uploaded to flickr.com by malinky
This past Saturday (April 30) was the third annual Taste of 8th event organized by Barracks Row Main Street on 8th Street SE. Twenty restaurants, stores, and soon-to-be eateries participated, offering a sample of food and/or drink for $5. Those who were more curious or more voracious could get five tastes for $20. The turnout was high and tasting tickets sold out before the 4:00 p.m. closing. My daughter and I ventured over to 8th Street SE after nap time to partake in the food-filled merriment, bought our five tickets, and set out to sample some dishes from old standbys and the newly opened alike. Sadly we left feeling like we didn’t get our money’s worth at a few locations — earning some places hits and others misses.
Now let me start out by saying I enjoy splurging on a nice meal as often as I can. And for $20 I was not expecting an all-you-can-eat buffet or to leave needing a Tums. Five dollars certainly isn’t a windfall, but it’s enough to get you a sizeable amount of food at some locations on the Hill. It also is at least half the price of many appetizer plates at Hill establishments. So when I purchased my $20 of tickets I wasn’t expecting a full meal, but I was expecting five portions large enough to give me an idea of what I was supposed to be eating, and certainly I assumed (perhaps foolishly) that I would be provided with $4 or $5 worth of food per serving.
First stop: Hello Cupcake. I’m a fan of the Dupont Circle location and am looking forward to having their light and sugary confections within easy reach. The Capitol Hill outpost is set to open in a couple weeks according to staff on site, and they were trucking in cupcakes for the event. While the chocolate on chocolate cupcake we ate was good, it can be purchased on any given day for $3.50 — less than the cost of one “taste” at the festival. I would have gladly taken a cup of ice cold milk or coffee with the sweet and called it even but none was offered. This was a miss to me, in terms of value.
Next stop: Zest. We were enamored last year with their offering and frankly were just as impressed this year. The cheesy grits topped with braised beef short ribs was melt-in-my-mouth good, the portion more than fair and the service happy and welcoming. Total hit in my book.
Third on our tour was Senart’s Oyster and Chop House. I’ve not been for lunch or dinner yet, but my sample made me note Senart’s would be next on the list for a night out. The gazpacho was just spicy enough, and the large oyster quite satisfying. Excellent offering, Senart’s. I look forward to returning for a sit-down portion.
Chesapeake Room was next. I’ve not been to eat there yet either, and the smoked shrimp crostini with pesto sounded tempting. The smoked taste definitely came through on the shrimp, though I was wondering where the rest of it was. I received half a shrimp…one shellfish sliced lengthwise, served on a toasted crostini. Left the Room feeling a little gipped.
Our final stop was Ted’s Bulletin, where my love-hate relationship with the place was in a state of romance thanks to a wonderful recent dinner. We reached Ted’s a little after 3:00 to be told that they had run out of vanilla milkshakes and were not making any more, but I could “take two cookies” instead. I overhead one of the owners saying something about running out of donated stock. Sorry, but if you participate in an event like this you should have enough for the tickets being sold or find a suitable substitute. Telling my 3-year-old to swap a cookie for a milkshake is sort of like saying instead of this video game try a paper doll instead. That ended this phase of romance with Ted’s.
Some of the other restaurants participating did offer good-sized portions and the long lines of ticket-holders were evident of good taste and good value. The mini-dogs from DC-3 seemed quite popular and hearty. Samples from Las Placitas looked like full appetizers, and the waffles and beer from Belga Cafe were crowd-pleasers for sure. I did note hearing from other tasters a disappointment in portion-sizes from certain locations so I felt like perhaps I was not the only one feeling a little short-changed.
Thankfully my ticket stubs are good for half-price yogurt at 32 Below, the new frozen yogurt shop opening on 8th Street SE this summer. Perhaps that is the value I was looking for.
I could not agree more with your summation. Some places hit it out of the park (Zest, Senart, Old Siam), others just missed the point entirely. I’m glad you specifically called out the portion sizes of Chesapeake and Hello Cupcake, both way too small for the price paid. I would also call out the inefficiency of Levi’s Cafe. When we went down there between 130pm and 2pm there was a line out the door and a restaurant full of Taste of 8th patrons waiting for the food to finish cooking. The portions sounded quite generous, but we got tired of waiting when so many other options were prepped and ready. I think this is a very promising and fun event for the neighborhood. I hope the disappointing restaurants catch up next year.
Ted’s Bulletin: Why am I not surprised? I really don’t get how that place can be so inconsistent. Also, the whole “donated ingredients” thing is very disappointing. oh well.
I’ve never made it to Taste of 8th, but that’s the general impression I have of any of those “Taste of” events.
But when did Senarts open and how did I miss that news?
I feel you. Ted’s recently failed me for the last time, if I’m to abide by my three-strikes-you’re-out policy. If they didn’t already have booze in the milkshakes, I’d probably bring my own because dining there is not usually a good experience. It’s a great concept, poorly executed.
Winners: My wife and I also liked Zest and Senart’s the best. Both were tasty, filling, and seemed liked the restaurants put some thought and energy into the dishes. Old Siam had generous portions, though was a bit too “Thai fast food” to win any gourmet points — still, we appreciated the spoonful of mango sticky rice. DC-3’s mini-dogs were nothing special, but filling and fun. Cava went with a lamb rib with no frills, but it was cooked perfectly, so no complaints from me. Starfish Cafe’s fried chicken could have been spicier, but the accompanying tastes of two (from a selection of 5 or 6) Abita beers was fun.
Losers: Matchbox and Ted’s were both disappointing — Matchbox was out of mini-burgers (temporarily, I assume) at 2, so offered up two mini-slices of a cheese or margharita pizza (?). Both slices combined were less than a normal-sized pizza slice. Why choose a bland pizza that does nothing to highlight what your restaurant has to offer? Ted’s milkshake was about 3 sips of mostly whipped cream, and the cookie nothing special. Neither restaurant met the “was this worth a $4 or $5 ticket” bar in terms of value or taste.
Cafe Belga was my favorite last year, but they had problems setting up and we were out of tickets by the time we made it back up the street.
The restaurants that did the best were those that showed off what they’re good at and helped create a sense of fun — and we want to reward them with our business. Matchbox and Ted’s just left me feeling less willing to wait in their lines for a table.
Do the participating restaurants get compensated in any way from Barrack’s Row from the ticket proceeds or are they basically donating their food for this fundraising event?
I ask because that might have something to do with the portion sizes…
I volunteered at the event. I worked in Cafe 8. They had a tasting with 3 large tastings (humus, kabobs with rice and a mini baclava). People left happy and full. That place is a hidden gem. 🙂
OH and you could sit down and eat there. AND they offered me the volunteer a full sized entree for free. amazing.
@ o: Senart’s opened last week, in late April, and will be reviewed soon–it was packed last night, and delicious…and there seemed to be little turnover in the seats. People stretched out their enjoyment of the raw bar and drinks, food, over the evening.
I volunteered at Taste of 8th last year and didn’t hear any complaints about portion sizes then, so this year seems a little different, although things run out as the afternoon dwindles on…
Chicken Tortilla: a hit. The rice with lime was amazing and the chicken was juicy; both were served in ample portions.
I volunteered at Las Placitas. They had the weekend wrong –whoops!– but still came through with veggie paella and chicken taquitos.
Lots of folks seemed very pleased with the vegetarian option (that is, that a vegetarian option was on offer); and, there was still food up until the very end.
I don’t doubt that there were a few mis-hits but as a community we should tip our collective hat to the OUTSTANDING work that the organizers did in putting this together. They even managed to get perfect weather!
I have to agree, with an event like this it’s a hit or miss based on each restaurant. The organizers can’t force the restaurants to serve a specific thing (or a specific amount of it), so you’ve just gotta walk up to the front of the line and catch a glimpse at the plate they just gave to someone else. If it looks tasty and large enough to make you happy, get in the line. If not, on to the next option!
With 20+ places, it was really easy for me to find which five I wanted. Cava did those lamb chops again! You can’t buy that much RAW LAMB at the grocery store for four bucks! And it was seared to perfection! Shoulda used two tickets there…
But all in all, I thought every ticket was a great value. The cupcakes will probably come with something to drink next year – but cut the poor lady a break – I heard she brought all her cupcakes in her car from her other store because her kitchen wasn’t done yet. And for what it’s worth, that chocolate cupcake with the whipped peanut butter frosting? I’d pay ten bucks for that it’s so good…
Just a quick note to the organizers. Next year fix your website to buy tickets–it didn’t work.