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S'more Fun at XandO

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In a city swamped by Starbucks and other coffeehouse chains, you'd think another place that serves coffee beverages with fancy names would not be particularly welcome. But XandO, a chain with several D.C. area locations, is a bright spot on the local coffee horizon.

XandO has recently partnered with Cosi, a New York City-based sandwich chain, so some locations are XandO Coffee and Bar (including Cosi sandwiches, salads and pizzas), but some solely sell sandwiches. There are plenty of places to go get a good sandwich, so I usually head for the locations with coffee and bar—after all, that's where the most options are.

Located in the Court House area of Arlington, Old Town Alexandria, North and South Dupont Circle, and Capitol Hill, the bar/coffeehouse combinations are extremely accessible and worth a trip. All the locations are great places to gather with friends for a relatively quiet evening that can include a little java, a little drinking, and even a sugar high from the house specialty: S'mores, complete with a tiki flame to roast the marshmallows.

I met two friends for S'mores on Saturday night, and we had a blast roasting our marshmallows, catching them on fire and blowing them out, and assembling S'mores as fast as we could. One of the unique things about XandO is the availability of S'moreos, a variation on the theme using big Oreo cookies instead of the traditional graham crackers. But don't be constrained by the two menu choices—my friends and I ordered half graham crackers, half Oreos, and the restaurant was happy to oblige.

If you're lucky, the maitre d' will show you to one of XandO's comfy couches that look a little like something out of Alice in Wonderland. The funky shapes and prints simply enhance the coffee and beer experience.

The menus may appear extensive, but they're more form than function. Most pages offer between four and six food or beverage items, complete with great descriptions and cute drawings. The chain paid someone a lot of money to design these things, and it may have paid off. I ended up not ordering the Mocha Kiss (Kahlua, Irish Cream, and Grand Marnier in a Xando Mocha with whipped cream), but it was certainly tempting. Maybe if I hadn't been anticipating all the sugar in the S'mores...

The bar/coffeehouses have a small wine and beer selection, including a port wine and champagne by the bottle. The list hits the range of beverage options, including a couple different varietals of white and red wine, but doesn't stretch itself.

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