$25 Blackfinn Gift Card Winner is....

#5 - Dew! Thanks so much for commenting and I'm sure you'll enjoy trying Blackfinn's new menu.

Giveaway winner was chosen using Random.org

$10 DC VegFest winner is......

$10 DC VegFest winner is...... Jed S-A! Email me: ASAP so I can mail them to you in the morning or arrange a meet up time.

Thanks everyone for participating. I didn't think I would get so many great answers! I've learned that there are a lot of passionate vegetarians, vegans and folks like myself who want to learn.

Lets hope for nice weather and see you guys Saturday =)

FYI: Winner was picked using random.org

Noodles & Co Winner!

Congrats to.... Austin!

Thanks for entering my giveaway =)

Free Food - Noodles & Company Giveaway!

Hey Guys! Another quick giveaway just in time for summer and healthy eating. 2 coupons for free bowls, soups or salads at Noodles & Company. They have an online '400 calorie cheat sheet' that provides dozens of menu combinations that are 400 calories or less, as well as help you watch calories, fat or sodium.

This can be lunch and dinner for yourself, or if you're feeling nice, you can share =)

Contest Rules:
1. Must be a Twitter or Facebook follower
2. Leave me your name and email address
3. Tell me your favorite item at Noodles & Company (Mine is the Wisconsin Mac & Cheese and I add Sriracha sauce and black pepper...don't judge!)  
4. Ends July 8th at 11:59pm
5. Winner will be chosen at random using random.org

In my last giveaway I asked for vacation suggestions for the bf and I this year. We decided on... SAN FRANSISCO! We loved SoCal last year, so we will be checking out NorCal in September.

$50 Againn Winner is...

#5 - Lizi! Pittsburg, eh? I've never thought of going there for a summer vacation, but maybe a weekend drive for some food would work, haha.

Congrats, and thanks everyone for your suggestions! There were some cities I would have never thought of so I appreciate you guys opening my mind. Stay tuned for our summer trip in a few months because I'll be documenting everything!

Giveaway - $50 to Againn Tavern!

Thank you again to Againn Tavern! It was fun for the bf and I to taste their winter menu recently. At the end of the night we were each given a gift bag that included a $50 gift certificate. We used one on our date and figured we needed to share the love!

One of my awesome readers will get a chance to pig out and enjoy the food as much as we do.

Rules:
1. Must be a Twitter or Facebook follower.
2. Tell me where in the U.S. the bf and I should go on vacation this summer! We have a city in mind, but I want to weigh my options.
3. Leave your name and email.
4. Ends 3/12 at 11:59PM.

Winner will be chosen using www.random.org. Good Luck!!!

$55 CSN Stores winner is...

#11 - Edmontonjb!

Thanks for entering guys and for reading my blog. The winner was chosen using random.org.

Check back towards the end of the month for another giveaway. Do you like how I'm blogging on Valentine's Day =)

Another CSN Stores $55 Giveaway!!

I love giveaways because you guys deserve it! CSN Stores has over 200 online stores where you can find anything you could ever want like wall art and decor, clothes, or even fancy shmancy cookware!

They are giving one lucky reader $55 to spend on their site, so I'm going to make this quick and painless.

Rules:
1. Comment about your Valentine's Day plans! (We're either cooking or using one of my many Groupon/LivingSocial deals that I compulsively buy)
2. Leave your email address so I can contact you if you win.
3. Contest ends Sunday, Feb. 13th 11:59pm

Good luck and keep an eye out for another giveaway this month!

Winner of the 2nd $55 CSNstores giveaway is...

#7 - Ivanna!

Congrats on the win, and CSNstores.com will be contacting you to receive your prize.

Used www.random.org to pick the winner.

Thanks everyone for participating!!

2nd $55 Giveaway to CSNstores.com!

Hey guys! If you missed out on the last giveaway, here's another one!

CSNstores.com has offered to give another one of my readers a $55 gift code to their site. They have over 200 online stores where you can find everything from a dining room table to fantastic fitness equipment to cookware!

Entering is easyyyyy (I prefer it that way too)! Leave a comment with:

1. Your name
2. Your email address
3. What you're doing for Halloween
4. Giveaway ends Halloween at 11:59pm

GOOD LUCK!

CSNstores.com winner is...

#14 -  Amy Leach

Congrats on the win and thanks for participating in the giveaway! The winner was chosen using random.org. Thanks csnstores.com for this awesome prize. They will be contacting you soon Amy =)

Giveaway - $55 to spend at CSN Stores

I'm doing a GIVEAWAY!

CSN Stores has kindly offered to give one of my lucky readers $55 to spend on their site. They offer access to over 200 online stores where you can find everything from coffee table to fantastic fitness equipment to cookware.

To enter:
-Leave your name and email address in the comment box.
-Tell me what you'd use the $55 towards (I need an ice cream maker, stand mixer and some high tops, but that's just me)
-Deadline is Sunday, Sept. 19th 11:55PM.

The winner will be chosen at random and announced Monday, Sept. 20th and CSN Stores will email the winner the gift certificate code.

Good Luck!!

Spice Rack Chocolates Contest Winner

The winner is R.P. who suggested Roy's Hawaiian in my last contest. Thanks everyone that participated. It meant a lot, and it was really fun to do. Stay tuned for the next one!

Metropolitain Cooking Show Recap and Contest

The Metropolitan Cooking and Entertaining Show was fun, but crowded! The bf and I got to see Giada de Laurentiis (Food Network) cook live, but we were so far away! Luckily there was a large TV screen in order to see her.

This is what the floor looked like early in the morning. It wasn't as crowded as the afternoon. It was filled with over 200 food vendors! We went crazy with the free samples.

I'm going to show you guys some of the vendor's that I found to be memorable.

Gracie's Garden
They had really cool savory jellies in herbal flavors that tasted really good on crackers. I thought it was cool since I usually think of jellies as being sweet.

Millhouse's House of Rolls
(240) 221-3007
The owner James L. Millhouse Jr. was very memorable. He was one of the nicest people out of the whole place, didn't have a fancy booth or anything, but he was super passionate about his Angel Biscuits which came in 4 different flavors. Very good!

Penny Chocolates
Chef and owner Cheryl Schneider named her company after her beloved long-haired Dachshund Penny. I tried the chocolate covered marshmallow, and it was to die for. They also offer boxed chocolates, chocolate covered marshmallows/Oreos/Graham crackers, chocolate bars, gelato cakes, brownies, cookies and biscottis. Their new location in Fairfax opened this month.

Linda's Garden
Out of all of the dip mixes at the show, Linda's Garden was the best. The flavors were so bold, and the variety was huge! Here are the flavors they offer: Basil-Garlic, Cajun, Dill, Garlic, Habanero, Horseradish, Italian, Jalapeno, Tarragon, Veggie, Spicy Veggie, Tomato-Basil, Lemon-Basil, Chipotle, Onion.

Oil and Vinegar
The bf an I wanted to buy something for ourselves and chose this AMAZING bottle of Garlic & Basil olive oil. They offer many different flavors of olive oil, dippers, pestos and bruschettas.

I've been eating it everyday (I've already used it before this picture) by just dipping bread in it. The flavor is so pure that it makes a great dipping oil. I'd say it's too good to use for cooking since the bottle isn't that big.

Spice Rack Chocolates
Paul Schellhammer (CFO and Co-Creator of Spice Rack Chocolates) was at the show to give out chocolate samples. They are an environmentally friendly company that uses all-natural ingredients and 54% cacao dark chocolate in their products. Here are the unique flavors that caught my attention and the collections they belong to:
Coffee Break Collection
Mexican Chiapas
Peruvian
Mocha Java Hazelnut
Bolivian Caranavi
Ethiopian Yirgacheffe Harfusa

En Fuego Collection
Japanese Wasabi
Intense Indian Curry
Crushed Thai Chilies
Smokey Chipotle Peppers
Spicy Cayenne and Chili Powder

Spice Rack Collection
Fresh Lemon with Sweet Basil
Celtic Smoked Sea Salt and
White Ground Pepper
Key Lime and Jamaican Curry
Rosemary with Mint Leaves
Spicy Cayenne and Chili Powder

Spiced Fruit Collection
Tangy Grapefruit and Lavender
Island Mango and Cracked Black Pepper
Tropical Pineapple and Ground Ginger
Fresh Apple and Coriander
Sweet Peach and Dill

Tea Time Collection
Strawberry Tingle
Cochin Masala Chai
Cherry Rose
Versailles Lavender
Orange Earl Grey

CONTEST TIME!!!
I wanted to hold contest to celebrate my 1st year of blogging on Lunching in the DMV.

Rules:
-Leave a comment answering this request: "My birthday is in less than 2 months, suggest a cool/cute/unique restaurant in the DMV to celebrate my birthday with some friends"
-Include your name and email address so I can contact you if you win
-Contest ends Monday, November 23th at 11:55pm EST
-Winner will be chosen at random

Prize:
A 5-piece box of Spice Rack Chocolates in Tangy Grapefruit & Lavender. It was the 1st flavor I tried, and we literally came back 3 times to that table because all of the chocolates was so good. You can smell the grapefruit when you open the box. The grapefruit hits you with the its citrus flavor 1st, then the 2nd note is the dark chocolate, then finishes with a calming lavender flavor.

The Golden Ticket Winner is...

Thanks for participating everyone! The winner of the random drawing for the Pandini's Golden ticket is Carolyn!!

Please leave me your email address so I can send it to you!

1st Contest - Pandini's Golden Ticket

Hi Everyone! I was going to wait until the 1 year anniversay of my blog to host my first contest, but I was able to get a really cool item that happens to be time sensitive, so let's get it started!

Pandini's was kind enough to send me extra Golden Tickets left over from their Grand Opening. The Golden Ticket allows the holder ONE free entree and ONE free fountain drink once a month for a YEAR (ends June 2010). That's so much free food! This is for the Germantown location, in case you don't live anywhere near there.



Rules:

1. Leave me a comment telling me which restaurant has your favorite food item, and what it is. I'm always looking to try new things! 
2. Leave me your name and email address so I can contact you if you win.
3. Please comment by midnight on Saturday, August 22nd.
4. The drawing will be a at random.

Good luck!!!

Wing Off!

During the Super Bowl (yes I know it's a month late!) the bf and I hosted a party at our place and had a 'Wing-Off' amoungst his friends. There were 4 participants, and the rules were to create an original buffalo wing recipe, and have the rest of the party rate the wings to determine the winner.

Rating:
25 pts - Taste
15 pts - Creativity
10 pts - Presentation

Look at how much chicken there was!

From left to right is the order of the wings. The guys each briefy wrote how they made their wings:

Entry #1 -

"Bought about 4 lbs of wings...

Marinated over night in:

Frank's red hot "extra hot" sauce
Sweet baby ray's honey bbq sauce
Paprika
Salt
Pepper
Lemon juice

Then when almost done cooking with like 5 minutes left.. topped it off with a little bit of shredded pepperjack cheese."

Entry #2-

"Korean pepper paste
Sesame seed oil
Brown sugar
Garlic
Sesame Seeds
Dried Parsley

Pan-fry with SSO & Garlic, then put the chicken and everything else in a pot and simmer."

Entry #3-

Sriracha (crazy chicken brand) mixed with franks red hot sauce.

Entry #4-

"Deep Fried Chicken 20-30mins

Oven Warmed till travel
Tabasco
Saracha Hot Sauce
Butter (1 stick melted)
Personal Hot Marinade (Spices, Peppers(Scotch Bonnet/Jalepeno)) Its damn near 15 years old so whatever I've put in there over the past decade. This is where the unique flavor of the sauce is achieved the above ingredients are more of a base to work from for good hot wings.

Added the sauce to the wings before serving to prevent soggy wings .

And finally, love. I know how I like my wings so thats what I tried to serve, keep the meat clean and not wet, cooked thoroughly."

And the Winner is..... #1!!! Check the presentation too! The winning order was #1, #4,#3, then #2. All the wings were great and it was really fun to taste them all.

Hope to have another sort of contest soon!