Jordan Wright
April 29, 2016
Special to DC Metro Theater Arts
Spliff, doobie, joint. You can’t smoke em here, but it’s assumed you’ll come high as a kite to this first time munchies extravaganza where pot aficionados in the DMV will be schooled in the fine art of cooking with weed. Organizers, Al Goldberg, owner of Mess Hall, and Nevin Martell, author of Freakshow Without a Tent, hope their trippy food fest will lure the stoner elite.
Snacks rule when you’re feeling a buzz and who better to amp up the gourmet goods than Tarver King, molecular gastronomist and Executive Chef of the much-lauded The Restaurant at Patowmack Farm in Lovettsville, Virginia. King will prepare “cannabutter” during one of the three marijuana cooking classes in the demonstration kitchen. Other demos will teach fans how to make THC tincture for the ultimate munchies.
When I caught up with King by phone earlier this week, he was excited to be participating. “It’s great to get in on the ground floor with an event like this,” he told me, “We’re all over it! Back in high school we used to eat it on the 4/20, rather than smoking it,” he recalled using the universal euphemism for the annual consumption of cannabis. King admits to scarfing down tacos from Taco Bell after the toke fest. To get the high the teens were seeking, “we threw a bunch of weed in.” But he’s evolved since then. “The nerd in me wondered if it would work better in fats.” To that end he’s played around with a potent version of “cannabutter” which he’ll demo in one of the classes. He claims this technique “draws out the THC and makes it ten times stronger”. In actuality he admits he doesn’t smoke it often. “I can get paranoid,” he says, relating an incident when the act of eating popcorn sounded so loud he thought he was disturbing his wife’s TV watching.
It was perfect timing for Mathew Ramsay of PornBurger whose eponymously named cookbook just launched. Ramsay, whose burgers Martell calls, “gloriously gluteus burgers that you want to have sex with”, will be on hand to sign his new book PornBurger: Hot Buns and Juicy Beefcakes (Ecco 2016). He’ll also demonstrate how to make a weed-laced burger.
Buenos Aires Art in Washington DC by designer Jon Wye
After the three-class session, guests can chill out in the beer hall/food court where vintage cartoons mix with the sounds of stoner soul and where Astro Doughnuts & Fried Chicken, Fry Brothers, Sloppy Mothers Barbecue and Westray’s Finest Ice Cream are available for purchase. Be sure to indulge in deluxe flavors from this locally-made ice cream. Owner Westray Paul promises to bring a few exotic specialties from his “Adventurous” line of cold treats, including Coffee & Doughnuts, Burnt Sugar, and Honey Buttermilk Strawberry. The hall also features marijuana-related paraphernalia, graphics-adorned gear from designer Jon Wye, and hip logo tees from Kelly Towles.
The Deets – Tickets are $42.00 for General Admission and include an Astro Doughnut sandwich (a savory rosemary doughnut sandwich with pimento chicken salad and Gordy’s pickled jalapenos) and a beer. The $75.00 VIP pass gives you front row seating plus an exclusive Kelly Towles t-shirt and a swag bag from DC area restaurants. Entry times are at 11 A.M., 12:30 P.M., 2 P.M, 3:30PM and 5PM. For tickets and more info visit https://t.co/zJu179jVG3
Mess Hall
703 Edgewood St., Northeast
Washington, DC 20017