The George Washington Birthday Celebration Committee on Sunday night announced the winners of the 2018 Cherry Challenge, a competition in which local restaurants produce their best cherry appetizer, cocktail, dessert and entrée. Diners chose the winners by voting for their favorite dishes via text messaging.
And the winners are:
Best Cocktail: Café 44's “Burning Down the Cherry Tree Cocktail” (Canall 44 is located at 44 Canal Center Plaza Suite 401)
Best Appetizer: Aquaria Polanco's “It’s a Taco, by George”
Best Entrée: Jackson 20's “Seared Long Island Duck Breast”
Best Dessert: Dishes of India's “Cherry Kul Fee”
Honorable Mentions:
- Evening Star and Virtue Feed and Grain for Best Cocktail
- River Bend Bistro and Café 44 for Best Entrée.
“This year’s Cherry Challenge was very competitive and Alexandria’s restaurants really stepped up with their plates to make for a tastefully entertaining challenge,” said Joe Shumard, who chairs the George Washington Birthday Celebration Committee.
“The cherry on top for our winners is that they are now invited to march in our George Washington Birthday parade this Monday," Shumard said.
This year’s contest was Alexandria's 10th annual Cherry Challenge. The contest harkens back to the tale of the young George Washington, responding to his father’s enquiry that “Yes, father, I cannot tell a lie. I chopped down your cherry tree.”
To participate in the Cherry Challenge, restaurants create menu items that feature cherries and offer them as a special menu item to customers.
This "tasteful" competition is one of the many activities offered by Alexandria’s George Washington Birthday Celebration Committee, an all-volunteer group that produces Alexandria’s yearly George Washington birthday celebration of events that happen across the city, including the George Washington Birthday Parade that takes place on Monday, Feb. 19 from 1 to 3 p.m. The parade dates back to 1800.
This year’s Cherry Challenge was made possible thanks to the support of Historic Properties Group at TTR Sotheby’s International Realty. “We are very thankful to them for their vital support,” said Shumard.
