Red, White + Brew!

Submitted by Nina Bryce on Friday, June 5, 2015


This week, Brainfood was thrilled to be the non-profit beneficiary for an event hosted by Charlie Palmer Steak DC called “American Fare: Red, White + Brew.” The event featured  four DC Brewers: 3 Stars Brewing Company, Atlas Brew Works, DC Brau Brewing Company, and Port City Brewing Company, showcasing creative craft beers paired with menu items from Chef Jeff Russell’s "Jeff-to-Table" menu, each dish featuring farm-to-table ingredients sourced from a garden just a few miles away from the restaurant.
 
The event was truly a celebration of “all things grown and made right here in Washington, DC,”  which is right up our alley! Many of the brewers, chefs, guests, and others involved with the event clearly have a penchant for local food, and we had lots of great conversations about urban gardening, empowering youth as agents of change in their local food communities, and culinary education as part of the movement to transform the food system. 

 

Brainfood staffers and volunteers pitched in at the event by manning the registration table, distributing VIP gift bags, and running the silent auction, which included items ranging from swag bags to brewery tours to dinner reservations! The breweries, Charlie Palmer Steak, and other generous event partners such as The Hotel George and Crimson and Rye put together a great assortment of auction items, and guests were very excited to place their bids. 

The creative food pairings were phenomenal: coriander crusted yellowfin tuna with preserved lemon, edamame, and yuzu paired with a watermelon infused version of DC Brau’s El Hefe Speaks brew (a one-time-only feature they created for this event only, just by throwing fresh watermelon in the cask!); halibut and chips with caper remoulade with a pale ale; pork belly lettuce wraps with an IPA, crispy pig ear Pad Thai with raspberry citra lemon saison, and beet-infused porter with a venison spicy mole empanada! Enjoying these delicious dishes with thoughtfully-mactched beverage pairings, all while enjoying a stellar rooftop view of the capitol building, was a treat for everyone!

     

Brainfood’s  community partners in the food and beverage space are a truly invaluable part of the Brainfood family. It’s fantastic to see people who are passionate about  food eager to use their talent to support the work we do, because they believe in the power of food and community, just like we do. Our friends in the DC restaurant community are always so excited to hear about what we’re up to in programs, leverage their resources to support our work, and of course, share culinary creativity and inspiration with our team (who knows, we might even try making our own crispy pig ear Pad Thai in Brainfood programs this summer!) and we are so grateful for their support, in all the forms it takes.  Here’s to inspired menus, seasonal ingredients, and local food community! Cheers from all of us at Brainfood!

                

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