Taste of Bethesda
This year my friends and I arrived at the Taste of Bethesda with a mission: To try different things and to taste food from restaurants that we hadn’t been to before. It sounds like an obvious agenda doesn’t it? Last year we started off our first taste with a nice big slice of pizza from Pizza Castle. I mean don’t get me wrong, I love pizza, but I know what pizza taste lik
e. This year was different. We aimed for new food, different places and no pizza… or so we thought…Roman, Kim and I started around noon; bought our tickets (4 tickets = $5.00, tastes are 1-3 tickets), and headed off for round one.
Round one
Some notable items that we tried during our first round included an onion tart from Brasserie Monte Carlo; sausages wrapped in phyllo from Ri-Ra Irish Pub and Restaurant; a pupusa from Picasso; mini filet sandwiches from Ruth Chris Steak House; and some delicious fresh squeezed lemonade from McCormick and Schmick’s, shaken by Rico (see picture).
Also during round one, we had some chicken on a stick and sausage in roll from Divino Lounge. We actually saw a lot of chicken satay clones. I guess it is simple and
easy to eat… but not too original. In addition to the pupusa that we tried from Picasso, we also got a plate of carne asada with some rice and greens. It was literally a full plate of food, and the meat was one big piece. It smelled great, however once we met up with Katherine, Greg, Colby and Jennifer, I handed the plate right over to Greg because there was no way I could eat that big piece of meat with plastic utensils, and walk at the same
time.The line for McCormick’s fresh squeezed lemonade was about half a block long. While Roman and Kim waited in line for their thirst quenchers, I went to the other side of McCormick’s table to get one of their mini crab cake sandwiches. There was virtually no line for that. I got my sandwich along with a packet of tartar sauce, and then walked back to my friends in the lemonade
line. (They were still in the same spot.) I proceeded to take a bite of my sandwich but then remembered the tartar. I tried to open the packet, couldn't. No one could. At least four people tried. So eventually we decided to just go without the tartar sauce. It was no good. First of all, the sandwich was cold at that point, (my fault for taking too long with the tartar) and second… it needed a little something extra... tatar sauce would have been nice.
On to round two…
Our second time around was dedicated to tables that looked interesting, but at the same time were not unique enough to make it into our round one tasting category. Items that we tried were the vegetable spring rolls, pork dumplings an
d pastry puff with chicken from Bangkok Garden Restaurant; a cannoli from Café Europa; and a smoothie from Smoothie King. I really liked the vegetable spring rolls; however I like spring rolls in general. The rest of the food we tried from Bangkok Garden was good, but nothing spectacular.
Café Europa’s cannoli wasn’t that great. I think they had cannoli last year as well, along with chocolate tarts. I liked the tarts better.
A struggling round three…
After round two, we were all a little sluggish, so we sat near a store on Norfolk Avenue to rest and digest. (See picture at bottom.) It took some time for all of us to get up, but about half and hour later we were (almost all) ready to go. In this last round, we were free to go anywhere we wanted just so long as we used up all our tickets. The problem was however we didn’t have enough tickets to account for all the things we wanted. This didn’t happen last year. Actually last year,
we ended up selling our leftover tickets because we were so full. This time, we had already purchased more tickets than last year, and now we were struggling to complete one more round without having to buy any more tickets.
line. (They were still in the same spot.) I proceeded to take a bite of my sandwich but then remembered the tartar. I tried to open the packet, couldn't. No one could. At least four people tried. So eventually we decided to just go without the tartar sauce. It was no good. First of all, the sandwich was cold at that point, (my fault for taking too long with the tartar) and second… it needed a little something extra... tatar sauce would have been nice.
On to round two…
Our second time around was dedicated to tables that looked interesting, but at the same time were not unique enough to make it into our round one tasting category. Items that we tried were the vegetable spring rolls, pork dumplings an
d pastry puff with chicken from Bangkok Garden Restaurant; a cannoli from Café Europa; and a smoothie from Smoothie King. I really liked the vegetable spring rolls; however I like spring rolls in general. The rest of the food we tried from Bangkok Garden was good, but nothing spectacular. Café Europa’s cannoli wasn’t that great. I think they had cannoli last year as well, along with chocolate tarts. I liked the tarts better.
A struggling round three…
After round two, we were all a little sluggish, so we sat near a store on Norfolk Avenue to rest and digest. (See picture at bottom.) It took some time for all of us to get up, but about half and hour later we were (almost all) ready to go. In this last round, we were free to go anywhere we wanted just so long as we used up all our tickets. The problem was however we didn’t have enough tickets to account for all the things we wanted. This didn’t happen last year. Actually last year,
we ended up selling our leftover tickets because we were so full. This time, we had already purchased more tickets than last year, and now we were struggling to complete one more round without having to buy any more tickets. Anyway, Roman and I got our second wind. We were hungry and at that particular time, we only had one ticket. A slice of pizza (I know, we said n
o pizza) was two tickets. After much debate, we decided that we wanted it. So, Roman worked her charm and got us a nice slice of 3-hour-old pepperoni pizza for one ticket. It was good. (There really is nothing wrong with us I promise.)
o pizza) was two tickets. After much debate, we decided that we wanted it. So, Roman worked her charm and got us a nice slice of 3-hour-old pepperoni pizza for one ticket. It was good. (There really is nothing wrong with us I promise.) Later we actually took the rest of Greg’s tickets; got some water for Katherine and Kim; and spent the rest (two tickets) on our last and final taste. After some serious pondering, Roman and I ended getting a cup of turkey chili from
the California Tortilla table (not so exotic, but it hit the spot for our metro ride back home).
I had a great time this year. I think we did well as far as trying new dishes. One thing I was disappointed about was that some of my favorite restaurants that had participated last year were MIA this year. (Black’s Bar and Kitchen, Café Gelato ...)
the California Tortilla table (not so exotic, but it hit the spot for our metro ride back home).I had a great time this year. I think we did well as far as trying new dishes. One thing I was disappointed about was that some of my favorite restaurants that had participated last year were MIA this year. (Black’s Bar and Kitchen, Café Gelato ...)
It was just about 4pm when we decided that it was time to head back. Colby and Jennifer left. Then Katherine and Greg separated from Roman, Kim and I. We all looked like we needed a serious nap ...
The walk to Bethesda metro was quiet and lethargic. Roman had been having metro issues since that morning, and so was still scrounging around her purse for her fare pass after Kim and I had already passed through. She had taken a handful of random things out of her bag before finally locating her metro card. As she walked through while stuffing everything back into her purse, two little Taste of Bethesda tickets fell out on to the ground …
That whole time when we were scrounging for tickets, she had two all along! … we could have gotten two slices of pizza instead of one!! Oh well… we did say no pizza anyway; oh and that one slice barely counts since Roman and I had to split it …
Next year, we will be experts.
That whole time when we were scrounging for tickets, she had two all along! … we could have gotten two slices of pizza instead of one!! Oh well… we did say no pizza anyway; oh and that one slice barely counts since Roman and I had to split it …
Next year, we will be experts.
restaurants, food, Bethesda, MD, Tasting Journal
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