Get in a Food Fight

Almost every weekend in the city, it's a given that you'll always find your standard charity event at an embassy or the Four Seasons in Georgetown. If you're willing to splurge on an expensive ticket that could cost you up to a thousand dollars, you'll be lucky enough to surround yourself with the following; fabulous people who are subpar in the wardrobe department (it is DC), the opportunity to be photographed and to find yourself in next month's Who's Who column in the Washingtonien, but most importantly, great cuisine that will give you the biggest food baby in your mock designer gown. Yesterday was absolutely no exception to the rule, either. If you were willing to shell out $150 to support DC's Central Kitchen to fight hunger in the city, than you too would have been able to attend the 2009 Capital Food Fight, sponsored by renowned DC-based chef Jose Andres. Described as "the creme de la creme of foodie events", the Food Fight showcases an Iron Chef-esque competition featuring the head chefs from many top restaurants in DC, including Barton Seavor of Hooked & Tacklebox, Michael Mina of Aureaole, Mike Isabella of Zaytinya (and of Top Chef, as a local DC reality celebrity, I might add), Tracy O'Grady of Willow, and Bryan Voltaggio of VOLT. Each chef was given a series of obscure ingredients and a limited time frame to create the tastiest, aesthetically pleasing, and creative dish upon being judged afterwards.
Aside from the Iron Chef competition, guests could roam the main floor of the event to try samplings from dozens of other popular restaurants throughout the city. Plus, many even had the opportunity to brush shoulders with Food Network celebrities, including bitchy Carla Hall from Top Chef (who would probably scare me in person, seeing as every time she chopped meat on the show it looked like she was decapitating limbs) and Eric Ripert from Ace of Cakes (who I really wanted to meet, since I could tell him about the Alice & Wonderland cake that I wanted for him to replicate for my wedding in six years). Regardless, you would have needed to be willing to try some very exotic flavors, including sashimi-style salmon seared in espresso topped with vanilla foam (I probably would have made a jerk out of myself if I was there, in other words). Even more, there were excellent live auctions taking place throughout the evening along with great foodie-oriented goodie bags so that you could take the event back to your very own living room.
Of course, the title was a little bit misleading. I expected to see guacamole and splatter all over the faces of DC socialites and politicians, which to my dismay, did not happen.

Wanna check out the Fight next year? Check them out online at www.capitolfoodfight.com.