The most famous resident of Alexandria is undoubtedly one of the nation’s founding fathers and its first president, George Washington, and in honor of his birthday in February, the town holds a series of fun community-centered events this time of year.
Starting this Sunday, Alexandria’s annual ‘Cherry Challenge’ returns for two weeks of cherry-themed dishes all around town, giving local chefs a chance to flex their culinary capabilities and customers a chance to vote for the best cherry-themed dish in town!
What is Alexandria’s ‘Cherry Challenge’?
As we mentioned above, the ‘Cherry Challenge’ is ostensibly a local cooking contest focused specifically on one ingredient, the fruit synonymous with George Washington stemming from the legend of him cutting down his father’s cherry tree at just six years old.
The culinary competition takes place over the course of several weeks from mid-January to mid-February each year. This year, the ‘Cherry Challenge’ will start on Sunday, January 25th, and run until February 18th.
The way the competition works is that a long list of participating restaurants will all prepare their best official dish for the cooking contest, developing as creative and delicious a plate as possible.
Throughout the contest’s duration, customers will be able to cast votes for the best dish in town, a title that comes with bragging rights for the remainder of the year.
What restaurants are participating in this year’s ‘Cherry Challenge’?
Currently, almost two-dozen restaurants around Alexandria have registered to participate in the friendly contest this year, but more are registering every day, so there could be some late registrations as the first day of the competition approaches.
Here is the full list of registered restaurants as of January 19th:
- a.Lounge at Hotel AKA Alexandria
- Augie’s Mussel House
- Bastille Brasserie & Bar
- Buzz Bakeshop
- Chadwicks
- Dishes of India
- Don Taco
- Elaine’s
- Frankie’s Kitchen & Cocktail Bar
- Jula’s on the Potomac
- Junction Bakery
- Kiwi Kuisine Pie Shop
- Mason Social
- Murphy’s Grand Irish Pub
- Rocklands Barbeque and Grilling Company
- The Haven
- The Light Horse Restaurant
- The People’s Drug
- Trademark
- Union Sandwich Co.
- Urbano 116
- Vaso’s Mediterranean Bistro
- Whiskey & Oyster