Weekend Picks: "Taste of Bethesda" edition
The famous food festival descends on Woodmont Triangle Saturday.
Bethesdans, get your taste buds ready. This Saturday marks the much-anticipated Taste of Bethesda, a street festival that highlights the best of the downtown Bethesda restaurant scene and draws about 40,000 to Bethesda's Woodmont Triangle yearly. Produced by the Bethesda Urban Partnership, the festival also features music, entertainment, and kids activities, and it's held in conjunction with a classic car show and an open house at the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad.
This year, Taste of Bethesda is 21 years in the making. Ready to eat? Here's some details to get you started.
Food
50 Bethesda restaurants will be serving up samples this year, including -- but certainly not limited to -- Angeethi Authentic Indian Cuisine, Hard Times Café, Rock Bottom Brewery, Bistro Provence, Louisiana Kitchen & Bayou Bar, Brasserie Monte Carlo, Chef Tony's, Mamma Lucia and Jaleo (don't miss their giant paella pan). Items on the the menu range from vegetable samosas, hot dogs and cheese fries to jambalaya, barbeque and meatball and chicken parmesan sandwiches. Of course, we can't forget the sweet treats – I'm looking forward to cookies on a stick and cookie bags from Cookies by Design, nutella and lemon crepes from the Original Pancake House, ice cream from Gifford's and cupcakes from Georgetown Cupcake, who are making their debut at Taste this year. Admission is free, and tickets will be sold on-site to sample food. Tickets are $5 for four tickets, and sample servings range in cost from one to four tickets.
Music and Entertainment
Four stages of entertainment are planned throughout the festival at Fairmont Avenue, St. Elmo Avenue, Cordell Avenue and Norfolk Avenue, along with music in Veteran's Park. Below is the entertainment schedule, courtesy of BUP:
- Fairmont Stage
11a.m. - 1p.m – Meritxell Project (Latin)
1:30 - 3:30p.m. – The Players (Ska, Reggae) - St. Elmo Stage
11:30a.m. -1:30p.m. – James Bazen Big Band (Swing)
2 - 4p.m. - Elikeh (African Fusion) - Cordell Stage
11:15a.m. - 1:15p.m. – One Nite Stand (Motown, Variety)
1:15p.m. - 3:45p.m. – Tom Principato (Rock, Funk) - Norfolk Stage
11a.m. - 11:45am – Somapa Thai Dance Company (Thai Classical)
12p.m. - 12:45pm – Coyaba Dance Theater (West African)
1p.m. - 1:45pm – Tepua Hio Hio Polynesian Entertainment (Polynesian)
2p.m. - 2:45pm – Arte Flamenco (Spanish)
3p.m. - 3:45pm – Jayamangala (Indian) - Veteran's Park Entertainment
11a.m. - 1p.m. – Naked Blue (Pop/Folk Rock/Indie)
1:30p.m. - 3:30pm – The Village Jazz Band (Jazz)
Getting There
Taste of Bethesda will take place from 11a.m. to 4p.m. Saturday along Norfolk, Fairmont, St. Elmo, Cordell and Del Ray Avenues. It's just a few blocks from the Bethesda Metro station. If you're driving, free parking is available in public garages in downtown Bethesda. You can also catch a ride on the free Bethesda Circulator that loops between the Metro and public parking garages.
Stuffed? There's more to do than just eat.
Taste of Bethesda is a part of "Best of Bethesda Day," which features "Come Back to Bethesda," a classic car show and family day set to benefit the Children's Inn at NIH. The Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad is also hosting "Rescue Day," a family-friendly open-house.
Which treats are you looking forward to at Taste of Bethesda?
Tell us in the comments.
In This article
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Bethesda Urban Partnership
7700 Old Georgetown Rd, Bethesda, MD -
"Come Back to Bethesda" Car, Truck and Motorcycle Show and Family Day
October 2, 2010 at 11:00 am–4:00 pm -
Angeethi
7904 Woodmont Ave, Bethesda, MD -
Hard Times Cafe
4920 Del Ray Ave, Bethesda, MD
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Rock Bottom
7900 Norfolk Ave, Bethesda, MD -
Bistro Provence
4933 Fairmont Ave, Bethesda, MD -
Louisiana Kitchen & Bayou Bar
4907 Cordell Ave, Bethesda, MD -
Brasserie Monte Carlo
7929 Norfolk Ave, Bethesda, MD -
Chef Tony's
4926 St Elmo Ave, Bethesda, MD -
Mamma Lucia
4916 Elm St, Bethesda, MD -
Jaleo
7271 Woodmont Ave, Bethesda, MD -
Cookies by Design
4913 Cordell Ave, Bethesda, MD -
Original Pancake House
7700 Wisconsin Ave, Bethesda, MD -
Gifford's Ice Cream & Candy Co.
7237 Woodmont Ave, Bethesda, MD -
Georgetown Cupcake
4834 Bethesda Ave, Bethesda, MD
