Spring At National Harbor

 

Cherry blossoms, strawberries, and the National Harbor Wine and Food Festival: three sure signs of spring in Washington, DC.  The weather was a little chillier than last year, but the ambiance was the same.  A large crowd enjoyed the view, the drinks, the food samples, and the entertainment.

On Saturday, there was a continuous series of chef demos on the cooking stage.  I saw three of them.  The first, Chef Rock Harper, winner of the third season of Gordon Ramsay’s Hell’s Kitchen, may be heading up one the Olney Farmers and Artists Market’s fundraising dinners later this year, so I was eager to check out his cooking.

Rock Harper and His Food

He did not disappoint.  His restaurant, FatShorty’s,  advertises “sausage, mussels and cold beer,”  and the dish he prepared included all three.  It was spicy and delicious.

Next, Chef Bryan Voltaggio, who is building a restaurant mini-empire in Frederick, demonstrated a deconstructed version of s’mores.  Although this one could never be assembled in front of a campfire, he did employ a blow torch to brown the home-made marshmallows (after he smoked them) – while holding a microphone in the other hand!

Bryan Voltaggio

 What’s on that plate?  Smoked marshmallows, nitrogen ice cream, cookie crumbs, caramel sauce, graham cracker crumbs, and a chocolate wafer.  Scouting was never like this!

Bryan Voltaggio Fired Up

Dessert Deconstructed

So we ate dessert first, and then Scott Drewno of The Source followed that act with a demonstration of sui mai dumplings.  They were filled with a mixture of blue crab, shrimp and scallops.

Scott Drewno Makes Dumplings

He made forming them look easy.  He steamed them in bamboo, then we all ate.  Some of us ate more than one.

Dumpling Eating Crowd

Oh, and just incidentally, there was a beer garden, music, wine samplings, food purveyors, a big bird (not THE Big Bird), a floating car, and a giant, thirsty hand.

All adding up to a totally pleasant day by the water.

Whatever Floats Your...

The Giant Was Thirsty, Too

Nando Bird

About Judy

I have been cooking and eating all my life, around the country, world, and throughout history (I hold Master Cook status in the Society for Creative Anachronism). In real time, I help run the Olney Farmers and Artists Market in Olney, Maryland, arrange their weekly chef demos and blog from that website (olneyfarmersmarket.tumblr.com) on Market matters. This personal blog is for all things foodie: events, cookbooks, products, restaurants, eating.
This entry was posted in Eating, Events and tagged , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

1 Response to Spring At National Harbor

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.