Another year, another fabulous weekend at
Metro Cooking DC. It's enough to make you "forget your troubles, come on get happy." Being (and
staying) happy at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center was easy as
pie, especially when surrounded by (thousands of) fellow foodies, free food and enough tips to turn any kitchen novice into an amateur gourmet. Toss in a full day with celebrity chef extraordinaire
Giada De Laurentiis, and it's a wonder I left at all.
Alas, there's even
more to do, eat and see today. Day 2 (
Michael Symon,
Bryan Voltaggio and the world famous
RAMW Grand Tasting Pavilion) gets underway in under an hour (10 AM) and promises to provide enough calories (the incredibly
tasty kind) to make you forget all about the Redskins, Ravens and any other teams you would normally follow on a cold, rainy Sunday.
Yesterday also marked the debut of the
BBQ Bash, featuring a score of some of the best barbecue joints in town. See below for our top five bites o' the bash, including #1 favorite
Smokehouse Live. Hungry yet? There's still plenty of room (and tickets) for today's session. Hours are 10 AM - 5 PM; and you can purchase tickets online (
click here) or
at the Convention Center. The RAMW Grand Tasting Pavilion opens at 12:30 (through 3:30 PM.)
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| Giada De Laurentiis holds court |
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| The next Giada? |
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| Brew It Yourself! Delicious Coffee at Home with Dawn Shanks |
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| Gardening in Challenging Spaces with Morgan Morris |
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| Giveaways galore at Cooking Light |
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| Cooking Light's Tote & Carry |
Top 5 Bites o' the (BBQ) Bash...
5.
Rocklands Barbecue and Grilling Company:
Good barbecue (Miniature Chopped Barbecued Pork Sandwich) but the Honey Jalapeño Corn Muffins are A-mazing! Time for a visit.
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| Barbecued Pork Sandwich & Honey Jalapeño Corn Muffins |
4.
Old Glory Bar-B-Que: Tasty
Smoked Pit Wings, with plenty of meat this time (a lot more than at this month's Taste of DC) and great flavor. Rich sauce too.
3.
Smoke & Barrel: It was a relatively small sample, but Smoke & Barrel's
Smoked Pulled Pork had lots (and lots) of flavor, and the best vinegary taste of the Bash.
2.
Wood Ranch BBQ & Grill: Talk about value! The
Pulled Pork Slider was really good, but a wee bit cold (loved the pickle & slaw) but the
Brisket Burnt Ends (served with a sweet chipotle cherry BBQ sauce) were out-of-this-world; and yes, I went back for seconds.
1.
Smokehouse Live: In terms of taste, Smokehouse Live's Wet Brisket (with Texas Chainsaw sauce) won by a mile. Fatty and delicious, I could eat a
pound of it, in the blink of an eye. And the sauce... literally "killer."
