Date Set for 29th Annual Taste of Bethesda
50 restaurants to participate in food and music festival
The 29th annual Taste of Bethesda, which draws tens of thousands of visitors to downtown Bethesda, is scheduled for Oct. 6, the Bethesda Urban Partnership announced Tuesday.
The annual outdoor music and food festival will host 50 local restaurants and a variety of musical bands and cultural performers from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Bethesda’s Woodmont Triangle, according to BUP, the event organizer. A children’s area will also feature balloon and face painting and arts and crafts activities.
For a third year in a row, judges will award “Bethesda’s Best Bite” for one favorite food item sold in each of the four zones at the festival.
Last year, with the help of warm temperatures and sunny skies, an estimated 30,000 people attended the event, according to Brenna O’Malley, a BUP spokesperson. In recent years, the street festival has been dogged with bad weather conditions, including in 2016 when an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 people attended—largely falling short of anticipated attendance estimates—and in 2015 when the event was cancelled due to a rain forecast.
Taste of Bethesda is welcoming several new restaurants this year, including The Big Greek Café, Chercher Ethiopian Cuisine, Dog Haus Biergarten, Lucy Ethiopian Restaurant, The Red Bandana Bakery and True Food Kitchen, among others.
Some of the returning favorites include Duck Duck Goose, Georgetown Cupcake, Jaleo, Mussel Bar & Grille, Olazzo and Ruth’s Chris Steak House.
Numerous bands and cultural music and dance groups will perform on five stages. The performers include the 19th Street Band, Aztec Sun, Elikeh, Jay Byrd & The Musical Trust, Joker’s Wild, Sara Jones, Sweet Saludos and Rochelle Rice, who won the 2018 Bernard/Ebb Songwriting Awards contest.
The cultural music and dance stage will present Ancient Rhythms Dance Co., Coyaba Dance Theater, The Culkin School of Traditional Irish Dance, Urban Artistry and Wong Chinese Lion Dancers.
The event will be set up along Norfolk, St. Elmo, Cordell, Del Ray and Auburn avenues in Woodmont Triangle. Admission is free, but tickets are required for food purchases. Tickets cost $5 for four; a serving costs between one and four tickets.
The event is located three blocks from the Bethesda Metro station. Parking is free in downtown Bethesda’s public garages. The Bethesda Circulator will transport visitors to and from the Bethesda Metro station and public garages free of charge.
Here is a list of participating restaurants:
Benihana of Tokyo
BGR The Burger Joint
The Big Greek Café
Brickside Food & Drink
Chef Tony’s Seafood
Chercher Ethiopian Cuisine
Dog Haus Biergarten
Duck Duck Goose
Flanagan’s Harp & Fiddle
George’s Chophouse
Georgetown Cupcake
Guapo’s Restaurant
Gusto Farm to Street
Häagen-Dazs
Hanaro Sushi
Henry’s Sweet Retreat
Jaleo
Kadhai Boutique Indian Cuisine
Lucy Ethiopian Restaurant
Mamma Lucia
Medium Rare
MoMo Chicken & Grill
Morton’s The Steakhouse
Mussel Bar & Grille
Olazzo
The Original Pancake House
Paisano’s Pizza
Passage to India
Peet’s Coffee
Quartermaine Coffee Roasters
The Red Bandana Bakery
Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery
Ruth’s Chris Steak House
Shangri-La
Silver: New American Brasserie
Smoke BBQ
Smoothie King
Tandoori Nights
Tapp’d Bethesda
Tout de Sweet Pastry Shop
Tropical Smoothie Café
True Food Kitchen
