D.C. loves food festivals, and for sheer density of deliciousness, even a fleet of our famed gourmet food trucks can’t match the range of cuisine found at the Taste of Georgetown. For its 20th anniversary, Taste of Georgetown gets a facelift with more food, an expansive Craft Beer and Wine Tasting Pavilion and a charitable chefs competition.
On June 1 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., the main Wisconsin Avenue drag between M and K Streets, NW transforms into an epicurean dream of tastings, sips and entertainment in Washington’s most famous neighborhood. Feast on 60 signature dishes such as Tackle Box’s mini crab cake sandwich, shrimp rolls from Luke’s Lobster and beef barbacoa tacos from the hotly anticipated El Centro. Tickets are $5 per tasting, but who are you kidding? Surrender early and buy a package of 5 tastings for $20. Admission to the area is free.
Expect long lines for desserts, with Sprinkles unveiling new ice cream flavors such as Cap’n Crunch and red velvet, and Georgetown Cupcake offering the same sweets such as cookies and cream, pumpkin spice and salted caramel that inspire hours-long lines at its shop two blocks away. If you’re sans kids, head for the Craft Beer and Wine Tasting Pavilion to chat up brewers from Ommegang, New Belgium and Brooklyn Brewery. Drafts are $4 for one tasting and $10 for three. The lawn in front of Grace Church is a hot spot for the underage set, with face painting and balloon animals for the kids and live jazz, reggae and swing music.
The Georgetown Iron Chef-style showdown will be the day’s highlight, with teams of home cooks competing against each other. Groups of four or five are paired with a chef for professional guidance, including Jakob Esko, who heads the kitchen at The Grill Room in the new ultra-luxury Capella Washington D.C. and Anthony Lombardo of the famed 1789. Fancy yourself a contender? Register with a $50 donation to the Georgetown Ministry Center (the Showdown is free for spectators).
Parking can plague even the merriest festival, but Georgetown just got a little car-friendlier with the reopening just last month of the Shops at Georgetown Garage at 3222 M Street, NW. The D.C. Circulator bus runs through Georgetown regularly. Better yet, Capital Bikeshare will have extra racks at the Taste of Georgetown for their $7-per-day citywide rental program.
Photo Courtesy of Georgetown Business Improvement District
