The Alexandria Food & Wine Festival returned to Carlyle on Saturday afternoon, June 21. Dozens of restaurants, food vendors and Virginia wineries provided samples of their menu items. The local restaurants competed for best appetizer, main course and dessert. Kelly Collis, 94.7 Fresh FM co-host of The Tommy Show; Lauren Ricketts, WJLA-ABC7 meteorologist, and Molly Ahearn, food writer, judged the entries.
This year’s winners were: Best Appetizer to Delias for their gyritos; Best Entrée to Sweet Fire Donna's for their short ribs and Best Dessert to Alexandria Cupcakes for their Guinness Stout cupcake. Community Fork Lift sponsored activities in the Children’s Corner. A portion of the proceeds from this year’s festival were donated to Volunteer Alexandria. This year’s top festival partners include: City of Alexandria, Carlyle Community Council, Alexandria Convention & Visitors Association, Washington Parent Magazine, Northern Virginia Magazine, ABC7/WJLA-TV and News.