Chef-y benefit: Remember when 15 local chefs signed on to the Fit for Hope challenge? Now their 12-week weight-loss adventure has come to
an end, and you can find out who won while dining, drinking, and raising money for
the American Cancer Society. The
Taste of Hope benefit is held at the
Carnegie Library on
Tuesday, starting at 6:30. Tickets begin at $150.
Migrate to dinner:
Belga Café hosts a Goose Island pairing dinner on
Tuesday at 6:30. The five-course meal includes dishes such as spicy Maine lobster with lobster
vinaigrette and duck confit ravioli, all paired with a different brew. Tickets are
$59 per person.
Free tequila: Need we say more? If you missed the launch of
El Centro’s
complimentary tequila and mezcal tasting last week at the new Georgetown location,
don’t fret. The series will be a regular
Wednesday feature at the restaurant from 5 to 7 through November 13. Up this week: six milagro
tequilas, including blanco, reposado, añejo, and more.
Let the Oktoberfests begin: It’s still September, but the slew of Oktoberfest celebrations are starting. Head
to the
National Harbor on
Friday and
Saturday for a festival featuring more
than 150 craft brews, wines, schnitzel, live polka, a pretzel necklace contest, and
more Germanic revelry. Tickets start at $39.
Brats and brews: If you don’t feel like going into all-out festival mode (a.k.a. dealing with large
crowds),
1905 is getting into the Oktoberfest
spirit with an afternoon tasting of
beer and sausages on
Saturday from 1 to 5. The event takes a local theme with meat from the likes of Red Apron
and brews such as DC Brau. Tickets are $30.
Hop-fest: Virginians can catch the Oktoberfest spirit at
Mad Fox Brewing Company,
which hosts a celebration on
Saturday from noon to 6 featuring hoppy IPAs and classic Oktoberfest beers. Food pairings
include pulled-pork sandwiches, pretzels, chili-butter-rubbed wings, and more. Parents,
take note: This event is billed as family-friendly, with activities for youngsters.
Champagne tastes: Get your fill of bubbles at the Grille at Morrison House on
Saturday during a Champagne dinner,
starting at 7. Chef
Brian McPherson and sommelier
Matt Carroll pair five courses with bubbly such as a 2002 Dom Perignon magnum. Tickets are $95.
Vegetarians, unite:
DC
VegFest returns on
Saturday at the
Yards Park from 11 to 6. You’ll find plenty of meatless eats—including vegan and gluten-free
options—as well as a lineup of speakers and cooking demos. A Sunday brunch with two seatings is also being hosted at
Todd Gray’s
Muse at the Corcoran with a full vegan buffet ($100 per person).
Food truck festival: Wheaton gets a taste of the Washington food truck scene on
Saturday during
Curbside Cookoff from noon to 8, featuring fare from 20-plus
food trucks. Games, live music, and beer garden round out the festivities. Tickets
are $20 and include ten craft beer tastings.
Barracks Row Fall Festival: The annual fair returns to
Barracks Row on
Saturday from 11 to 5 with a full lineup of activities. You’ll find a variety of contests,
from home brews to baked goods, street vendors, specials at local restaurants, and
more.
Get crafty: Forget needlepoint and crochet—the
Crafty Bastards festival throws down at
Union Market on
Saturday and
Sunday from 10 to 5. You’ll find an array of locally made goods from the vendors, including
many with a culinary bent such as mugs and bowls from Abby Berkson Ceramics, Blue
Ridge Cutting Board Company chopping blocks, food-inspired accessories from Inedible
Jewelry, and more. A beer garden and food trucks are on hand for shopping breaks.
Passes can be bought in advance for $5.
Crab feast: Say your official farewells to summer on
Sunday with a final crab feast at
Addie’s.
Guests will settle on the outdoor patio for unlimited Maryland crabs, spit-roasted
pig, smoked chicken, sides, and Dogfish Head brews. Tickets for the two seatings—noon
to 2 and 3 to 5—are $55.
Fall fest: Celebrate the changing of the seasons on
Sunday at
2941 during a harvest
festival from 11 to 2:30. The lineup
includes dishes like charcoal-grilled prime rib and freshly shucked oysters with an
array of beer and wine. Tickets are $65, with free entry for children ten and under.
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.
