Events

Ballston Quarter to hold free international food festival this weekend

The plaza at Ballston Quarter where the food festival is set to be held (courtesy of Chris Chern)

Ballston Quarter is set to hold a free food festival featuring international cuisine this Saturday (July 30) at its food court.

Ballston Quarter Food Fest is set to be held at the plaza of the mall, adjacent to the Quarter Market food hall, between noon and 4 p.m., according to the event’s webpage.

The event is expected to feature different restaurants at the food court providing food from around world, including Mexican and Japanese among others. No registration is required, spokesperson for the event Ali Zeliff said.

Attendees will receive passports and stamp card as they arrive.

“Participating restaurants will offer sample-sized food to guests as they tour Quarter Market with their Ballston Quarter passports,” the event webpage notes.

More than 10 restaurants are expected to participate, according to the mall’s Facebook post, including the following.

  • Rice Crook, an East Asian fusion restaurant, is offering chicken fried rice
  • Ice Cream Jubilee, an Asian American-owned ice cream shop, is offering flavors such as Thai Iced Tea
  • Go Poke, a Hawaiian restaurant, is offering tuna and salmon poke bites
  • Punch Bowl Social, an American gastropub, is offering its Knockoff Slider and vegetarian mini quesadillas
  • Jinya Ramen, a Japanese restaurant, is offering gyoza
  • Hot Lolas, a Nashville hot chicken restaurant with a Chinese kick, is offering chicken tenders with Szechuan spice
  • Bartaco, a Latin street food chain, is offering tuna poke and salsa verde and chips

Meanwhile, the artisan sandwich and cocktail restaurant Superette, Turu’s by Timber Pizza and the brewery Ballston Service Station are also set to join the event, but their tasting menus are yet to be announced.

Aside from food, the D.C.-based DJ CYD is scheduled to play current hit songs at the event.

This is the first time Ballston Quarter (4238 Wilson Blvd) has organized an event of this nature, Zeliff said. The mall organized this event because of the new restaurants and vendors that opened in the past few months, such as Jinya Ramen, she said.

“We are excited to invite the Ballston Quarter community into Quarter Market and give them the opportunity to try restaurants they might not have experienced before,” Zeliff said.

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