“Dine-n-Dash” is usually a term that gets finger wags and disapproving head shakes … but this time it was legit! On June 15th Jose Andres and other participating Restaurants hosted the Dine-N-Dash benefiting the World Central Kitchen which was quite a feature to everyone who attended.
Attendees got to experience a unique culinary tour around DC. Half was on 14th street and the other half was around Penn Quarter. The types of food expanded from various types of fusion cuisine to American, Thai, seafood, and much more.
There were various check ins around so that the arrival load was split between various restaurants. This was smart considering what a crowded mess it would have been for everyone to arrive at the same restaurant. The night began at Birch and Barley where we were whisked away by the fantastic cocktails and the different bites that were offered. Knowing that 29 more restaurants were yet to come, the strategy was to try a small bite of everything unless you really enjoyed it!
Chef Ryan was overseeing the event at MASA 14, and served up some awesome pork belly steamed buns and Korean fried chicken. The Korean fried chicken is very similar to the Korean street food, “yam-yum” chicken. MASA 14 offers their version with a bit more heat, more crunch and less sweetness. The steamed buns were a perfect gluten-free option, and were topped with achiote, pineapple samba, and cilantro serrano chili.
Finally, SEI shared unique and delicious eel tacos, with a drizzle of eel sauce and topped with an Asian style slaw! Fun and unexpected barrage of flavors and presentation that bring two different unique culture together.
Ghibellina served up some handmade artisan cocktails, one of which being a rum based drink with a drizzle of basil oil to add an herb flavor to the semi sweet and sour drink.
The Pearl Dive blew everyone away with their top quality seafood. Among their treats were fried oysters and crawfish fritters that were truly satisfying. If shellfish was not to your taste, the pork loin slayed all those who tasted it. The pork loin was perfectly cooked, and had the right amount of heat which made for a surprisingly flavorful dish.
Towards the end of the night and a thirty minute walk from one side of DC to the other. It wouldn’t have been a Dine-n-Dash experience without stopping by Jose Andre’s establishments. First stop was Jaleo and it appeared as though they served a main entrée of paella as they had the big dish on display with every morsel of food gone. Next stop was China Chilcano where they appeared to have “Suspiro Limena” which is an iconic dessert of Peru that is a sweetened condensed milk custard that was topped with a soft and crunchy meringue. Before leaving the last of the three Jose Andre’s restaurants was Oyamel the popular Mexican establishment that features a number of creative Mexican tapas. With a band playing and as if everyone received the memo to end Dine-n-Dash at Oyamel a very lively crowd was present with drinks in hand.
All of the restaurants had their own charm, and each are worth a visit again for an actual sit down experience.
-EWL
