EVENTS

5 Maryland Food And Drink Festivals You Don’t Want To Miss

FoodFest

Photo Credit: Everfest

Warm weather is upon us and it usually brings the anticipation of outdoor food festivals and events.  It seems like the Maryland food festival list continues to grow each year with new events, locations and sponsors.  Arli’s Appetite is officially ready to eat spicy barbecue, feast from the food trucks and have tons of fun at the 2016 Food and Drink Festivals.

1. Wine & Food Festival – National Harbor MD/DC April 23-24 and Baltimore May 14. Maryland has tons of local wineries and craft breweries in the DMV area, too many to name. This festival will feature 150 international, national and local wine, beer and spirits.  Save time and money and sample them all in one location!  And lets not forget about the local Maryland food favorites. Restaurants and food trucks will be on-site with all-you-can-taste food options. They will also have a Cooking Kitchen area with hands-on cooking demonstrations and wine pairings. With two event locations, one in Baltimore at Canton Waterfront and the other in National Harbor you have the option of date and scenery.

GENERAL ADMISSION & TASTING GLASS: $39 Advance / $49 On-Site  Access from Noon – 5pm. Includes a souvenir wine glass, unlimited samples, and cooking demos. For ticket information visit www.bmorewine.com

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Photo Credit: Heather Victoria Photography

2. Chesapeake Crab and Beer Festival – National Harbor MD/DC August  27 and Baltimore June 25.   It wouldn’t be Maryland if there weren’t a crab festival or two or three. This 3rd annual festival is unique because it focuses on one thing only — CRABS! A VIP Ticket offers an all-you-can-eat option with 30,000 crabs, over 50 beers, wines and a few spirits…I suggest the VIP option. It’s also family a friendly event featuring arts and crafts, live music and family fun.

VIP CRAB & BEER TICKET: $89 Advance  This option offers guests an all-you-can eat and drink experience. Guests will enjoy a souvenir mug and mallet, unlimited tastes of the beer and wine on-site. This includes ALL YOU CARE TO TASTE Crabs and Corn on the Cob. GENERAL ADMISSION TICKET: $59 Advance This option offers guests an ALL YOU CARE TO TASTE BEER experience PLUS 6 CRABS from the a la carte  tents. Guests will enjoy a souvenir mug, unlimited tastes of the beer and wine on-site.  Any food more than the included 6 crabs will be purchased a la carte.  For ticket information visit http://www.mdcrabfest.com.

Gypsy Queen

Photo Credit: Steve Ruark

3. Taste of Three Cities – Baltimore, Patterson Park 2806 Eastern Ave. June 4.  I love a good Food Truck Festival! Baltimore vs. D.C. vs. Philadelphia Food Trucks. The day-long food truck festival and competition is back and better than ever and this year’s event is in the beautiful Patterson Park.  Guests will enjoy the regions top 40 food trucks with a range of culinary options such as barbecue, soul food, seafood, desserts and many more. Everyone will have the opportunity to vote for their favorites.  This is a family-friendly event complete with live music, games and a family zone.

General Admission $20, Family Pack $45, VIP  $75 For ticket information visit http://tasteof3cities.com

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Photo Credit: Brew and Bourbon Classic

4. Brew and Bourbon Classic – Baltimore, Pimlico Race Course  June 11.  With over 35 bourbons and 40 beer options, this festival is one for the B&B lover in everyone. Food options include beef brisket, barbecue, bacon and cheese steaks just to name a few. While you watch live horse races and listen to music, cigars will be on-hand for purchase, they are the perfect companion to your bourbon.

$39.00 Admission includes all-you-can-taste beer and bourbon in a souvenir glass, access to a special VIP race viewing area, FREE admission to the track, live music and all the exhibits. FREE parking is also included with your ticket. You must be 21 to enter the event, no children permitted. http://www.brewandbourbonclassic.com/

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                        Photo Credit: Beer Bacon Music

5. Beer Bacon Music Festival – Frederick, MD Fairgrounds 797 East Patrick Street May 21.  Let’s be honest, I’ll only be there for the bacon! This event features a two-ton bacon bar that includes smoked bacon, jalapeno bacon, maple black pepper bacon, pecan wood and smoked bacon…come back and enjoy the bacon bar as many times as you’d like.  Guests will also enjoy over 100 beer varieties, live music and a family zone for kids of all ages.

Admission $40.00 – $55.00 for ticket information visit http://beerbaconmusic.com/

Be sure to follow my foodie and cocktail adventures on Instagram.com/Arlisappetite and twitter.com/ArliBaby.

Margarita Standoff at Quarter & Glory

Hail to the alcohol holiday! National Margarita Day was Monday, February 22nd and I had a valid excuse to wet my whistle with a variety of margaritas. I ventured to Washington DC’s restaurant Quarter+Glory ( 2017 14th St NW) to drink and judge the Margarita Standoff Competition hosted by MIAgency and US Bartender’s Guild DC.

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Six bartenders were paired against each other in a competition-style setting.  They all had to reach into a bowl and choose blindly a slip of paper that would decide if they use Tequila or Mezcal for the competition. Ironically from left to right, the first three bartenders choose Tequila and the remaining three chose Mezcal.  They then had to run to the end of the bar and choose what items they would use in their margarita.

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There was a variety of ingredients to choose from such as fruits, vegetables, spices, juices and syrups. The competitors then had 30 minutes to make a large batch of their competition-worthy margarita.  The preparation portion of the competition was tense.  Each bartender was passionately focused on making their margarita.  The finished margaritas were complete with cool names such as God Never Dies, Sinners Delight, Desperate Cowboy, Phil Promised Me Spring, Rico Tico Tavi, and The Oopsy Daisy.

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“God Never Dies” bartender burning rosemary
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“Sinner’s Delight” bartender adding garnish and finishing touches

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Judges and guests were given one hour to sample a glass of each margarita.  We were also given ballots to vote for Best Tasting, Best Garnish and Best Name.

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Photo Courtesy of MIAgency

My personal choices were God Never Dies for Best Tasting as well as Best Name and Sinners Delight for Best Garnish. I also liked Phil Promised Me Spring because the Mezcal gave it a smokey taste and the bartender also used blood oranges the sweet taste balanced it out.

After all votes were tallied,  the winners were…

Best Tasting and Best Overall — God Never Dies

Best Garnish — Phil Promised Me Spring

Best Name — I honestly don’t remember who won this category, I did have 6+ margaritas after all

God Never Dies recipe via MIAgency

1.5 oz @vidatequila blanco, 1 oz Grapefruit Juice,  1/2 oz Lemon Juice,  1/2 oz Cointreau, and 1/2 oz Simple Syrup

Method: Add above ingredients to a shaker tin. Muddle slice of fresh ginger, Rosemary spring and jalapeño slice (with seeds) inside shaker tin with liquid ingredients. Fill shaker with ice and shaker vigorously for 10-13 seconds. Pour and double strain over fresh ice garnish : blood orange slice stuffed with a rosemary spring

Job well done to MIAgency and US Bartender’s Guild DC for the first #MargaritaStandoff! The event was organized and everyone seemed to have a good time.

Be sure to follow my foodie and cocktail adventures on Instagram.com/Arlisappetite and twitter.com/ArliBaby.

 

 

 

 

 

Balvenie Whiskey Tasting

I started my libatious life drinking vodka and rum only, mainly because that’s what all the other 18-year old …ahem 21-year-old young women were drinking.   As I grew older and started bartending, I began an appreciation for dark liquors such as whiskey and cognac.  All of my friends know my favorite at the moment is Crown Royal Apple.  Last week a friend invited me to a Balvenie Whiskey Tasting at the the American Craft Council Show. I’d never heard of Balvenie Whiskey, but I learned a lot from the 45-minute tasting.

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We arrived at the craft show around 6:15 pm. and went directly to the tasting booth.  There were four tastings that day and the last one was 7:00-7:45 pm.  While waiting for the last tasting, one of the hosts offered us a pre-tasting of two Balvenie brands.

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My first impression of Balvenie Whiskey was that it was smooth but bold with lots of flavor. The tasting was set-up in a booth with two long tables, ten people at each table. Around the walls of the booth were photos of Balvenie distillery employees. Our tasting host explained the history behind each employee and their contribution to the Balvenie Whiskey brand.

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Belvenie is a hand-crafted single malt whiskey that originated in Dufftown, Scotland.  It’s one of the only distilleries in Scotland that still grow their own barley and make their copper stills.  They also employ Malt Masters to oversee the maturing process and maintain the malting floor – one of a handful still active in Scotland. Belvenie has participated in craft shows around the world because they are a long-standing company that takes pride in continuing the tradition of making hand-crafted whiskey.

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At each seat was a tray with four glasses of whiskey and a glass of water. For the tasting we sampled the Double Wood aged 12 years,  Caribbean Cask aged 14 years, Double Wood aged 17 years and Portwood aged 21 years.

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The tasting host walked us through each sample explaining the unique flavors.  He explained to us how to properly smell and taste whiskey.  He instructed us to hold the whiskey glass 1 inch from our nose and pretend the rim is a clock. We moved it horizontal from 9 to 3 and vertical from 12 to 6.  He pointed out the differences in the notes we smelled at each point.

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The whiskey tray was also resourceful and described the notes that we were smelling and tasting. He also explained that some people like to add a little water to their whiskey to open up the flavor.

Balvenie Whiskey has a total of 14 whiskey varieties and is priced at $50.00 – $250.00 US Dollars.

Have you tried Balvenie Whiskey?  Which one is your favorite?

Be sure to follow my foodie adventures at Instagram.com/arlisappetite

Celebrate Mardi Gras With The Best Events In Baltimore

MardiGras

If you can’t make it to the Bayou, Baltimore has plenty ‘o partying during Mardi Gras 2016.

1. Power Plant Live (34 Market Place) – Saturday,  February 6th  9pm-12am Power Plant Live is hosting their 7th annual Mardi Gras celebration with and all-inclusive package available.  Power Plant is bringing the French Quarters to Baltimore with Cirque performances, a shopping cart parade, live music and bead tossing from the second level balcony.

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General Admission – $35 – Access to nine (9) bars and clubs in Power Plant,  souvenir Hurricane glass, bottomless Southern Comfort Hurricanes and select domestic beers (from 9pm-12am) plus party favors. For ticket information visit www.powerplantlive.com.

2. Mardi Gras at Mount Vernon Marketplace (520 Park Ave) – Tuesday,  February 9th 7pm-11pm.  The newest multi-vendor market in Baltimore has been making a big impression with their weekly events and celebrations.   Their Fat Tuesday is the perfect reason to bring Mardi Gras to Maryland with live Jazz performances, festive cocktails, a crawfish boil, a mask contests, prizes and much more.

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Admission is Free, food and cocktails are priced per vendor.  Guests can expect cocktails to run $6.00 for a Negroni and $7.00 for a Sazarac.

3. Mardi Gras North in Fells Point (1700 and 1702 Thames St) – Tuesday,  February 9th 7pm-11pm. Fells Point neighbors Kooper’s Tavern, Woody’s Rum Bar and Slainte Irish Pub join forces to host their 19th annual Mardi Gras celebration.  Visit all three bars and enjoy seafood gumbo, po’ boy sandwiches, jambalaya and music from the DIG Jazz Combo.  Drink specials include $3 Miller Lites, $4 Blue Moons, $6 Sazeracs and $5 Cajun Marys (I’m assuming that’s a Bloody Mary with a cajun kick). Admission is FREE.

Laissez les bons temps rouler – Let the good times roll!

 

Bacon and Beer Night at Bad Decisions Bar

In honor of Bacon Day, a holiday/food that I love dearly, I’m reminiscing of that one time I visited Bad Decisions Bar for their monthly Bacon and Beer Night. Bad Decisions Bar (1928 Fleet Street) is located in Fells Point, Baltimore.  I always drive by the bar on my way to Canton and I’ve always chuckled at the name but never stopped to go inside.  On this particular day, Fat Tuesday 2015 to be exact, a friend invited me to go with her and check out the bacon specials.

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Clockwise from top left: Beef and Bacon Grits, Bacon Sazerac and Bacon King Cake

Honestly I thought it would be a normal happy hour menu with maybe two or three choices, but this menu was made specifically for a bacon fest event.  There were three appetizer options, four cocktail options, two dessert options and five entree options that all included bacon. When my friend and I went to the bar to order the patrons sitting at the bar were very friendly and they schooled us on the evening’s selections. I was surprised to find out that a few dishes were already sold out…note to self, next time get there early.  I decided to order the beef and bacon grits which were very tasty, but a bit soupy.  It would have been better if they branded as a beef and bacon stew.  My dessert the Bacon King Cake was awesome!  It was freshly made with the sweet icing and the bacon bits gave it a salty kick.

Bad Decisions Bar recently celebrated their 50th Bacon and Beer Night.  I’m happy to see they are still going strong. I have to visit again in the near future because I hear they change the menu each time.  For more information on dates for Bacon and Beer Night, visit their website at http://makeabaddecision.com/

What is your favorite bacon dish?

 

Best Bars in Baltimore: Celebrating with Baltimore Magazine

I was excited to learn that Baltimore Magazine released their anticipated “Best Bars” issue for the month of December.  I was even more excited to attend the issue launch party last week at Bookmakers Cocktail Club (31 East Cross Street) in Federal Hill, Baltimore.

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I’ve visited Bookmaker’s Cocktail Club once before and I remember leaving and thinking it was a really cool bar.  Low lighting, chandeliers, fancy wallpaper and banquets along the wall.  The drinks were phenomenal, they only serve true craft cocktails.  For this recent event, Baltimore Magazine was gracious enough to provide party-goers with complimentary hor d’oeuvres and one drink ticket.  The ticket was good for a beer, wine, or a craft cocktail.   I opted for the punch, one of two cocktails created by Ryan Sparks, Baltimore Magazine’s 2015 “Best Bartender” winner.    The hor d’oeuvres selection included fried frog legs with a whiskey mustard glaze.

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I also took a photo with the cover model himself Doug Atwell of Rye in Fells Point.

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Left to Right: Mack, Doug, Me.

If you don’t have the magazine, head to newsstands and pick up your December copy today.  I did my tally and I’ve been to 11 bars on the list… womp womp, but there were a few that caught my attention that I would love to visit in 2016.

What are your favorites from the list?

 

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