NEWS RELEASE                       

 At Barrack’s Row’s 4^th annual Taste of 8^th, Saturday April 25 from 1 to 4 pm, fifteen 8^th Street restaurants will feature tasting samples of their specialties. New this year, Matchbox and Cava will join the food fest! It will be a day of international flavors- Indian, Italian, Salvadoran, Greek, Belgian, Louisiana Creole, Asian fusion are at ports of call up and down 8^th Street. Tickets are $5.00 each or five for $20.00.

Friends and neighbors can spend a relaxed afternoon in a food crawl through the world’s cuisines winding up with a generous serving of Carolina barbecue at Levi’s Port Café. There, owner Johnnie Kersie, also known for the Best Macaroni and Cheese in DC, will be available for questions on how he achieves his signature melt-in-your-mouth pork specialty.

At Belga Café, owner Bart Vandaele may finally let on just what Belgian cuisine really is. We know it tastes great- night after night crowds pack this 8^th St. hot spot. But what exactly defines these superb European creations? Ask Bart!

Between bites, slip into Chat’s Liquor for a sip of Burnie William’s best.  Burnie will have his own hard act to follow- last year he opened a  two hundred dollar bottle of Opus One to celebrate a life well lived after he heard that Robert Mondavi had just passed away! We all had a chance to toast Mr. Mondavi and sip an unforgettable wine. We’ll have to wait for April 25 to discover what Burnie has in store for us this year.

Newcomer Ted Xenohristos and partners, Ike and Demetrie will be on hand at Cava to introduce Greek meze “small plates” to Barracks Row. “Like tapas, only Greek,” explains Ted!  Cava (formerly Marty’s) will open for business in mid April but even if the opening slides toward to the end of April the three partners will bring samples from their original Cava restaurant in Rockville – the one that consistently gets Best Greek Food in DC awards.

As Taste of 8^th winds down there will be drawings for door prizes donated by Barracks Row retailers which sold tickets for the event: Capitol Hill Bikes, Chateaux Animaux, Hill’s Kitchen, Homebody, Groovy DC, Groovyland and Sweet Magnolia. Drop your tickets in the box and see if you win!

So do your Saturday errands early on April 25 and join us and our sponsors, National Capital Bank, Coldwell Banker and Schneider’s of Capitol Hill, for three blocks of taste adventures at Barracks Row eateries old and new: Banana Café; Belga Café; Café 8; Cava; Capitol Hill

Tandoor; Chats; Fusion Grill; Las Placitas; Levi’s Port Café; Matchbox; Starfish Café; Trattoria Alberto; the Ugly Mug and more!