Taste of Georgetown 2009
October 12, 2009 § Leave a comment
This past Saturday, October 11, was the annual Taste of Georgetown event. All the restaurants near campus get together on Wisconsin Avenue, set up tents, and serve tastings to event-goers. There’s also a giant Wine Tasting Pavilion for those who can drink that’s set up on the lawn of Grace Church (which I find kinda ironic). Tickets were $5 for each tasting and $20 for 5, so Erin and I decided to get our money’s worth and go for the $20.
It was the first time I’d ever attended, and in my opinion, the entire thing was really well organized. They had people standing on the corners of M and Wisconsin handing out maps of where individual restaurant tents were located and what kind of tastings they were serving as well as Purell wipes. The people running the ticket booth were also really efficient; one of my main worries was that getting our tickets would take more time than actually tasting the food. Luckily, Erin and I got there pretty early (around noon), so it wasn’t too busy yet. When I returned at around 2:30 to get redeem my Baked and Wired ticket, I could barely walk down Wisconsin without getting jostled by people.
We opted to try 1789, considered by most the best restaurant in Georgetown, Bodega, Mie n Yu, Hook, and one of the two Georgetown bakeries, Georgetown Cupcake and Baked and Wired, for dessert.
Bodega’s seafood paella was divine. I knew it’d be pretty delicious because I’ve had their tapas multiple times and love almost all of them, but to see that giant pan full of bubbling orange rice was a whole ‘nother story. The smell of the shrimp, clams, and other oceany critters cooking was amazing, and they gave us a good amount for one tasting. I think I might take my dad and sister there when they come this Friday for parent’s weekend.
1789’s crispy duck confit was great as well, and I liked how the tartness of the cranberries in the compote balanced out the fatty and rich duck. I’m really looking forward to eating there before I graduate in May. The sweet potato pie from Hook was ok, but I’ve had Heather Chittum’s other desserts before (like her Nutella dessert) and it didn’t really live up to my expectations. Something about the texture of the sweet potato custard was off, and it wasn’t as smooth as i would’ve liked it to be.
Mie n Yu’s kimchee was really surprising. I think it was the first time I’d ever had kimchee and liked it. My mom always used to buy those giant glass jars of cabbage kimchee at the Asian supermarket and everyone in my family would eat it except me, so now I want to go home and try it again to see if I’ve changed my mind. Their bulgogi wasn’t like the Korean bulgogi I’ve had before. Whatever they used as a marinade didn’t have that sweet flavor that you usually get from the pear or kiwi puree. The meat was tender and well cooked though. However, while eating all of this savory food, I really needed a drink. One thing the organizers could add for next year is a separate stand where they sell non-alcoholic drinks, because not all of us are old enough to drink wine (even if we want to).
Our last stop would’ve been Georgetown Cupcake, but they ran out early and said that we’d be able to redeem our tickets for 3 cupcakes at the store. We walked over to their location on Potomac, and the line was RIDICULOUS. Definitely not worth waiting for. Later, when I had to go back to M to return some purchases, I walked past the store again to see if it was any shorter, but it was almost TWICE as long, winding around the block. Since it was only 2:30 and Taste of Georgetown ended at 4, I thought it’d be best to go to the Baked and Wired tent and pick up their trio of brownie, bee sting, and fig newton to go.
The saddest part was that, as I was walking by the line for Georgetown Cupcake for the third time back to my apartment, I heard this woman telling her friend that they had the best baked goods in D.C. She was wrong on two counts. Georgetown Cupcake has…duh, only cupcakes, not a variety of baked goods. And second, in my humble opinion, Baked and Wired deserved that title. Their carrot cupcake is out of this world and the bee stings are my favorite. But she’d already been waiting in line for 30 minutes and I didn’t have the heart to tell her the ugly truth.
So while she was probably still waiting in line for her cupcakes, I was already back in my apartment, sitting on the couch watching FlashForward and enjoying a cup of hot chocolate with a selection of B&W’s best .
Notes on Food 
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