Welcome to the first Dish in the District entry! (See here for more dets)
Oh it was a cloudy, rainy day in Georgetown. But that couldn't keep us away from the wafting scents of grilled meats, pipin' hot noodle dishes, deep fried duck... Oh yes, the annual Taste of Georgetown arrived again on October 10th (check out the 2008 version here!). This year, I had a few more taste testers with discerning palates accompanying me -- Michelle, Elaine, and Joe. You've already met these fave people of mine in various other blog entries (here, here, and here) and I was so happy to have them visiting me that weekend!
The rain was kind of a blessing in disguise... unlike last year, which was brilliantly sunny and filled with bright blue skies, this year was MUCH less crowded, which meant less time waiting in lines! (Although, note that when I say less crowded, it was still CROWDED, but at least we weren't waiting in 20 minute lines!). We protected our heads with these pink Vineyard Vines WHALE hats (oh yes, see above)! I think I was a bit overly excited about the hats -- I had seen them before at other events, but finally had an "excuse" to wear one. We caught the attention even of a local photographer who captured our photo for all to see on a DC website. Hurrah!
In any case, the Taste of Georgetown was such fun this year. Lots of good options to eat (26 restaurants in all!), cute doggies being walked around to be adopted, and fun friends. We bought five tickets to share amongst the four of us for our lunch (plus scored a free dish from the Indian food stand!) -- lots of great options to choose from that we didn't get to try everything (for instance, lobster and truffle mac and cheese ... butternut squash agnolotti). Here are our picks and thoughts:
- Bangkok Joe's: Chicken Pad Thai: Ohhh, I could not resist the chicken pad thai. It called to me. It was so delicious last year, and without fail, whenever I'm actually eating at Bangkok Joe's, I want the chicken pad thai. And this year did not disappoint. Although the serving seemed smaller than last year it was still a hefty amount. Verdict: Yes, yes, and yes -- have again next year!
- Agraria: Chocolate Covered Bacon Lollipops with Apple Slices: Next to Bangkok Joe's was Agraria's stand... and we hadn't even been thinking about getting the chocolate covered bacon, but it caught Michelle's eye and we had to go for it. (Plus, they had these fun stickers: "I heart chocolate covered bacon" -- this sticker is residing on my fridge door). The taste of bacon wasn't immediately evident -- mainly, it provided a bit of saltiness to complement the dark chocolate that covered it. The juicy apple slices helped to balance out the flavors. Verdict: Would try again, but maybe try something else next year.
- Clyde's of Georgetown: Lobster roll: I found this dish to be surprisingly satisfying. I had a few lobster rolls in Georgetown over time, but never at Clyde's... this lobster roll was full of flavor, loads of lobster (as seen above!), and a tangy sauce binding all the ingredients together. Verdict: Yes, would try again next year!
- 1789: Crispy duck confit with cranberry and fennel compote with Toigo Orchards apple turnover: Now where to go next... we saw people walking around with these plates of what looked like deep fried goodness and thought to ourselves, oh we could definitely share that... And very glad we did. This one was very flavorful, and the savory-ness of the duck complemented the compote and apple turnover well. Verdict: Open to trying again next year!
- Mie n Yu: Bulgogi style local beef with housemade kimchi and rice: We had our eye on the bulgogi almost the entire time we were at the Taste of Georgetown and finally came back to it at the end of our "lunch." The bulgogi was quite tasty, although it didn't have the sweetness that we were familiar with other bulgogis. The kim chee provided just the right amount of kick and the rice tempered the kim chee's kick. Verdict: Very tasty, but may leave this spot open for something else next year.
