Let’s get ready to rumble in a massive foodie competition where DC restaurants face to face against each other in the food, drinks, and dessert category. This is the very first Battledish International Culinary Competition in Washington DC hosted by the Dishcrawl. We are thrilled to be invited as a special judge along with other awesome foodies.
Starting the event
Meet the Judges
Judges assemble!!!! Judy Newton from Cantillation, Emily McLaughlin from Gathering Green, Farrah Skeiky from Brightest Young Things, and yours truly, the tall foodie Nom Nom Boris. We are very thankful to Dishcral and its DC team for inviting us to unleash the judging powers. During this event, every restaurant and dish will receive two scores. One from the general public and another one from the team of special judges. It’s nice to be a judge because we get fancy name tags and get to skip all the lines!!!
Stop 1: Brown Derby @ The Tap & Parlour (4 NOMs)
Mmmmmmm, this drink smells so nice. As soon as you get close, you pick up a super yummy grapefruit aroma. This is one very nomnom bourbon drink with red ruby grapefruit juice, a light dash of agave syrup. It went down so smoothly and made my insides tingle.
Grilled Diver Scallop @ The Tap & Parlour (4 NOMs)
Bacon, Bacon Baccccccon! Grilled diver scallop with charred corn and black bean maque choux, crispy pancetta, and fried shallot in the honey bourbon glaze. Great combo with Brown Derby drink.
Southern Breeze @ DC9 Nightclub (3 NOMs)
Absolute ruby red peach liqueur, orange juice, and cranberry juice, all the things we like, but not the combo we could fall in love with. It was good, just not OMG VODKA FUN TIMES kind of a drink. We might have higher standards since we are from Belarus, the land of Vodka, for breakfast.
Buttermilk Fried Chicken @ DC9 Nightclub (4 NOMs)
You might not be winning on drinks, but the food is a good recovery. Fried chicken brined and soaked in buttermilk served with hush puppies, slaw, and pepper jam. Yes, and yes, on that jam and dipping chicken into it with every bite. Honestly, we need more of that dip!
Lemon Tart @ DC9 Nightclub (5 NOMs)
Guuuuurl seriously, next time, start with dessert. We absolutely love this! We don’t even like lemon dessert, but this was so light that we just fell in love. Plus melted cream on top. Mhhhhh yuuumy. Sometimes you love what you don’t like. Now give me another serving!
French Tea @ Ulah Bistro (5 NOMs)
Bring on the sweetness. This is one of the yummiest sweet mix drinks I’ve tried. A yummy combination of sweet tea vodka, St Germain Elderflower, cranberry, and lemonade. Best foot forward at Ulah Bistro, now let’s hope they do not disappoint us with food.
Charred Octopus @ Ulah Bistro (5 NOMs)
Oh, my octopussy!!! Wow just love the explosion of nomnom flavors. A nice thick piece of charred octopus with cannellini beans, olives, caper emulsion.
Shrimp and Grits @ Creme Cafe & Lounge (2 NOMs)
Oh no, maybe I shouldn’t judge this, but I hate grits! The texture and flavor just not my thing. Here they did add some sausages, onion, spices, and some broth. However, it still was super bland. Again, I wouldn’t say I like grits in general, so it’s a hard win.
Prom Punch @ Indulj (2 NOMs)
I definitely felt like I got punched with some cotton candy. It wasn’t my favorite drink at the event. While I’m a big fan of cotton candy, last cirquite visit ate two big bags, but in this case, it just didn’t mix well.
