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