Monday, February 7
Check out DC’s Meat-Free Week, which runs today through next Monday. Restaurants, bars, and food trucks are dishing up vegetarian foods each day, and there are seminars, book signings, and chef meet-and-greets. Nage restaurant, home of “meatless Mondays” year-round, is serving a five-course vegan tasting menu tonight ($45 per person). Half the proceeds go toward meat-free Fridays at Miriam’s Kitchen. Call 202-448-8005 for reservations.
Tuesday, February 8
Belga Café chef/owner Bart Vandaele is teaming up with winemaker Jean Trimbach for a five-course dinner that’s meant to simulate touring the grounds of the Alsatian Maison Trimbach-Grands estate. Start “in the foyer” with an hors d’oeuvre of ham terrine with grain mustard, move on to “the kitchen” with poached lobster, and finish in “the cellar” with soft-rind cheese and red wine (a full menu can be seen here). The dinner, $79 per person), starts at 6:30. Call 202-544-0100 for reservations.
Wednesday, February 9
Morton’s Tysons Corner is holding a seminar-style wine class led by sommelier and beverage manager Sara Fasolino. From 6 to 7:30, guests will sample and learn the tasting properties of six international wines and will snack on hors d’oeuvres such as tomato-basil crostini and petit-filet sandwiches. At the end, each guest is given a certificate of class completion. Reservations, $52 per person, can be made by calling Kathy Boone at 703-883-0800.
Thursday, February 10
As part of Planet Wine’s women-only series of classes, there’s a session tonight on the role of sugar in wine. Topics of discussion include how sugar creates alcohol, texture, and aromas in each bottle (sweet-tasting and not), and samples are included in the class. Call 703-549-3444 for reservations ($20 for the public; $15 for wine-club members), or visit the Web site for more information. 7 PM.
It’s the first night of the International Wine & Food Festival, which runs through Sunday. Click here for a full list of events, which includes winemaker dinners as well as chef and mixologist demonstrations.
Friday, February 11
Check out our Valentine’s Day Guide to see what restaurants are serving plus a list of events and parties for both couples and stags.
Get some pre-Valentine’s Day whoopie at Zola Wine & Kitchen from 5 to 8. The Penn Quarter shop is hosting a whoopie-pie-eating contest, where contenders risk total sugar overload for prizes such as a free cooking class for two, bottles of wine, and a complimentary lunch. Those not going for whoopie gold can join in a wine-and-chocolate tasting or frost miniature whoopie pies to take home. The event is free. Call 202-639-9463 for more details.
Through Monday, 19 Georgetown restaurants are offering two-for-$14 “love potions,” all of which include one natural aphrodisiac, such as strawberries or fresh sage. Go haute at Bourbon Steak with the Cinn City (Four Roses bourbon, bitters, and cinnamon) or drink spiked hot chocolate at Martin’s, where JFK proposed to Jackie. Click here for a list of participating locations.
Saturday, February 12
Guys who don’t know deglazing from degreasing can head to DC Coast for lessons on how to whip up a special meal for their ladies. From 11 to 1, chefs will lead male guests through a menu that includes beet-cured salmon with horseradish vinaigrette; almond-crusted grouper with bok choy and ginger-vermouth sauce; and dark-chocolate-and-bourbon soufflé with brandied-cherry coulis (click here for a full menu). For reservations ($75 per person), which include samples of the dishes, call 202-216-5988.
Sunday, February 13
Today is National Tortellini Day (who knew?). Chef Stefano Frigerio of the Copper Pot Food Company is dishing out complimentary handmade tortellini—his flavors range from red beet with goat cheese to duck confit—at the Dupont Circle farmers market. He’ll also serve sauces such as late-harvest tomato and smoky bacon (we featured the latter in Recipe Sleuth). The tasting runs from 10 to 1.
Bourbon Steak is warming up its outdoor patio with fire pits and space heaters for its winter fete. Food options include barbecue-pork mac and cheese, braised short ribs, and duck rillettes. Mixologists Duane Sylvestre and Jamie MacBain are serving spiked cider, hot chocolate, and hot buttered rum. The guest with the best ski hat wins a pair of Ugg boots. The event, from noon to 3, is $70 per person (including tax and gratuity). Visit the Web site or call 202-944-2026 for details and reservations.
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Anna Spiegel covers the dining and drinking scene in her native DC. Prior to joining Washingtonian in 2010, she attended the French Culinary Institute and Columbia University’s MFA program in New York, and held various cooking and writing positions in NYC and in St. John, US Virgin Islands.
