Taste of Georgetown 2009 -- Dish in the District!

My friends with our chocolate covered bacon lollipops! :)
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.

Hurrah for the Taste of Georgetown!  Can't wait til next year for even more tasty eats...

Taste of Georgetown Recipes

More for as a note to myself, here are the recipes from the Taste of Georgetown:

Baked and Wired Carrot Cake
Cake:
o 2 ¼ (11.5) oz. all-purpose flour
o 2 cups sugar
o 2 teaspoon baking soda
o 1 teaspoon cinnamon
o ½ teaspoon salt
o 2 cups shredded carrots
o 1 ½ cup canola oil
o 4 eggs
o 1 cup chopped pecans, toasted, and cooled

Pre-set oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 9” pans. Whisk together all dry ingredients. Blend all ingredients at low speed, except nuts. Whisk with attachment on mixer for 3 minutes on high. Stir in pecans. Bake for 34 minutes, remove and allow to cool.

Cream Cheese Icing:
o 1 stick butter, softened
o 1 lbs. 8 oz. powdered sugar
o 1 teaspoon vanilla
o 1 tablespoon evaporated milk (may not need)

Blend together all the ingredients, and apply to cup cakes. Spread additional ½ cups of chopped and toasted pecans over the icing for decoration. Makes 16 Cup Cakes.
Recipe Provided by: Baked and Wired

Leopold's Kafe Cucumber Radish Salad
o 7in. plate
o European seedless cucumbers
o Yogurt dressing (See condiments ect.)
o Radishes
o Dill
o Toasted walnuts
o Frissee
o Lemon-honey oil

Slice cucumbers on the mandoline skin on. Toss generously with kosher salt and press in a perforated hotel pan with a fair amount of weight on top. Cucumbers should come out crisp and a little salty. Toss with some yogurt dressing and black pepper to taste. Salt only if needed! Make a small pile of frissee in the middle of the plate to add some height to the dish. Pile a neat mound of salad to resemble a pyramid and decorate around with slice radishes (held in water) like a Christmas tree. Sprinkle with crushed walnuts, top with some fresh dill peluche and drizzle some of the lemon-honey oil around.

Recipe Provided by: Leopold's Kafe

Clyde's Jumbo Lump Crab Cakes
Serves 2
It is important to pick over the crab meat gently to remove excess shell and cartilage. This is one of our most requested recipes.

o 1 lb. Jumbo Lump Crab Meat
o 1/3 cup Mayonnaise
o 1 tblsp Water
o 2 tsp Old Bay Seasoning
o 1 tblsp Dijon Mustard
o 1 tblsp Chopped Parsley
o 4 Saltine Crackers

1. Pick the crab meat over to remove excess shells and cartilage.
2. Combine the mayo, Old Bay, parsley, mustard and water until smooth.
3. Add the mayo mixture to the crab meat and mix, being careful not to break up the lumps of crab meat.
4. With your hands, break up the saltines into crumbs and mix into the crab mixture.
5. Form into four patties and pan-fry, or broil the cakes until golden brown.

Recipe Provided by: Clyde's Crabcrake Sliders

Four Seasons Hotel Grilled Pineapple
o 1 Pineapple, whole
o 2 C Orange Liquor (Like Grand Mariner)
o 1/2 C Honey
o 1/4 C Brown Sugar
o 1 T Pink Peppercorns
o 1 qt. Honey or French Vanilla Ice Cream
o 1 pt. Caramel (good store bought is fine)

1. Remove the outer skin of the pineapple, yet leave the top. Trim the top leaves with scissors so they do not have sharp points.
2. Marinade:Over a low/medium heat simmer the liquor, honey, brown sugar and peppercorns.Simmer until the liquid is reduced and visible thicker. Remove from heat and chill.Place the pineapple in a ziplock bag and pour the liquid in the bag. Let sit from 6--10 hours.
3. Grill:Before removing the pineapple from the bag, triwl the pineapple in the bag one more time to coat the fruit with the marinade. Place the pineapple on the grill over a low heat. Spin the pineapple every 3-5 minutes, until all sides of the pineapple are dark brown (not burnt and caramelized). The pineapple should be fork tender all of the way through, including the core.
4. Slice 1" thick piece of pineapple. Top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and drizzled With warm caramel. Great with a Riesling Wine.

Recipe Provided by: Four Seasons Hotel

Taste of Georgetown 2008

I finally made it over to the Taste of Georgetown this year. Accompanied by Mr. J, we braved the crowds that gathered between M St. and K St. on Wisconsin Avenue. The weather was absolutely beautiful -- sunny, blue skies, no clouds, and just warm enough to be happy to be standing in line... And stand in line we did. Not that we minded - it was actually fun (and mouthwatering) to watch other participants walk by with their piles of food and scope out what stands to hit next.

The Taste of Georgetown featured 27 of favorite Georgetown restaurants -- each restaurant offered between 1 -5 different selections. We purchased 5 tasting tickets for $20 and split it between us for "lunch." Our selections:

• Morton's: Steak sandwich : We spent our first tasting ticket on this... and I have to say that I was a bit disappointed. Although Mr. J was a fan of this one, I found that the sandwich had very little steak on it and was dominated by bread. The sandwich itself was quite small too, especially compared to the generous portions offered by other restaurants. Verdict: Skip next year.
• Agraria: Pork Belly: Agraria's booth was near Morton's and talk about an improvement! The pork belly came with an apple/sweet potato mash and both were delicious. The pork belly wasn't too dry and had tons of flavor. The mash was a nice compliment to the saltiness of the pork belly. Verdict: One of the day's best.
• Bangkok Joe's: Chicken Pad Thai: The line at Bangkok Joe's was at least 15 people deep, but well worth the wait! I was salivating watching people leave the Bangkok Joe's booth with their plates stacked high with pad thai. I generally love Bangkok Joe's pad thai anyways and was very pleased with the selection that day. Especially with some of their chili sauce squirted on it, gives it an extra bite. Verdict: One of the day's best.
• Seacatch: Mushroom soup, shrimp in puff pastry, salmon tartare: Here's a restaurant that I've passed by time and time again, so we were curious to give it a try. Each of the bites were tasty, but they didn't bowl me over... think a plate of hors d'oeurves. Verdict: Good, but perhaps should have tried something else.
• Cafe Bonaparte: Nutella and strawberry crepes: I was shocked by the length of this line. But by this point, we were dying for dessert... and Georgetown Cupcake already ran out of cupcakes (plus I celebrated a co-worker's birthday the day before with Gtown Cupcakes) and Baked and Wired looked out too. Plus, I love crepes... I mean, let's be honest, I love anything covered in nutella! The line took a long time to get through because Cafe Bonaparte was making each of their crepes fresh. Verdict: Very tasty but probably better to go to the restaurant.

All in all, I think it was a successful "meal" at the Taste of Georgetown. I would definitely go back to sample more next year -- this is my favorite form of eating anyways. Grazing over little dishes. We missed out on the wine pavillion this year, but luckily, there's always next year...