I want to give a shout-out to the management team, and the chefs, at Toro…
Washington Wedding Experience and Appetizers
I spent yesterday at the Washington Wedding Experience with my sister, Emily, and had a blast tasting cake and looking at all things weddings! Man, we should have bought lottery tickets later because for once we were on a winning streak. Carla Pressley, a hair and makeup booth at the event, had a fun, interactive game. She laid out a grid of business cards, gold side facing up. Most card backs were black, but a few white ones were sprinkled throughout the grid. It’s simple, draw a white card and win a makeup item. When Emily and I drew cards, I won one! This Avon eye shadow pallet is so nice and has the perfect fall colors. Thanks Carla, and creative way to distribute business cards!
Later, Emily found out that she won the raffle from the Outer Banks Wedding Association – scoreeee! She’s leaning toward having her wedding in the Outer Banks, so it’s perfect the that prize includes tickets to the OBWA’s Wedding Weekend. The cake vendors supplied perfect-sized pieces that were easy to manage while walking around. Occasional Cakes stood out to me, not because they displayed large cake displays, instead, they relied on their flavors to speak for themselves. Four neat, rectangular white cakes lined one table while the other table showed off gorgeous floral displays and additional information. If you’re looking for a more detailed themed cake, you should choose a different vendor; Occasional Cakes is ideal for a bride looking for classic simplicity and solid flavors.
We are at the Washington Wedding Experience Bridal show, booth 510 today at the D.C. Convention Center from 11 to 5pm. pic.twitter.com/TVQs55i7aj
— Occasional Cakes (@occasionalcakes) September 17, 2017
At the end of the evening after having been home for awhile, I received a text letting me know I won entry into a free bridal cooking show, along with a free stay at the Hyatt Regency in Bethesda. Can you say, staycation? This turned out to be a very rewarding experience!
Drinks and Appetizers
As we headed toward the car after the event, we saw an attractive looking restaurant across the street. You know we couldn’t resist stopping for some drinks and appetizers, so we made a beeline for Acadiana.
Right now my review is based off of only trying drinks and appetizers, so we did not have the full dinner experience. By the time we arrived it was around 5:00 pm on a Sunday. Translation? Easily finding a spot at the bar. The happy hour menu features five price categories for appetizers, starting at $5 and peaking at $18. To start, I ordered the Basil Belle which was a refreshing concoction of Tanqueray Rangpur lime gin, basil, lime, simple syrup, & lemon-lime soda. They include big, beautiful basil leaves and it’s a mild enough drink to go along with different dishes throughout the night. 
We decided to split the pulled pork biscuits, the deep fried dill pickles, and the Lake Pontchartrain fried catfish. The pulled pork could have been juicier and I think I would have enjoyed trying their biscuit (amazing) with something else, like the sweet pepper jelly I saw on Yelp.
Their frying game though? On another level! Both the pickles and catfish were fried so lightly — they had an airy crunch to them. The portions are large and perfect for sharing. I’m not a huge fan of fish, but the catfish was amazing! It stayed tender through the frying process and the accompanying “sauce tartare” is the perfect fit for this plate. The pickles were as thin as chips and I know these will become something I’ll start to crave.
The sauce with the friend pickles was…interesting…bad. It was bad. I think it tasted wayyy too strongly of cocktail sauce, and it didn’t make for a successful pickle dip. Thankfully there was plenty of sauce with the catfish, so we used that as a dip for both. Once Emily and I filled up, I took enough leftovers home to serve as another meal for me and Troy. The server even provided a refill on the catfish side sauce, much appreciated!
I’ll have to return someday for a special occasion to see what it’s like for dinner — just reading about their duck breast in other Yelp reviews makes me want to try it so badly!
On Yelp
Read Rachael P.‘s review of Acadiana on Yelp