Toigo Orchards’ bourbon peaches spooned over vanilla ice cream make an easy dinner-party dessert.

Bourbon Peaches From Toigo Orchards

Keeping a jar of these firm-fleshed peach halves ($12) on hand means you’ll always have a quick dinner-party-worthy dessert. Serve them over vanilla ice cream or bake them in a cobbler. The slight booziness of the single-barrel bourbon adds depth and a hint of vanilla.

Sold at nine area farmers markets. For a list, visit toigoorchards.com.

Crabcakes From Chris’ Marketplace

Even Marylanders swear by these handmade jumbo lump crabcakes ($9 each for a minimum of four ounces), which Chris Hoge admits are made with a bit of mustard. That’s all he’ll reveal—even to the ambassadors and First Ladies who have asked. Call 866-785-4100 or visit chrismarketplace.com.

Sold at farmers markets in Dupont Circle (1500 block of 20th St., NW, Sunday), Penn Quarter (Eighth St. near E St., NW, Thursday), Foggy Bottom (I St. between New Hampshire Ave. and 24th St., NW, Wednesday), and Falls Church (300 Park Ave., Saturday).

It’s almost June, which means it’s time for our annual Cheap Eats issue—on stands now!—in which we give you our 100 favorite places to find delicious food at bargain prices ($50 or less for two, to be exact). This year, nearly one-third of the list is new, and you’ll find spots for everything from pan-Indian small bites to Bosnian sausages to a drip-down-your-arm juicy burger. In these cash-strapped times, surely you’ve been visiting bargain restaurants, too. So tell us, where do you go for a tasty but cheap meal? For inspiration, check out our online-only Cheap Eats slideshow.

Last Chew on This: Which Recipes Should We Track Down?

More>> Best Bites Blog | Food & Dining | Restaurant Finder

Security officer Benny Barnes agrees: The stash of doughnuts at 2 Amys is tops. Photograph by Vincent Ricardel.

Think Krispy Kreme is the last word in doughnuts? Think again. Come weekend brunch, many good restaurants are putting their spins on the morning confection. Here are the ones worth seeking out—and the ones to skip.

The Best: 2 Amys (3715 Macomb St., NW; 202-885-5700) doesn’t technically do brunch. But on weekends, it’s not unusual for a line to form outside the Cleveland Park pizzeria before its doors open at midday. Step inside and you’ll see why: An extra-large sheet tray lined with homemade Italian-style cinnamon doughnuts sits on a table up front. The soft fritters, dipped in canola oil, are rich with egg and lightly scented with orange. They’re the Armani of doughnuts—simple and perfect, without any unnecessary frills. For $1.50, you get one doughnut and its punched-out hole, and it’s hard not to want more. Once the tray is empty, the doughnuts are gone until the next weekend.

Runners-up: Chef Paul Pelt might be turning out innovative dishes at night, but the most talked-about item at the Tabard Inn’s cozy restaurant (1739 N St., NW; 202-785-1277) is still the weekend-brunch doughnuts by pastry chef Huw Griffiths. For three or six at $1 each, the cinnamon-sugar-sprinkled circles are light and pillowy with a slight sourdough tang. The plate comes with just-whipped cream, but these little guys are fine on their own.

We love plum pudding, panettone, and bûche de Noël. But one of the pleasures of living in Washington is the wealth of ethnic bakeries and markets, meaning there are sweets beyond these to liven up the holiday table.

At the charming Arax Coffee Cafe (5852 N. Washington Blvd., Arlington; 703-532-3320), owner Rose Hovsepian puts a spin on the holiday cookie platter with her basket of assorted confections. Look for baklava fashioned into rosettes and with unusual flavorings, such as the brown-sugar version called basma; bird’s nests, a kind of ultra-rich Fig Newton; and rosewater-flavored cookies with crushed pistachio.

The Lemon Tree, a Mediterranean cafe/bakery/market (1701 Rockville Pike, Suite B1, Rockville; 301-984-0880), offers its post-Ramadan staple, Noah’s pudding, through the winter. Thick with barley, figs, nuts, chickpeas, and pomegranate, it makes a festive light dessert. Also delicious are pumpkin wedges infused with simple syrup and sprinkled with walnuts—especially with a dollop of crème fraîche or yogurt.

Only a year old, Mia’s Pizzas in Bethesda is turning out some of the area’s best pies. Chef and owner Melissa Ballinger let us look as she and her staff went through the process of producing the simplest pizza on the menu. From the two flours she combines to make a flavorful dough to the Parmesan cheese rinds that infuse her tomato sauce, Ballinger’s many little touches add up to big flavor.

Photographs by Stacy Zarin-Goldberg.  

Photograph by Matthew Worden

Trevor Corson’s journey into the world of sushi, conveyed in his new book, began more than two decades ago at DC’s Sidwell Friends School.

You could say that Trevor Corson’s book The Zen of Fish: The Story of Sushi, From Samurai to Supermarket began more than 20 years ago in the Asian-studies office at DC’s Sidwell Friends School. That’s when the 16-year-old Corson ate his first sushi. The Arlington native was scheduled to travel to Japan for a summer-study program, and his teacher “realized that once we got to Japan we would probably be served sushi and decided we’d better have tried it before we left to avoid any international incidents.” Corson found the raw fish “repulsive and fascinating.”

But his fascination grew. He went on to live in Japan for three years in his mid-twenties—for a time in Buddhist temples—and became fluent in the language.

The Zen of Fish conveys his fascination with Japanese culture—especially with the mysterious world of sushi. It’s a breezy but thoughtful read, full of insight and history.

Explode some of the myths about sushi.

The best sushi fish are not the freshest fish. Fish that are too fresh have little flavor. Fish flesh needs time to age as the muscle proteins break down into the components that produce tastiness. For most of sushi’s existence, in the age before refrigeration, the chef’s skill lay not in acquiring the freshest fish but in the techniques he used to preserve the fish long enough for flavor to develop without the fish going bad. This could involve parboiling the fish or, more often, pickling it lightly with salt and vinegar—early sushi shops were called “pickling places.”

Even with refrigeration, different types of fish require different treatment. Properly prepared mackerel can reach peak tastiness in about 24 hours, while big tuna can take four or five days. However, as flavor develops, texture degrades. As a result, it’s impossible to have perfect sushi. The sushi chefs are really practicing the art of compromise.

Ditch the jarred mustards, ketchups, and relishes. These chef-conceived condiments are a great way to liven up the last cookouts of the season. Photograph by Stacy Zarin-Goldberg.

Guinness Mustard

From Nathan Anda of EatBar (2761 Washington Blvd., Arlington; 703-778-9951)

In a large, heat-safe bowl, place ¾ cup Guinness stout, 3 eggs, ¾ cup dry mustard, 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, and 2 tablespoons white-wine vinegar. Whisk until combined, then place the bowl in a double boiler over medium heat. Cook, whisking occasionally, until the mixture has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 10 to 15 minutes. Chill, then serve.

Chipotle Ketchup

From Antonio Burrell of Eleventh Street (1041 N. Highland St., Arlington; 703-351-1311)

Coat the bottom of a saucepan with olive oil and warm over medium heat. Add ¼ diced yellow onion, 1½ cloves minced garlic, and a dash of salt. Reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are translucent.

Add 1½ cups tomato paste, ¼ cup brown sugar, ¼ cup honey, ½ cup cider vinegar, ½ teaspoon mustard powder, ¼ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, 1 cup water, 3 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (strained), and 4½ teaspoons adobo sauce.

Raise the heat, bring to a boil, and reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon—30 minutes to an hour. Let mixture cool and purée in a blender. Season with salt, pepper, and extra cider vinegar.