The Daily Feed

Food Truck Tracker (And Free Food Alert!)

Photo courtesy of Mr. T in DC
Pleasant Pops Food Truck
courtesy of Mr. T in DC

No, it hasn’t just been your imagination–it has been one of the hottest summers on record. To help you cool off and get thinking about climate change, Pleasant Pops and Climate Reality Project are offering free pops this week today through August 18th.

Here’s how it works: tweet or post to Facebook about how the extreme weather has impacted your life with the hashtag, #ImTooHot, and you’ll get a free pop. See below for the full list of locations Pleasant Pops will be at this week, and of course, check our handy strEATS-powered map.

– Tuesday, August 14th: 11AM-3PM, Farragut Square (17th and K NW)
– Wednesday, August 15th: 12-2PM, West End (24th and M NW) and 3-7 PM, Foggy Bottom/ George Washington University Farmers’ Market
– Thursday, August 16th: 11AM-2:30PM, push cart and truck at the White House Farmers Market and 3-4PM at Farragut Square
– Friday August 17th: 11AM-3PM, Franklin Park (13th and K NW)
– Saturday August 18th: 9AM-1PM, Mt. Pleasant Farmers’ Market
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Food and Drink, The Features

Boloco Opens Today in Bethesda with Free Burritos

Photo courtesy of bonappetitfoodie
Boloco Bethesda
courtesy of bonappetitfoodie

On a recent trip to Boston, an old high school friend and I were walking through town when we came across the burrito joint. “It’s Boloco! You’ve never heard of Boloco? They’re all over Boston!” he said. I felt like I was missing out on something with our burrito chains in DC. So the only reply I could muster was, “Dude, I don’t live in Boston.” A few months later the name (which stands for BOston LOcal COmpany) rang a bell when I saw they were opening in Bethesda, and I remembered the fervor with which my Bostonian friend talked about their burritos.

Before you read any further, here’s your free food alert: Boloco in Bethesda is giving out free burritos today from 11 AM to 8 PM. The small, mini burritos and bowls are free, and the original-sized burritos are just $1. Boloco is located at 4930 Elm Street, Bethesda, DC.
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Food and Drink, The Daily Feed

FREE FOOD ALERT: Sprinkles Cupcakes in Georgetown

Sprinkles brings back Mini Cupcakes!
Courtesy of Sprinkles Cupcakes

Go ahead and have your cake and eat it. Sprinkles Cupcakes is giving out one free cupcake per person today from 9 AM to 9 PM to celebrate their one year anniversary. If you happen to be there from 4 to 5 PM, you’ll also get to shake hands with their co-founder and executive pastry chef and Food Network Cupcake Wars judge, Candace Nelson.

We’re guessing that there will be more than one large line for cupcakes in Georgetown tomorrow. Good luck and head over early.

Sprinkles Cupcakes is located at 3015 M Street, NW, Washington, DC, 20007.

Food and Drink, The Daily Feed

FREE FOOD ALERT: Soup at Ping Pong Dim Sum

Photo courtesy of christaki
ping pong
courtesy of christaki

So it’s not exactly soup weather and March is coming in more like a lamb than a lion, but Ping Pong Dim Sum in Chinatown is running a pop-up soup shop today. And that means free soup for all of you who stop by the location from 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM. The restaurant will have complimentary coconut & kaffir lime soup with scallions and fried shallots. Bonus points: Ping Pong is giving out the soup in easy to-go containers, so you can grab, go and be on your merry way.

Dupont Circle, Food and Drink, The Daily Feed

FREE FOOD ALERT: The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf

Photo courtesy of afagen
Coffee: It’s why you got out of bed today
courtesy of afagen

Cupid wake you up on the wrong side of the bed today? Ease into the day with a free cup of Joe or tea and some breakfast treats at The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf’s grand opening in the Dupont Circle Hilton.

Plus if you take a picture on your phone with the “Cupid” they have on site (please tweet those my way because I’d love to see you striking a pose with a goofy cupid for a little chuckle), you’ll get half off all drinks for the rest of February when you show the photo to the barista. Or you might be one of the lucky 12 to win a month of free drinks.

The open house goes from 7 AM until 10 AM today. The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf is located at 1919 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington, D.C. 20009.

Happy Valentine’s day!

Food and Drink, The Daily Feed

FREE FOOD ALERT (For a Year): Fuel Pizza

Photo courtesy of ekelly80
174/365
courtesy of ekelly80

No need to re-read that headline; you read the most epic free food alert right the first time. Today marks the opening of DC’s first Fuel Pizza & Wings, and the first 50 customers will receive free food at Fuel for a full year. My bet is you should start lining up now.

The grand opening runs today from noon til 6 PM. If you’re not one of the first 50 customers, don’t worry–you’ll still be able to taste some complimentary dishes from the menu.

The NY-style pizzeria comes to us by way of Charlotte, NC. One of the owners, Paula Seefeldt, grew up in the DC area and says she wanted to bring Fuel “back home” since they first opened. The menu includes Old Bay crab pizza, a gluten-free pizza menu and hot wings. There are currently eight Fuel Pizza locations in Charlotte.

Fuel is located at 1606 K Street NW. Cancel your previous lunch plans and let us know what the line looks like…

Food and Drink, Foodie Roundup, The Daily Feed

FREE FOOD ALERT: Pinkberry

Photo courtesy of cherrylet
Pinkberry
courtesy of cherrylet

We love lining up for things: burgers (hello Shake Shack), cupcakes, food trucks, and of course, fro-yo. When the Los Angeles-based Pinkberry opened up its first store in DC back in May, fans lined Connecticut Avenue in Dupont Circle to get a taste of the icy, tart yogurt. The hard decision to make here is which of the 30 possible toppings to go for.

Now, get a cup for free! Pinkberry is opening its second DC proper (and fifth DC area) locale in Georgetown tomorrow, and is swirling away free yogurt today from noon to 4pm.

So, head to 3288 M Street, NW. After all, what else are you supposed to do in the days when work starts winding down and everyone else is heading out of town? If you want to stand in another line after getting your yogurt, just go across the street to Georgetown Cupcake.

Food and Drink, The Daily Feed

FREE FOOD ALERT: Taylor Gourmet Bethesda

Photo courtesy of Plantains & Kimchi
9th Street Italian @ Taylor Gourmet, DC
courtesy of Plantains & Kimchi

Oh yeah. You heard me right. Free food (read: hoagies!) at the Taylor Gourmet in Bethesda in honor of their one year anniversary. If you stop by anytime from 11 AM til 8 PM today, you’ll get a free six-inch hoagie or pastina salad. Plus, Taylor Gourmet is really upping the ante by raffling off free hoagies for a year, a catered office party for up to 30 people (note: your office must be in Bethesda or Chevy Chase), 4 tickets to a Washington Capitals game and a paid Bethesda parking ticket.

So get yourself over to the deli. I’ll bet the line I gonna be pretty long…

Food and Drink, The Daily Feed

FREE FOOD ALERT: Make Your Own Pizza Kit

Photo courtesy of
‘rakhi and her pizza’
courtesy of ‘staceyviera’

Cheese is fatty, meat toppings tend to be rich, and the sauce is sweet. Pizza toppings are also packed with a compound called glutamate, which can be found in the tomatoes, cheese, pepperoni and sausage. … But according to culinary scientists, they contain flavor compounds that taste even better when eaten together.

Getchyer pizza! Potomac Pizza’s four locations (listed below) will be giving out a free slice of pizza and soft drink to all customers from 12 PM – 4 PM today. The restaurant is calling it their “final slice of summer.” And to quell your sadness about summer ending, you can go eat your feelings in the form of delicious pizza.

Homemade pizza, even with the cost of electricity factored in, is ridiculously affordable. However, it does take some time to make. Most of it is hands off time, though (oven heating, dough rising), so as long as you’re at home already, it won’t feel like it takes that long. 

It’s probably because you’re making it at home in a home oven. Those top out at 450 or 500 degrees F, which is a refrigerator compared to a pizza oven. You can compensate for that somewhat by getting a pizza stone and letting it preheat in your oven. If you are a fan pizza chef, check this link https://www.dough-re-me.co.uk/ for tips on your pizza dough.

The four locations are at:

  • Chevy Chase Center: 19 Wisconsin Circle, Chevy Chase, MD
  • Potomac Promenade: 9812 Falls Road, Potomac, MD
  • Traville Village Center: 9709 Traville Gateway Dr. Rockville, MD
  • Kentlands Market Square: 625 Center Point Way, Gaithersburg, MD

Note that there’s a limit of one free slice per customer.

The Daily Feed

FREE FOOD ALERT: Taylor Gourmet Hoagies and Gardein Food Truck

Photo courtesy of
‘9th Street Italian @ Taylor Gourmet, DC’
courtesy of ‘Plantains & Kimchi’

Today, you’re in luck: there are TWO free food alerts.

If you’re down on H st. NE, DC United is giving out free Taylor Gourmet hoagies today from 12-1 PM. The 6-inch hoagies are in honor of the 4th of July and for DC United’s game against the Philadelphia Union on Saturday at RFK Stadium. Go DC United! Now grab a hoagie and let’s go show Philadelphia what we’re made of on Saturday.

If for some reason meat isn’t your thing, there’s a food truck in town from July 1st through 4th bringing you some free and meatless grub. Gardein Party, a food truck from the frozen-food producer focused on providing protein in meatless meals, will be giving out free samples at the Humane Society on 21st and L NW in Gaithersburg, MD (700 Professional Drive) today from 11 AM til 1 PM. Some of the samples include seven grain crispy tenders, the mandarin orange crispy chick’n and the ultimate beefless burger.

Gardein is doing demonstrations throughout the city, and plans on donating meatless meals to a local nonprofit (no word on which one in DC) for the first 10,000 people that pledge to give up meat one day per week for the summer. If you miss them today, they’ll also be at Freedomfest on July 3rd and 4th. I’m guessing that their twitter account will be your best bet for tracking them down.

Food and Drink, The Daily Feed

FREE FOOD ALERT: Chocolate Chip Cookies at Union Station

Photo courtesy of

courtesy of ‘Chris Rief aka Spodie Odie’

In honor of DoubleTree by Hilton Hotels’ 25th anniversary of their chocolate chip cookie, they’ll be giving out free cookies from 10 am to 6 pm at Union Station. The Cookie CAREavan from the hotel is making a stop in DC as part of their 10-week, 10,000-mile and 50-city tour and will be giving out the same cookies they give to every guest who checks in to one of their hotels.

The Cookie CAREavan tour is hopping on the food truck bandwagon and is also a sponsor of the Food Network’s The Great Food Truck Race.

So head over to Union Station today for a little sugar boost in your day or also as a perfect gift thanks to the holiday cookie delivery service they offer.

A small batch, handmade gift shows you care. Not just about the recipient, but about supporting small local businesses. We can work with you to customize so you don’t have to worry about someone not remembering who gave them the amazing cookies.

Food and Drink, The Daily Feed

FREE FOOD ALERT: Cherry Picks at Capital One Bank Branches

Photo courtesy of
‘cherry blossoms + Washington Monument’
courtesy of ‘martha_jean’

Unless you’ve got tons of free time and an expansive stomach and wallet, there’s just no way to take advantage of every cherry blossom-inspired dish at restaurants around town. So instead, you can sample some of the “Cherry Picks” this week and next at various Capital One Bank locations.

From 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM on designated dates, different restaurants will give out complimentary morsels. If you happen to be a Capital One Bank customer, then you get the added bonus of getting a free coffee or dessert when you dine at and pay with your Capital One debit or credit card at participating restaurants.

Below is the schedule for the free Cherry Picks:

Tuesday, March 29; 11:30am – 1:30pm
Capital One Branch: 1100 17th Street, NW
Featuring Litestars
 
Wednesday, March 30; 11:30am – 1:30pm
Capital One Branch: 336 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE
Featuring Zest Bistro

Wednesday, March 30; 11:30am – 1:30pm
Capital One Branch: 1800 M Street, NW
Featuring Mie N Yu

Thursday, March 31; 11:30 – 1:30pm
Capital One Branch: 2400 M Street, NW 
Featuring RIS 

Tuesday, April 5; 11:30am – 1:30pm
Capital One Branch: 901 New York Ave, NW
Featuring Againn
 
Wednesday, April 6; 11:30am – 1:30pm
Capital One Branch: 1850 K Street, NW
Featuring Cities Restaurant & Lounge

Thursday, April 7; 11:30am – 1:30pm
Capital One Branch: 1200 F Street, NW
Featuring McCormick and Schmick’s