I had two favorites at at the first Annual DC Funky Fresh Foodie Fest. The vegetarian offering from Takorean was #1 (Caramelized Tofu Tako with Napa & Romaine Slaw, Cilantro, Sriracha, & Lime Crema). It was the first thing I had when I arrived and it was the last thing I had before we left the festival. I wanted this "tako" to be my event bookends. I would gladly eat these every day for the next month (or two, who am I kidding?). It won't be long before I make something like this in my own kitchen!
There was live music too. We got there two hours before the real event opened to the general public so we had the chance to walk around before it got crowded, which is the perfect way to go for us since our kids came with us.
Upon entry we received one each of the Izze sparkling fruit juice flavors. The kids really liked these and asked if I could buy some for special occasions (since I don't stock soda in the house), to which I obliged. They are fruit juice after all.
We each received these really cool mini-pilsners. I think I just may drink my morning smoothie out of it for the next week or so because I *love* it!
The sandwich duos at Rolling Ficelle: "The Davis" Chicken Salad Sandwich with House made Lemon Aioli, Almonds, Avocado & Romaine Lettuce for Mike and a ratatouille sandwich (for me). I was hoping for a mashed chickpea sandwich, since that's what they listed on the event website but this is what they ended up having as their veggie offering.
Mike's BBQ Sammie at the BBQ Bus: Smoky Pulled Pork Slider topped with house-pickles red onions & smoky sweet BBQ Sauce #5. I skipped the BBQ bus because I'm not a huge food bean chili and there were so many others I wanted to try that I was going to save this for towards the end if I was still hungry (spoiler alert: I wasn't). Mike thought his sandwich was just okay.
The boys loved their Red Velvet cupcakes from Curbside Cupcakes and I adored the Dulche de Leche. Wow! Seriously good. The cupcake was light, fluffy, moist, and flavorful. The icing was just right. Such a nice caramel-y toastiness that wasn't too sweet. So many cupcake icing are cloyingly sweet and, thankfully this was just right. We took two more cupcakes home with us: a strawberry delight and a chocolate delight. We're saving these for tomorrow as there's just so much food goodness you can handle in one afternoon. I can't even imagine eating dinner tonight as all the little bites add up to more than enough. We made many new friends and spread much goodwill upon leaving as we handed out extra food and drink cards after we had reached our maximum. It pained me to hand over the Tapas Truck one as the corn fritters were ethereal and that cilantro sauce divine... But we had all eaten enough and didn't want to overstuff.
Pleasant Pops' Strawberry Ginger Lemonade popsicle was the BEST (and I wouldn't have expected that since I was worried that the ginger flavor wouldn't work well or would overpower the strawberry but iwas pleasantly surprised)! Their Peach Hibscus was pretty dynamite too and a flavor that I would certainly crave on a hot day. We didn't care for the pineapple basil, which is the one I though I might like the most. That's why I love events like this... You can taste a little of everything and really be surprised!
Really delicious sandwiches from Pepe (mobile sandwiches from José Andrés) are pictured belowe. We traded some of our extra tickets to get more Spanish Grilled Cheeses from Pepe and are going to try to recreate these at home. 8 thumbs up... We ALL loved these! I only wish I had tried the gazpacho. Oh well, there's always next time!
The Spanish Grilled Cheese (2 of the ones in the photo below are these) had the following listed as their ingredients: Membrillo Paste, Manchego Cheese, Valdeon Cheese (Bleu), Murcia Cheese, Goat Cheese.
So. Very. Satisfying.
The bread was the perfect amount of toastiness with a good bread to cheese ratio. The portion size was cute and petite. Loved it.
These were some seriously amazing corn fritters from Tapas Truck with a cilantro mojo sauce.
DC Empanadas was supposed to have an El Greco veg empanada but instead had aIndian-spiced one. It was tasty and had a good amount of filling so that tou didnt feel like you were only eating fried dough and the Indian spices packed a nice kick but I really was looking forward to the Greek one with spinach and feta. With this truck it was another case of unmatched expectations.
I forgot to photograph the empanadas? How could that be?! Sorry about that!
The chickpea and eggplant from Fojol Bros was fragrant and complex, and the chickpeas were cooked perfectly. There were no big chunks of eggplants, but instead the eggplants Became a creamy backdrop for the spices and chickpeas. Here's where I wish I could have borrowed a stomach from someone because I would have wanted to have another one of these and some of their Palak Paneer but I am only so big. If I was 5' 7" instead of 5' 2" I think I could've fit it in. <sigh>
The kids had a great time playing the games like oversized Jenga and huge connect 4.
I never made it to DC Slice, though Ryan happily munched on a familiar slice of cheese pizza from them. I was very proud of Ryan for being open-minded and trying some new foods in this forum.
What a fun event for us all and one we hope becomes a yearly food fest that we can enjoy for many years to come.
