Holy smokes! Best "foodie" event I have attended in DC! I'm already planning for next year (December 1-2, 2018 so mark those calendars!). First, I MUST say a BIG THANK YOU to Yelp, as I won 2 tickets for the Saturday, December 9, 2017 event through Yelp BUT, full disclosure, I would have absolutely paid the $21.50/ticket to attend too. This was a food event that I finally felt like the offerings were enough to fit the price (in fact, I would have paid more, shhhhh......).
My hubby and I arrived around 10:45am, not long after the 10am opening. This was a smart move because the event got super crowded early afternoon, so we took a break and went to watch some of the cooking demos during this time. Upon arrival, definitely snag a free tote to store all of your coupons, flyers, and for later use at Trader Joe's. Coat check (yes it was $5 per item, which I found to be a bit odd for a ticketed event) was also near the entrance.
Hubby and I tried 99% of the booths (some more than once!) that had samples and left full for the rest of the day! If we would have upgraded to the BBQ Bash or the beer/wine (both which I thought were overpriced), we would not have had room for the free stuff. While we wanted to purchase at least 50+ items, we were selective and purchased the following:
*Island Bwoy Cuisine Jerk Sauce (made in Herndon, VA): $5/bottle couldn't pass it up. will be great with sausages, chicken, and fish!
*Habanero Sting hot sauce from Eagle Rock and Coyote Farms (in western NY-$5 bottle): less than 2 mg sodium (yes, you worry about these things with age), no sugars. Nice "sting" that creeps up-perfect on omelettes!
*Swissters Buffalo crunchy cheese crisps (out of Ohio-$5 for a package):minimal ingredients (cheddar cheese, herbs and spices, onion, salt (still only 252 mg in entire package), oregano, red pepper, and salt), super tasty, and the entire pack is 180 calories!
We also walked out with lots of freebie items: brown rice packs, ramen, nature valley granola bars, barkthins, essentia water, and it goes on. lots of coupons too (thank you Graeter's!) I agree with a previous post-LOTS of honey, maple syrup, olive oil/balsamic vinegar, and jerky.
My favorite "tastes":
*Cypress Grove Cheese: delicious goat cheese and brulee goat cheese
*Bunker Hill Cheese Co. (the swissters came not only in our purchase but Jalapeno, habanero, and milder flavors)
*Dutch Country Foods: the blueberry jalapeno beer mustard was PHENOMENAL!
*Laura Chenel's Chevre: more delicious goat cheese!
*The Cheese Guy: Loved the spicy pepperjack!
Honestly, hardly anything (with the exception of 2-4 booths) did not satisfy my taste buds! All staff was super friendly during the majority of the event but any booths we visited around 4ish (with 90 mins left in the event) were not enthused and didn't even bother saying hello.
The cooking demos were also a highlight! We saw Michael Friedman (All Purpose and Red Hen), Michael Schlow (The Riggsby, Alta Strada, Tico,) and Victor Albisu (Del Campo and Taco Bamba). We didn't make the mad rush to the stage to try any of their food from the demos but all were very entertaining and I have finally bit the bullet and made reservations at The Red Hen (although not until early January due to the inability to get a time prior to 9pm on a weeknight earlier-yep, I feel super old).
I enjoyed everything here and would love to return next year! Thanks again, Yelp, for the awesome time at this event! read more