Monday, March 28
Sample a preview of Schlafly Beer’s soon-to-be-released House Session Ale, a dry-hopped American brew whose recipe was created for the company by beer gurus Greg Engert (Neighborhood Restaurant Group), Greg Jasgur (Pizzeria Paradiso), and Sam Fitz (Meridian Pint). The ale celebrates the introduction of the Small Brew Act, a bipartisan legislation designed to create jobs by encouraging small, domestic brewers to grow their businesses. Tastes ($2 per four-ounce sample; $5 per pint) are offered only Monday night at ChurchKey; look for a release party in the coming weeks. Call 202-567-2576 for more details.
If Monday night calls for more than one sample of suds, head to Pizzeria Paradiso in Georgetown for the third annual Tröegs beer dinner. Pairings include Parma-ham-and-buffalo-mozzarella salad with the cask ale Nugget Nectar; Hop Back Amber with roasted chicken, sun-dried-tomato pesto, artichokes, and fontina; and chocolate bread pudding with Scratch #41 Cacaoabunga Redux (a full menu is available here *PDF). The 6:30 seating is sold out, but there are seats for the 9 PM dinner ($65 per person, all-inclusive); e-mail events@eatyourpizza.com.
Area restaurants are supporting wild Alaskan Bristol Bay salmon by featuring the fish in specials through Saturday, April 2. Widespread mining development is currently proposed for the Bristol Bay watershed, which could impact that aquatic population as well as fisheries, native Alaskans, and others who depend on it. Eateries such as Brasserie Beck and Equinox are participating; for a full list of venues, click here.
Tuesday, March 29
Joe Yonan, food and travel editor of the Washington Post, is hosting a reception and dinner to celebrate his new cookbook, Serve Yourself: Nightly Adventures in Cooking for One, at the National Press Club. The five-course menu—a roster of dishes from the book—includes sweet-potato-and-orange soup with smoky pecans; warm spinach salad with shiitake mushrooms, corn, and bacon; and mahi mahi with kiwi-avocado salsa and coconut rice. The dinner ($70 for Press Club members; $93 for nonmembers), which starts at 6 PM, will have tables for singles to meet other solo diners. Call 202-662-7638 for reservations or e-mail fourthestate@press.org.
Wednesday, March 30
ThinkFoodGroup beverage director Jill Zimorski is leading diners through the history of Catalan wines during a five-course dinner at Jaleo Crystal City ($95). The small-plates menu has such dishes as crispy boneless pigs feet with seared head-on shrimp; a mini grilled sobrasada cheese sandwich with honey and Mahon; and cod with spinach, pine nuts, and Pedro Ximénez reduction. Dessert is almond cream with raspberry ice and candied lemon, paired Torres Gran Reserva ten-year brandy. To reserve a seat for the event, which begins at 7:30, call 703-413-8181.
Casson Trenor, author of Sustainable Sushi, is hosting a book signing, lecture, and dinner at National Geographic. The event starts with an introduction by local chef and National Geographic fellow Barton Seaver, then guests will dine on a seven-course seafood-centric meal with wine and sake. Dishes include seared skipjack tartare with spicy miso, blue-crab-and-oyster-mushroom soup, and, of course, sushi (a full menu is available here). For tickets ($100), go to the National Geographic event site.
Thursday, March 31
Chinatown Coffee Company is starting its Food Truck Thursdays happy-hour series today. A different mobile vendor will park outside the Penn Quarter coffeeshop each Thursday from 6:30 to 8:30, and customers are encouraged to bring the street food inside to soak up $3 beers and discounted wine and absinthe. Look for Asian-influenced tacos from Takorean tonight. Click here for the future lineup, which includes Red Hook Lobster truck, Fojol Bros., and Sabor’a Street.
Friday, April 1
Chef Sanjeev Kapoor, one of India’s biggest culinary stars, is holding a book signing, lecture, and dinner at Indique Heights. There’s a cocktail reception at 7, followed by a meal that includes an array of dishes from Kapoor’s latest book, How to Cook Indian. Visit the Indique Heights Web site to purchase tickets ($79 per person; $145 per couple), which include a signed copy of the cookbook.
MacArthur Beverages’ (4877 MacArthur Blvd., NW) 26th annual winemakers’ dinner and barrel tasting starts with a sparkling-wine reception at 7 PM at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, followed by a seven-course meal from chef Eric Ziebold at CityZen. Dishes and pairings include salsify agnolotti with crispy shiitakes, braised chard, and truffle jus with Larkin Cabernet Franc; and pan-roasted rib eye with spring-garlic-and-potato napoleon and bordelaise sauce alongside Kobalt Cabernet Sauvignon. There are two sessions for a California barrel tasting at the hotel Saturday from 12:30 to 3 and 6:30 to 9. Vintners such as Kamen, Paul Hobbs, and Tablas Creek are offering tastes of their 2008 and 2009 vintages (see a full list of participants here). Tickets for both events ($325 per person for the dinner; $125 for tasting sessions) are available here.
Saturday, April 2
Nine Capitol Hill restaurants are coming together for Taste of the Hill, a gala event at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church from 6 to 10 that benefits Brent Elementary School. The lineup includes Ba Bay’s savory coconut tart with shrimp salad and Vietnamese herbs, Granville Moore’s braised-brisket-and-cheddar sliders, and Matchbox/Ted’s Bulletin’s mini burgers and boozy milkshakes. (For a list of participating restaurants and menus, click here *PDF). The silent auction includes a Chinese banquet for ten and a local/sustainable feast for eight (click here to see a list of auction items). Tickets ($75) are available here.
Sunday, April 3
Kushi, in DC’s Mount Vernon Square, is hosting a fundraiser, Let’s Rebuild Japan, from 7 PM to 1 AM. The event includes DJs, a silent auction, and a special menu; all the proceeds go to Japan Red Cross. For tickets ($20 for general admission, $100 for VIP), call 202-682-3123.
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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.
