Wednesday, June 25, 2008

The Mekong and Northern Ireland. Appalachia, Mali and Scotland. Oman, Latino music and the Forest Service.

One of the joys of the annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival, which takes place today through Sunday and July 2-6 and is co-sponsored by the National Park Service, is the quirky combination of cultures being celebrated. This year's program is no exception: Archers and dancers from Bhutan, pit masters and winemakers from Texas and scientists from NASA will share space on the Mall.

The festival's Foodways program presents the opportunity to learn about such diverse creations as ema datsi, Bhutan's national dish of chili peppers and cheese over rice; brisket, sausage, chicken-fried steak and wine from Texas; and some space-age meals.

Visitors cannot sample food at demonstrations but can taste specialties from different concessions:

· Bhutanese : The cuisine is influenced by Tibet and India; this concession will be operated by Indique Heights of Chevy Chase. In addition to ema datsi, this vendor will sell nakey tshoem, a stew of shredded chicken, fiddlehead ferns and spices; and momos, or filled dumplings.

· Tex-Mex : This blend of working-class fare from northern Mexico and Texas will include steak fajitas and cheese quesadillas sold by La Mexicana Bakery of Manassas.

· Texas barbecue : Beef rules the state's 'cue scene, and it's usually dry-rubbed before cooking, with sauce on the side. Because of the state's large number of German and Czech immigrants, most Texas barbecue includes sausage. Capital Q of the District will sell platters of barbecued pork ribs, beef brisket and all-beef smoked sausage.

· Texas Vietnamese : The state's coastal fishing and shrimping industries drew many Vietnamese immigrants in the wave after the fall of Saigon in the 1970s, and Houston is home to the second-largest community of Vietnamese Americans in the United States, according to the Smithsonian. Vendor Asian Grill in Springfield will sell com ga xao sa ot (chicken with lemon grass and chili peppers), ban bao (steamed pork buns) and more.

Smithsonian Folklife Festival on the Mall, today through Sunday and July 2-6, 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. daily. Evening events at 6 p.m. Free admission. Go tohttp://www.folklife.si.edu.