You have an hour and a half before your flight. You’re hungry, but you’re scared that you’ll miss your flight. Airplane food isn’t always filling, and you would rather have options. You usually don’t venture out to see what food the airport has to offer, but there’s something about having options that’s pulling you in the food court’s direction.
This will be me the next time I fly. I’m also hoping this will be you if you’re someone who usually doesn’t check out what airports have to offer.
I had the pleasure of attending BWI’s (Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport) 2nd Annual Bites @ BWI event. It’s one of three major airports in the Baltimore-Washington, D.C. Area. There were so many local food bloggers and journalists in attendance to try food from nine of its restaurants and vote on three “Best of” awards: Best Bites at BWI; Best Presentation; and Best Maryland Dish. Executive Chef Ype Von Hengst of Silver Diner was the guest host of this year’s event. I had a lot of fun at the first blogger event I’ve ever attended.
I came to Bites @ BWI hungry but didn’t get to try everything because I tried so many good things! I tried food from Ledo Pizza, Quisha’s Berries, Miss Shirley’s (coming to BWI in the spring), and Nalley Fresh.
WHAT I TRIED
LEDO PIZZA
Ledo Pizza is a Maryland favorite. Their pizza is some of the best I’ve ever had. They had cheese pizza, pepperoni pizza, steak and cheese sub samples, and wings. When I was asked which pizza I wanted to try, I said either was fine because I’ve never been disappointed with theirs. The cheese pizza slice I tried was so good, and I wish I could’ve taken some home. Yes, it’s that good.
I was excited to try a Ledo sub because I’d never had one. My family usually just orders pizza and calls it a day. This sub…was amazing. The sliced sirloin steak and the smoked provolone cheese was a perfect combination that I didn’t know I needed until this moment.
I loved the energy of the Ledo employees at this table. We briefly chatted about their favorite food items at their table and how I’ve never had their subs. They agreed when I said that me not having one of their subs before this day was basically a sin. There’s a first time for everything!
BERRIES BY QUICHA
Berries by Quicha is a shop that focuses on chocolate-covered strawberries and has made custom ones for brands like Under Armour and celebrities like Sinbad. The presentation of these delicious berries was one of my favorites at the event. You can see that there was a lot of passion put into this. I wanted to try one of each but decided to just try one: the white chocolate-covered strawberry. This was one of the best I’ve ever had! It was hard keeping myself from getting a couple more.
I also want to note that Berries by Quicha has alcohol-infused flavors such as Ciroc Berry and Tequila Berry. There are also really cool flavors like Sundae, Milk Chocolate Oreo, and Red Velvet. You can order custom boxes online.
MISS SHIRLEY’S
Miss Shirley’s is coming to BWI in Summer of 2020, and you’ll love it! They have Chesapeake Deviled Eggs and pulled BBQ pork sliders that were appetizing. The deviled eggs were topped with diced tomatoes, chives, and jumbo lump crab meat with Old Bay sprinkled on top. I had been wanting to try this for a while and finally got to do so! It was perfect, and the Marylander in me was internally screaming with excitement.
Miss Shirley’s pulled BBQ pork slider is called Hog Wild on a “That’s How We Roll” Sliders. The flavor of the pulled pork perfectly melded with the Southern coleslaw on a challah slider roll. It comes with picles on top, but I took them off since I’m not a fan of them.
I met the district manager for this Miss Shirley’s location, and she was so nice. We had a great chat about the samples they had at Bites @ BWI.
NALLEY FRESH
I hadn’t heard of Nalley Fresh before Bites @ BWI. I’m so glad that I know about it now! I tried the cajun chicken rice bowl, and I have to say…it was one of the best bowls I’ve ever had. This bowl is made up of blackened chicken, veggies, and chicken broth over brown rice and topped with spicy ranch dressing. The strength of the spicy kick surprised me because I don’t eat a lot of spicy food. This bowl now has a special place in my heart.
I also got to meet Nalley, who is one of the coolest people I’ve ever met. When I came back to his table to share my thoughts about the bowl, he was putting more food together and kindly asked if I was ready to get the shot I wanted. He helped me make a couple of cool boomerangs for the ‘gram. It’s all about timing for those, ya know? This was one of my favorite moments of the night.
CONCLUSION
The winners of the night:
Best Maryland Dish: Flying Dog Tap House Crab Cake
Best Presentation: Gachi House of Sushi Southwest Roll
Best Bites at BWI (overall excellence): Sky Azure
Congrats to all of the winners!
Prior to this event, I didn’t know that BWI Airport had so much good food. When I travel, I don’t usually explore airport food options. I tend to do this because I don’t want to spend a lot of time doing so, but this event made me want to change that. I can’t wait to try more of what BWI has to offer.
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Until next time.
Foodish Ways 