• 26Jun

    Free Ice Cream on National Ice Cream Day in DC!

    DC ScoopsUnion Market is hosting its third annual DC Scoop on National Ice Cream Day, July 21st from 1:00-4:00PM. This is a great event; I attended it two years ago. 

    -JAY

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    “Taste and judge the District’s best ice cream, gelato, custard, frozen yogurt and other summer treats, for free, on National Ice Cream Day at the Third Annual DC Scoop. The event will bring together the who’s who of the D.C. food world, along with a panel of distinguished judges who will determine the winner. Judges include Richie Brandenburg, director of culinary strategy at EDENS; Cesar Vega, ice cream expert and author of The Kitchen as Laboratory; Andrew Solberg, Metropolitan Police Department Commander of the Fifth Division; and more.

    In addition to tasting and judging the best frozen treats in D.C., The DC Scoop will feature fun activities like ice cream cooking demonstrations, music and live entertainment. The DC Scoop is kid-friendly with activities such as face painting and music and dancing with Boogie Babes. Boogie Babes is live music performances for kids and their grownups, which also takes place at Union Market weekly, Wednesdays at 10:30am.

    Confirmed contestants include: Dolcezza Gelato, Sweet Freeze, Carmen’s Frozen Custard, Goodies Frozen Custard & Treats, Ice Cream Jubilee, Pitango Gelato, Sinplicity, Gifford’s Ice Cream, Taharka Bros., Rare Sweets, Nice Cream Factory, Dolci Gelati, Suga Mama Sweets, Hill Pops, and Cream Cycle.

    The DC Scoop is a free event. Free samples are available from contestants and full serving sizes are available for purchase. For more information, please visit http://unionmarketdc.com/events/the-dc-scoop/.”

    Union Market
    1309 5th Street NE
    Washington, DC 20002″

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  • 13Jun

    Bacon in the Morning, Bacon in the Evening, Bacon at Supper Time.

    Bacon Festival -1- Stuffed Avodaco Shell

    When I think of bacon, I think of waking up Saturday mornings.  Salty, crispy goodness coupled with fluffy pancakes and sunny side up eggs to brighten up your day at the kitchen table with your loved ones.  Bacon brings me this cozy feeling of home and always seems to give me a good jump start to the day.

    The 1st Annual Bacon Festival in the city of Richmond, VA was a knockout.  You get a profound connection with the young, the old, and the furry friends (yes man’s best friend was present and partaking in the festivities) who share a love of delicious bacon.

    Bacon Festival -2- Stuffed OysterBacon is getting stuffed in things that you probably wouldn’t even begin to imagine.  Stuffed in Avocado shells?!  Who would’ve thunk it!  Casa del Barco has on their daily menu guacamole with tomato and bacon which is already an amazing combination in itself.  But let’s take it a step further and introduce the bacon stuffed avocado shell!  Delicious chunks of bacon, chicken, and tomatoes are covered in cheese.  It’s a flavor blast in every bite.  The blending of all the different flavors was truly out of this world.

    And let’s not forget seafood delights.  This takes “surf and turf” to a new level.  On the Rox really outdid themselves with infusing the flavor of bacon into a seafood favorite – fried oysters.  The flavor burst was more than one could ever imagine.  From the light breading of the fried oyster to the creamy rich bacon flavored tartar sauce, this was one to be savored.

    Bacon Festival -4- SmoresLast but not least would blow your mind.  Think of bacon as savory salty happiness in your mouth and add occasional hits of candied bacon, creating a fun filled party of sweet and salty in your mouth.

    But, did you ever stop to think, “Man, I wish I could finish off this delicious meal of fried oysters, and stuffed avocado with some bacon for dessert?”  Well, if you’ve ever had the opportunity to savor a bacon cupcake, bacon ice cream, and bacon s’mores…you would be thinking just that.  These innovative culinary artists have brought the art of bacon to desserts and it’s not even weird.

    Before you cringe at the thought of eating bacon ice cream, try it out.  You’re guaranteed to be amazed at how great it really is.  I’m sure salted caramel doesn’t scare you, and bacon ice cream is right along the same lines.

    So the moral to this story, folks?  Eat bacon.  It’s just wholesome goodness.

    -Guest Blogger Angie (ADT)

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  • 09Jun

    Next DC Food Blogger Happy Hour is July 10th

    This DCFBHH is 2nd Wednesday instead of the regular first Wednesday. RSVP here. Hosted by Jennifer of Savory Simple.

    I’ve written about Indique Heights previously.

    -JAY

    July DCFBHH

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  • 08Jun

    Vintage Virginia Wine Festival

    On Saturday June 1st, wine lovers from all over Virginia descended upon Bull Run Regional Park to participate in the Vintage Virginia Wine Festival (http://www.vintagevirginia.com). It was an unbearably hot and humid day, but that didn’t diminish the enthusiasm of the thousands of people quenching their thirst with tastings from all over the region.

    With over fifty wineries in attendance, choice was a key component of the day. This was also the first year that equal attention was paid to the food portion of the day. Top chefs from the Virginia area performed food demos and tastings as well. There were also at least twelve of the top DC food trucks in attendance.

    My group arrived early and hit the winery tents immediately. Although this was my husband’s and my first time attending, we were in the good hands of a few other old pros. First thing we learned, make sure you bring a tent! Especially, on a day as hot as Saturday, we were lucky that someone had thought ahead enough to bring one of those large outdoor tents and blankets for a comfortable retreat when breaks were needed.

    I stuck to mainly white wines during the tastings and found most of the wineries expecting as much. One complaint we did all share was that there was a lot of empty space in the middle of the winery tents. They had the winery tables lined up along the perimeter of the tent leaving the workers covered, but little to no shade for the people tasting. If they had pushed the tables back just a bit further the overhang would have covered the attendees as well and left less unused space.

    Our strategy consisted of participating in tastings at some of the places we already knew and liked, but then we allowed ourselves to primarily be led by names that intrigued us. These strategies brought us to places like Shenandoah Vineyards http://www.shentel.net/shenvine/, Potomac Point Winery http://www.potomacpointwinery.com/, Democracy Vineyards http://www.democracyvineyards.com/, Unicorn Winery http://www.unicornwinery.com/ and many more. We enjoyed these vineyards although some were a bit sweet for our liking. Our definite favorite of the above mentioned was Potomac Point. My husband and I had already been fans of this vineyard from enjoying their 2009 award winning Viognier. We were told at the festival that they will be debuting a 2013 Viognier that should be of equal quality although it wasn’t available yet for tasting. I will definitely be keeping my eyes peeled.

    The food trucks also got a lot of our attention. I was a bit more limited in choices with my gluten-free lifestyle, however I was pleasantly surprised to see that many of the food trucks in attendance offered gluten-free options http://www.vintagevirginia.com/food-trucks/. The highlight of my day was my ice cream sandwich from Captain Cookie and the Milkman http://www.captaincookiedc.com/. They offered gluten-free chocolate chip cookies from Happy Tart Bakery http://happytartbakery.com/. These cookies had HUGE chunks of chocolate in them and although they were slightly crumbly, they literally melted in your mouth with the ice cream. Paired with a black raspberry ice cream, these homemade ice cream sandwiches were to die for!

    Overall, the festival was a great experience. It was worth braving the heat and I will definitely return again in the future. Next time I’ll bring a water bottle spritzer though.

    -Joyana (JPM)

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  • 24May

    Counter Culture’s June 6th Cup Tasters Challenge

    I know some of you are coffee freaks–think you can out taste the other tasters?

    -JAY

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    “June 6th Cup Tasters Challenge from much-loved coffee roaster Counter Culture. This is the second official Cup Tasters Challenge in a year-long battle among all Counter Culture Regional Training Centers for a title win. The events will take place in Ashville, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Durham, NYC, Philadelphia and Washington, DC. The Boston Training Center took home the Cup Tasters Challenge title belt in March, and now another region will have the opportunity to win it.

    Counter CultureParticipants at each Training Center will taste multiple sets of three cups each and identify which is different from the other two in each set. The challenge will start at 7pm EST at each Training Center (please see below for addresses), and anyone can participate: $5 to enter and free to watch.

    – Asheville, NC: 77 Broadway Street
    – Atlanta, GA: King Plow Arts Center, 887 West Marietta Street NW, Suite m210
    – Boston, MA: 374 Somerville Avenue
    – Chicago, IL: 177 North Ada, Unit 106
    – Durham, NC: 4911 South Alston Avenue
    – New York, NY: 37 W. 26th St., Suite 400
    – Philadelphia, PA: 2149 Unit B Catharine St.
    – Washington, DC: 1840 Columbia Road NW, Suite 203″
    Permalink Filed under: Drinks, Events Tags: , 1 Comment
  • 23May

    Israel@65: A Food, Wine and Music Festival at Union Market

    Below is an interesting upcoming event.

    -JAY

    Isreal 65

    ” The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington is hosting “Israel@65: A Food, Wine and Music Festival” at UnionMarket on June 9, in honor of Israel’s 65th birthday – they’re basically going to be turning Union Market into something similar to a street festival in Israel. There’s going to be a ton of cool entertainment and music, including Israeli artists and performers, great food and wine and also a lot of family-friendly activities.

    The food will be from local Jewish and Israeli restaurants and there will be local DC food trucks there, but one thing I think will be really fun is the Israeli Beer and Wine Garden.  They’re bringing in wine and beer from their sister-city region in Israel and will be doing tastings throughout the day – the beers have never been sold before here in the U.S.

    The Jewish Food Experience will also have a section there where they’ll be doing cooking demos and preparing Israeli dishes throughout the day.  “

    Permalink Filed under: Events Tags: , 1 Comment
  • 21May

    The Lamb Jam Was Back In Town!

    Here are some pictures of some of the wonderful food and drinks from last night’s DC’s Lamb Jam. Click here for the list of winning chefs/dishes. The Lamb Jam is an amazing event every year; it was fun being one of the judges this year.

    -JAY

    Permalink Filed under: Contests, Events, Restaurants Tags: 1 Comment
  • 17May

    Chef Bart Flexes His Mussels At His New Restaurant, B Too!

    Chef Bart has just (soft) opened B Too, which like his other restaurant, Belga, is a fine Belgian restaurant. B Too’s menu is available here. We were in attendance at the soft opening, and got to try some great food and beer.

    We ordered the:
    • Baby grey shrimp ($15) with krupuk, tomato confit, and basil. These tiny shrimp are both sweet and briny and are delicious. This dish had two preparations of the shrimp, one of which included mayonnaise.
    • Frog legs ($9.50) with tomato, cream, garlic butter, tarragon, and Ricard (French anise liquor).
    • Josper grilled hanger steak ($26) with root vegetables, Belgian frites, and both the 5 Pepper Sauce  and the Béarnaise sauce. The Josper Oven was used on this tasty steak. The 5 Pepper Sauce had to be ordered without mushrooms due to an allergy.
    • Mussels Marieniere ($21) with white wine, shallots, garlic, parsley, and frites. Although everything I tried was very good, the mussels and frites were my favorite items of the evening.
    • Chocolate Eden and Vanilla Waffle for dessert, both of which contain various components and are tasty.
    What is a Josper Oven? “The Josper Oven is brand new to our market, and is a unique combination of a traditional oven and charbroiled cooking. The use of the charcoal greatly influences and enhances the flavor of the food.”

    B Too has an extensive beer list (which will be expanded soon). I had a Deuce (which is like beer champagne), a cocktail made with beer, and the two beers CY talks about below.

    CY‘s Beer Tasting Notes: We drank the St. Bernardus Tripel, which is from his favorite brewery. His description: “Sweet malts, Fruity esters, complex, and yummy.” With dessert we had the Kasteel Rouge, which “is like eating cherry candy while riding a cherry boat in the cherry river.”

    This is definitely a restaurant you want to dine at for delicious Belgian food. There were many other items we wanted to try, but our stomachs could only hold so much before we explode like overfed goldfish. The soups and the rabbit sounded really good, so maybe we will try them next time.

    The service was very good as well. The decor was certainly interesting–it has some artwork and pieces I’d expect to see in an upscale Argentine steakhouse, such as well-placed cow/bull hides and horns. The downstairs bar has a nice vibe to it (and has a curtained painting of a pig snout).

    -JAY

    B Too on Urbanspoon

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  • 15May

    Anniversary Eve: The Bread Basket

    Restaurant EveA few weeks ago was my first wedding anniversary. My husband and I wanted to find a place that would really be special for us to celebrate. Both our parents apparently had the same idea and surprised us with gift certificates to Restaurant Eve. So we made a reservation for the Tasting Room. I’m so glad we did, because I have to say, I don’t think I have ever been so spoiled by a restaurant in my life.

    We Are Enjoying Our Anniversary Dinner!

    We Are Enjoying Our Anniversary Dinner!

    When I made the reservation I mentioned that I was gluten- free. They greeted us at our table with a personal basket of gluten-free bread for me, as well as the usual basket of bread for my husband. I have to say, I’d spend the money to go back there just for the bread. In fact, I wonder if they do take out, to allow me to pick up their gluten-free bread. That’s how amazingly delicious this bread was.

    The rest of the meal was a culinary delight as well. We got the five course tasting experience. They told me that anything on the menu could be prepared gluten-free, except for two items. It was such a liberating experience for me, I really felt like I could let loose and enjoy myself for once without any dietary restrictions. Every course that came out was artfully arranged and prepared to perfection. I also liked that I was forced to step out of my comfort zone and try things that normally I’d be too timid to imagine eating.

    For the real adventurers they also offer the seven and nine course tasting options, where you do not order for yourself and instead just have the chef send out dishes for you. The expense is not that much greater than the five, but that was a bit too far out of my comfort zone for me. Maybe I’ll work up to that for our five year anniversary.

    Overall, our experience at Restaurant Eve far surpassed our expectations. We felt like royalty for a night. Two servers were assigned to just our table. A sommelier came by and chose our bottle of wine for us. And our whole meal was served at a leisurely pace that allowed us to sit and chat comfortably for over three hours. You do not feel that usual pressure to vacate the table so it can be turned over for the next seating. Instead you’re encouraged to linger and enjoy. We shared with them at the end of the evening that it was our first anniversary. One of our servers returned a moment later with a goody bag including a gift certificate to return another time this summer. It was such a thoughtful gesture and made the night that much more special.

    Restaurant Eve takes the dining experience to a different level. It truly felt personalized and true to the title “dining experience” rather than just a meal. I highly recommend going there yourself for your next special occasion. It’s an experience you’ll never forget.

    -Joyana (JPM)

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  • 13May

    Some Of The Best Baked Goods We’ve Eaten Recently

    Some Of The Best Baked Goods We’ve Eaten Recently:

    Kyle Bailey and Tiffany MacIssac shared their GBD doughnuts at Graffiato’s May Industry Takeover Night. Some of my favorites were the Key Lime Curd Filled Brioche, Grapefruit Campari, Peanut Butter & Jelly, and Chocolate Creme Filled Brioche.

    My friend Patricia King owns a gluten free bakery in Easton, MD called Patisserie Patrice. She sent me two kinds of bread, a Strawberry Granola Bar, and a Snickerdoodle, all of which were gluten free and delicious. She did a great job with the textures on everything, especially the granola bar (which is addictive).

    A Bit More sells a wide variety of regular and gluten free baked goods at the Kingstowne Farmer’s Market (Fridays 4-7pm). Our favorite items (that contain gluten) are the Triple Chocolate Rocky and blueberry lemon scones, while our favorite gluten free items are the Glazed Pecans, Granola Bites, Pumpkin Spice Bread, and Brownies.

    Bonjour La Parisienne (which needs to update their website) also sells at the Kingstowne Farmer’s Market. Everything is “a unique recipe,” which means that he threw something random in it and that it somehow works. I did not try the Challah bread (which contains pumpkin puree), but the blueberry muffins (which I think either contain yogurt or sour cream) and the chocolate chip cookies are decadent and amazing. Seriously! I did not ask what the secret ingredient in the cookies are. Next time I’ll try the Cinnamon Buns.

    Edit: (5/17/2013) Maybe the guy from Bonjour La Parisienne was kidding last week about the pumpkin puree. Apparently pumpkin is not an ingredient in the challah.

    Edit: (5/26/13) Apparently, pumpkin IS the  secret ingredient in the challah but only one of the 2 Greek-accented guys who run the stand knew (and pumpkin is NOT mentioned in the ingredient list). They need to update the ingredient list before the one person in VA who is allergic to pumpkin buys a loaf. 

    -JAY

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