Taste The World in Fenton Village

This past Sunday, Silver Spring held its annual "Taste the World" festival. At the festival, participants are given a "passport" with a map/list of restaurants to try, and visitors go to as many restaurants as they want to try $3-$5 food samples (and yes, the restaurants stamp your passport). It was a pretty fun way to try new restaurants.
 
Sligo Cafe (Sligo Ave & Fenton Street ish)

We started off the afternoon at Sligo Cafe, a recently opened American comfort food restau. Their sampling menu featured watermelon lemonade ($3), smoked chicken ($5), and pulled pork sandwich ($5). My entire party tried the pulled pork sandwich (how couldn't we!?!), and I am happy to report that the pork was moist, sweet, and (a must in my book) spicy.

I believe we were served by the owner of the restaurant, who was running around both amazed and overwhelmed, "It's great that so many people came out, but I wish I had more people working today!" Even with this lower-budget dish, I see a lot of potential for a great meal in the future. Sligo Cafe will be seeing me again soon.

Sligo Cafe's "Taste the World" pulled pork sandwich

 

The interior of Sligo Cafe

Roger Miller Restaurant (Bonifant & Fenton Street ish)

Next, we headed over to Roger Miller Restaurant, which was a great second choice because we got to enjoy the beautiful weather and a ginger beer (mmm) on one of the four or five tables on its front patio. Serving West African cuisine in an "all you can fit into the small to-go container" style ($5) also worked out great for us, because after hitting up this place, we were supremely full. We sampled jollof rice, chicken, groundnut stew, and some greens (can't remember name). I thoroughly enjoyed the rice and the chicken. The groundnut stew, which is kind of like a Thai peanut sauce, was a little bland for my liking. This place will definitely serve its purpose (and fill you up!) for takeout dinner or an outdoor lunch; don't plan on eating in the small dining room.

A small to-go container at Roger Miller Restaurant during the "Taste the World" festival

Fenton Cafe (Fenton Street between Bonifant and Thayer)

Ready for some dessert, we made a beeline for Fenton Cafe, which serves sweet and savory crepes. The cafe featured three of its crepes (sugar and butter, nutella, and a savory one that I don't remember b/c... dessert!) at a discounted price for the festival. At this place, diners order at the counter, and are served the crepes in the small seating area (~15 seats). I ordered a Nutella crepe. It was pretty large (yay), and didn't let me down too much. After becoming addicted to Nutella crepes in Paris, I can say it's fairly easy to let me down in the crepe category. My main beef with this crepe was that they served it with Hershey's syrup on top (ohnoezzz). It definitely makes the crepe looks nice, but also takes away from the Nutella flavor. I will ask them to leave it off next time I visit. Fenton Cafe is certainly a fun place to get a quick lunch or dessert.

Nutella crepe at Fenton Cafe