Delaware is the main course at Washington food event

WASHINGTON - When Sen. Chris Coons took office in 2010, he noticed something was missing from the Capitol Hill party scene: There was no bash showcasing the great state of Delaware and its cuisine.

Vermont has a party. So does Hawaii. And New York has several.

Coons took matters into his own hands. He and his staff rustled up some longtime favorite, and iconic, Delaware culinary delights  — Grotto Pizza, Capriotti's subs, six-packs of Dogfish Head beer — and threw a small, impromptu get-together in a conference room in the Russell Senate Office Building on Constitution Avenue.

Free food and drinks, always hard to resist, attracted others. From that humble beginning, a new tradition was born.

The annual party, hosted by Coons and the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce and open to the public, now brings several hundred people to the building's Kennedy Caucus Room. It is usually held near or on Dec. 7, also known as Delaware Day, which honors the day in 1787 when Delaware became the first state to ratify the Constitution.

It's also a way of showing off what Delaware has to offer, all in one room, that's not actually in Delaware.

This year, more than 20 Delaware establishments, including purveyors of food, beer, baked goods and distilled spirits,  plus culinary students from Delaware Technical Community College and Delcastle Technical High School, presented sips and munchies at the Sixth Annual Taste of Delaware.

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"I like coming," said Billy Rawstrom of Maiale Deli and Salumeria in Wilmington, who offered everything from homemade turkey sausage with drunken cranberries to bacon cheeseburger sausage.

"It's good to get out and expose what we do. Delaware's not the largest state, but we have so much to offer. I like to see the different chefs and see what they're doing. It's a prestigious event."

Rawstrom said, however, he decided early on that one topic of conversation would be off the table: No chatting about politics in the world's most political city.

"I don't share my views with anyone," he said.

Some attendees to the D.C. event were newcomers like Delaware natives Alex Sianni and Gretchen Brizendine, owners of De La Coeur Cafe Et Patisserie in Wilmington. The couple poured samples of their new product, Civil Cider, a hard cider that they have begun producing from honey crisp apples. The couple recently signed a lease to open a new cidery and tasting room at Fifth and Shipley streets in downtown Wilmington. They hope to welcome patrons either summer or fall 2017.

Sianni said he and Brizendine were invited to the event by a staffer from Coons' office who frequently dines at De La Coeur Cafe. Sianni said it was the perfect showcase for the new business.  "We're happy to be here," he said.

Doug Ruley, corporate chef for the SoDel Concepts restaurant group based in Rehoboth Beach, has been coming to the party for several years. He and staffers from SoDel's newest restaurant, Matt's Fish Camp in Lewes, offered bites of pastrami-cured steelhead trout with apple sauerkraut, mustard seeds and rye crumbles.

"It's an honor to come to Capitol Hill and just showcase what our small state can do," Ruley said.

J. Burke Morrison, director of sales and marketing for Twin Lakes Brewing Co. in Newport, handed out cups of the company's signature Twin Lakes Pale Ale and Jubilicious, a hearty, seasonal ale.

"We're all about Delaware history and just the fact that Sen. Coons sent an invitation to us, it's an honor," Morrison said. He said participation in Taste of Delaware over the past few years has helped build the company's brand.

"We've been seeking a lot of interest on our website from outside the state. It's a lot of 'Hey, I had your beer. Where can I get it?' "

Morrison said construction delays have pushed back the opening of the brewery's new tasting room 405 E. Marsh Lane in the Newport Industrial Park. While owners had hoped to open this fall, the tasting room is now scheduled for a February opening.

During the more than three-hour cocktail party, some of Delaware's business and political leaders chatting and chewing included Chip Rossi, Bank of America's Delaware Market President, as well as Rep. Pete Schwartzkopf, D-Rehoboth, speaker of Delaware's House of Representatives, and Delaware Technical Community College President Mark Brainard.

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Political wonks looking for big names had to come much later to the party that started earlier than its scheduled 4 p.m. start. For a while, the biggest Delaware celebrities in the room seemed to be Wilmington Blue Rock mascots, Mr. Celery and Rocky Bluewinkle.

The majority of the party guests seemed to be young Capitol Hill aides loading up on the gratis eats.

"Did you have that cookie? It's kind of hard," said one well-dressed man to his friend.

"Yeah, it is," said the friend. "But, it's OK. It's free,"

While there was talk that Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders would be making an appearance as well as New York Sen. Chuck Schumer and Sen. John McCain of Arizona as well as Delaware's own congressional delegation, a celebration nearby for Vice President Joe Biden by his former Senate colleagues went well over its scheduled hour of tributes and delayed some expected guests.

But then Gov.-elect John Carney strolled in and was greeted enthusiastically by the crowd. Asked if he should be called Congressman or Gov. elect, Carney joked, "Just call me John."

He was soon followed by Sen. Tom Carper, who said his favorite Delaware food is the "whole grain blueberry pancakes I make at home."

At home? "At home," he said. Does his plate ever include scrapple, one of Delaware's best-known foods?

"I think it's probably more turkey sausage," Carper said, chuckling, "I think the scrapple people are going to be mad at me."

Sen. Coons, who came to the party along with not-so-surprise guest Vice President Biden, joked that everyone attending can easily become an honorary Delaware resident.

"Just a little bit of Dogfish Head, some Painted Stave and some Capriotti's and you can be a Delawarean, too," Coons said.

Contact Patricia Talorico at (302) 324-2861 or ptalorico@delawareonline.com and on Twitter @pattytalorico