Weekend Fun: Toast of the Town, Preakness and Lamb Jam

This weekend was jam packed full of food and fun!  We started Friday night at Toast of the Town.  Toast of the Town lived up to the expectations.  The Wine Enthusiast put on a spectacular event at the National Building Museum featuring 500 wines and 35 top restaurants.  

 I loved Zengo's scallop ceviche with crunchy peanuts.  

Chef Dimitri's short ribs with truffle oil melted in my mouth.  Zoe's chocolate was to die for! 

Corey got to enjoy some Busch beer with our friends from Matchbox.

 Best Wines that I tasted:

The event was great fun!

Yes, we had a blast at the Preakness in the infield.  Lots of characters, but always a good time.

I had a great time indulging on lots of lamb while judging the Lamb Jam with Mike Isabella, RJ Cooper and other food writers.  This was the first Lamb Jam in DC and it was a huge success!

Mike showed me his cool peacock tattoo.

Some of the top dishes were:

Mike wasn't impressed that Zaytinya's new chef made his recipe.  Creativity?

Hunkar Begendi from Zaytinya

I loved the unique presentation of the Braised Lamb Shank Tamale from Bourbon Steak, but it hadn't completely set at the time we judged it.

My favorite loin was stuffed with lamb sweetbreads, black garlic, onions and strawberry rhubarb from Vidalia.

Chef Nick Stefanelli's Lamb Shoulder Confit with Ravioli was delicious!

The winning dish from Chef John Critchley was a slow cooked lamb leg and it was fantastic.

RJ Cooper picked the Georgetown Cupcakes to win.

Congratulations to all of the chefs!  Everyone did a wonderful job.  Back to the grind for me.  Looking forward to some beach relaxation next weekend.

Lamb Jam photos by Emily Clack