt safe. I felt welcomed. I felt wanted. I felt at home. I felt like family. More than the food, I felt like I had found my tribe. I found my village. I honestly wish I lived closer because, if I did, I'd probably be there every day. Since moving to this area in 2009, that's the feeling I've been missing. If I could recommend Sweet Tooth Cafe & Cakes a million times over, it wouldn't just be because of the food. It would be because of the sense of belonging. It's that feeling of walking into a place where everybody knows your name, even when they don't. If you're going through something, this is the place to go. Not just to feed your belly, but to feed your soul.

I visited this bakery, when I was coming for breakfast at a nearby restaurant. Sweet Tooth is…read morelocated in an industrial section of Ritchie Road, in Capitol Heights. I entered with the intention of purchasing baked goods, as snowstorm snacks, but had no idea they also have a full food menu. I ordered the strawberry shortcake, which was excellent!! It was moist and sweet and the strawberries tasted great. I also had a few cookies and some pound cake, which were all good. Service was quick and friendly and I was able to sample their bean soup which was nice and hot and seasoned well! This location as a few parking spots, that they share with other businesses, and you are able to sit down inside of the restaurant. They also bake cakes. I saw a few of their designs and they looked great. I plan to return again!

Found this little hiding gem by accident. But I'm glad I did. There's not many Indian Restaurants…read morein my neighborhood, So I was happy when I stumbled across this place. It's a carry out style which is okay grab my food and go. The customer service was amazing the cashier explained everything and the degree of spice they offer for each dish. I ordered the Indian pepper wings and butter chicken both medium spiced and some garlic naan and a mango lassi. The food was flavorful and delicious and was a hit with the family. My husband went back the next day the food was so good. I will come back to try other things on the menu soon. But if your looking for something different come try this place out.

I'm so glad that I found this restaurant. I ordered butter chicken with garlic naan yesterday. I…read morejust indulged and I will be back! So smooth so good!

Came in from Ohio for a soccer game! Was looking for a quick coffee for the drive back and I read a…read morereview that said it was better than Starbucks and I'm always looking for a coffee that isn't Starbucks! Got an Iced Latte and it was one of the best I have had! Very rich flavor and velvety texture! Also got the ham and swiss croissant along with the beignets which were both amazing! Definitely wish we had one closer to us!

It's ok. They need to get rid of the horrible ordering kiosks and talk to people. They are going…read morefor a coffee shop experience, order-taking robots ain't it. By the way, the one in Bowie is excellent and features friendly humans.

This is a new startup business with 2 partners, Crystal and Rick. Crystal prepares all of the…read moredesserts. Rick helps and does graphic arts. You'll see some of his work around the business. They have a unique approach to desserts. Crystal can custom make a dessert for you while you wait. You start with a base (donut, cake shell, pie crust, or rice crispy treat). You add icing, pudding, toppings, or fruit to the base. The more you add, the more it costs. They can cater for events. After 3 visits, we tried 6 items. 1) Custom dessert    Miniature cinnamon rolls, cream cheese icing, chocolate pudding, strawberries, and bananas. The cinnamon rolls are not listed as a base, but Crystal suggested using it. They were soft, moist, and slightly sweet with just enough cinnamon flavor. Overall, the flavors were well-balanced and mild. It was good. Some experimenting is needed to get an ideal dessert. The choices are numerous. Sweetness can be adjusted in some components. I can appreciate that! 2) Banana muffin with toppings of vanilla icing, crushed vanilla wafer, and a vanilla wafer. The muffin was soft, moist, and slightly sweet with a good banana flavor. The icing had a light vanilla flavor with a modest sweetness. The wafers were typical. I'm not a fan of a lot of icing, but this vanilla icing was very good. This was one of the best tasting in this group! 3) Banana pudding pie    It had an individual-sized pie crust filled with banana custard. The custard had a prominent banana flavor with the right amount of sweetness. It was smooth with a nice richness and thickness. This was simple, but very good! 4 & 5) Blueberry muffin and Chocolate muffin. They were both soft, moist, and slightly sweet. The flavors were mild. There were chocolate chips in one and real blueberries in the other. The blueberries were slightly sweet, which is a nice detail that some bakers don't do. Everything was good tasting. 6) Rice Crispy treats    There were 4 treats in a pack. They had different flavors. One was mango flavored with powdered sugar on top. That one was the best and most interesting in taste. The other 3 used regular rice crispies with marshmallows. One had chocolate syrup soaked into it. It was okay and rather simple. One had strawberry icing with candy hearts. It was sweet because of the hearts. The rest of the flavors were mild. One had strawberry icing drizzled on it. Simple and okay tasting. The service was friendly, informative, and helpful. Crystal is one of the nicest people I have met. She tries to tailor desserts to your liking. She'll listen to suggestions. The dining areas and restrooms were very clean. They are located in The Spot Food Hall at Restaurant Row Apollo shopping center which is near the Branch Avenue Metro subway on the Green line. Parking is plentiful and free. This is a local small business that appreciates your support! Give them a visit when you're in the area.

The Pie Bar is a newly added food stand in the Spot dining hall, offering their famous bean pies!…read more Unfortunately, they were unavailable when we went and came at a later time, but they offer donuts, popcorn, muffins, cookies, and other various desserts. In terms of pies, they have 20+ different flavors, including: Pumpkin, Pear, Blueberry, Fig, Pineapple, Coconut, Cherry, Strawberry, Chocolate, Pecan, Sweet Potato Bean, Almond, Apple, Apple Cranberry, Banana, Rhubarb, Lemon, Carrot, Peach, Sweet Potato, Blackberry, Butterscotch, Bean Pie, and Caramel Apple. You can refer to their menu that lists all the ingredients that are used. I was curious to try their bean pie, so maybe next time! I did reach out to the staff, and they stated that they're more of a pop-up, so you'll need to keep your eyes peeled for their posted next date(s) of appearances. They ended up being set up in the center area of the dining hall. Located at The Spot, there's plenty of parking. +check social media for next date of pop-up appearances +bean pies available +located at The Spot +plenty of parking

Excellent food and service. Very beautiful restaurant…read more Plenty if parking, great customer service. Delicious food.

Here for my client Ella Ray's Cafe for Community Black Business month. The business is 35 years old…read moreand they're thriving.