Welcome Baskets Revisited - The Hungry Bride

by Sarah Christine, Posted May 8th 2009 @ 3:00PM

Tasty cupcakes from Baked and Wired were tough competition for Georgetown Cupcakes.

Back in March I asked you all to send in ideas for local foods in Washington D.C., Maryland and Virginia that I could use in the welcome baskets for my wedding. After an incredible amount of responses flooded the comments section I decided to go down to D.C. and make a weekend out of sampling all of your suggestions (I know, tough job).

While I couldn't get my hands on everything, I sure did try, and from cupcakes and cookies to root beer and chocolates, each of your suggestions proved uniquely tasty and memorable.

So what made the cut? Delicious pictures are after the jump.

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I will cut to the chase and tell you the winner of the welcome basket search: I fell head over heals for the salty oat cookies (below) from Teaism in downtown D.C. Many thanks to Alison, who was kind enough to share this tidbit. An oatmeal raisin cookie is taken to a new level with crunchy sea salt crystals and a moist, crumbly texture, making these giant cookies remarkable. I look forward to getting in touch with Teaism to see if mini versions can be made for the baskets.

Salty Oat Cookies from Teaism in downtown Washington D.C.

Salty Oat Cookies from Teaism in downtown Washington D.C.

Onto my second favorite(s): the cupcakes. Slashfoodie DC365 was kind enough to include a link to his Cupcake Madness bracket and from that information, I narrowed it down to two choices -- Baked and Wired and Georgetown Cupcake.

In D.C., you're either a B&W fan or Georgetown Cupcake fan, and each would be quick to tell you why theirs is better. After picking up one of each (the Baked and Wired cupcake is below on the left, the Georgetown Cupcake on the right), I can honestly say they were two completely different cupcakes.

Since they're not terribly inexpensive, we've decided that the bridal party will receive these special treats in their baskets. Which one is going to put my bridesmaids into a sugar coma? Baked and Wired had us hooked! Both were delicious, but a moister cake, smooth icing and creative parchment paper wrapper did it for us.

Cupcake from Baked and Wired and Georgetown Cupcakes in Washington D.C.

Cupcake from Baked and Wired and Georgetown Cupcakes in Washington D.C.

Who else? Emily recommended "excellent" Old Dominion Root Beer from a local Northern Virginia brewing company. My fiancé is obsessed with root beer; there is a novel store in San Diego called the Old Town Root Beer Company that houses different root beers from around the country.

He has them ship 30 bottles a year just so he can try root beers made with cane sugar, honey and vanilla, so he was more than happy to pop the top on this one. Its honey-laced taste was refreshing, and should help keep our guests keep cool.

Old Dominion Root Beer made in Virginia.

Old Dominion Root Beer made in Virginia.

I could never leave out the No. 1 most common suggestion -- Route 11
Potato Chips, specifically the Chesapeake Crab Flavor. The D.C. area is know for extraordinarily fresh shellfish, especially crabs. Thanks to April, Marci and Rob for this basket must-have.

Going along with the crab theme, Emily Ann and Grace had the great idea to include gift certificates and/or recommendations for great crab-cake spots around the area. While we can't afford to include gift certificates, the two of you led me to think of doing something else. While I know this could cause some heated debate amongst area residents, Jon and I have a special place in our hearts for the crab cakes at The Oceanaire Seafood Room. A little research on the internet located their recipe, which I'll include on a card in the baskets. Packets of Old Bay were also a great suggestion and still might be considered.

So what didn't make it? ACKC Chocolates, while extremely delicious, were just way out of our price range.

What didn't I get to try but still have every intention of sampling? Berger cookies, which make my mouth water on sight, and Rock Creek Soda, which wasn't available at the grocery store I went to.

If you didn't get to leave a comment in the first round, don't worry, I still have many more trips to D.C. ahead of me. Tell me your idea in the comments section!

Filed Under: The Hungry Bride
Tags: ackc chocolates, AckcChocolates, baked and wired, BakedAndWired, berger cookies, BergerCookies, georgetown cupcake, GeorgetownCupcake, old dominion root beer, OldDominionRootBeer, route 11 potato chips, Route11PotatoChips, teaism, the hungry bride, the oceanaire seafood room, TheHungryBride, TheOceanaireSeafoodRoom, welcome baskets, WelcomeBaskets

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

5-08-2009 @12:34AM Megan said... Hey Sarah-

How about fresh fruit from Eastern Market? It's a famous farmers market on the Hill. http://www.yelp.com/biz/eastern-market-washington I think most of the fruit is from local farmers.

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5-08-2009 @4:21PM alison said... awesome!!!! i'm so glad the salty oat cookies were a hit! i've enjoyed FAR too many since i was introduced to them :)
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5-09-2009 @12:49PM DC365 said... So glad you liked B&W!! The cupcake madness winner! Also, salty oat cookies are a great idea, they make it into my annual birthday scavenger hunt, since they are so uniquely DC.
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