We can’t think of an educational experience that could possibly be more fun than a museum devoted to cocktails. It does, in fact, exist—the Museum of the American Cocktail is inside the Southern Food and Beverage Museum in New Orleans and is currently working on setting up a permanent exhibit in New York. We’re still hoping for one on the Mall. For the time being, though, local mixologist/sommelier extraordinaire Derek Brown of Komi has teamed up with the cocktail-centric museum to offer special events around town. One of the museum’s founders is Phil Greene, a cocktail historian (and lawyer by day) who lives in Washington.

The next museum-sponsored event takes place September 9 from 6 to 7:30 PM at Mie N Yu in Georgetown. Brown and Greene will educate cocktail enthusiasts on the history of exotic cocktail ingredients and how bartenders have used them over time. Brown’s brother Tom of Cork and Mie N Yu barmaster Chris Kelley will be on hand to help demonstrate several drinks—including the Bombay Government Punch of 1964, the mai tai, the Moscow Mule, and their own original creations. They’ll also give tips on how to make out-of-the-ordinary libations at home. Naturally, this informative lesson also includes plenty of cocktail sampling.

Tickets are $50. To order online, click here or call 202-222-0948 and ask for Mike Cherner.

Mie N Yu Restaurant, 3125 M St., NW; 202-333-6122.

We’re nearing the end of the latest round of DC’s Restaurant Week, which wraps this Sunday. (Are you missing out? Many spots are offering extensions.) We want to hear your reports on from the field: Did you walk away from a schlocky green salad and lame pasta feeling ripped off? Or did your $20.08/$30.08 land you a glorious, gluttonous feast? Did a server try to race you through the meal, or give you enough time to finish each course? Where would you go back to—or avoid at all costs? Mouth off to your heart’s delight in the comments section below. 

We’ve been busily gathering menus for the upcoming Restaurant Week (August 11 to August 17), when you can land a three-course lunch for $20.08 and a three-course dinner for $35.08. Certain dining rooms—so far the list includes Dino, Ardeo, Mendocino Grille, Circle Bistro, Liberty Tavern (it will also give diners a $5 gift card that can be used the restaurant), Tosca, and Spezie, and Zola—will let customers choose their courses from their full menus (usually with a few upcharges). Other places' offerings are more limited, with just a few selections for each course. Check below for more info on menus, Restaurant Week extensions, and extra promotions. We’ll keep updating it as more restaurants have their plans nailed down.

Also be sure to check out Todd Kliman's advice on where you must (and must not!) dine during Restaurant Week.

Where do you plan on eating for Restaurant Week? Let us know in the comments—and make sure to report back on your dining experiences! Or try out our Restaurant Finder to locate that perfect dining spot.

-Updated Thursday, August 14 at 6:03 PM.  

Kevin Reading, executive chef at Nage (1600 Rhode Island Ave., NW; 202-448-8005), is a huge fan of the King. In honor of National Elvis Week—which has been celebrated every August since Elvis Presley’s death in 1977—Reading is serving up the singer’s well-known favorite sandwich, fried peanut-butter-and-banana, all month long. His rendition includes thick slices of house-made bread filled with creamy peanut butter and sliced banana, lightly fried on each side. Some Elvis-obsessed fans make the trip to Graceland every year, but we think Reading’s tribute would make the man himself proud. He’d certainly help himself to a few of the decadent $8 sandwiches.

Offered for lunch (11:30 to 2:30) through August 31.

Want to try Redwood? The newly opened spot is one of 33 eateries taking part in Bethesda's Restaurant Week. Photograph by Jasmine Touton.

The OpenTable reservation scramble is already in full gear for the District’s upcoming Restaurant Week (August 11 through 17). In the meantime, take advantage of Bethesda’s version of the dining deal—it started Monday and lasts through August 3.

At Bethesda and Chevy Chase restaurants, RW dinners are still $30—we’ve heard some grumbling about the promotion’s $5 price hike in DC—and it’s usually not as tough to score a prime-time reservation. RW lunch in Bethesda is an even better deal, with most restaurants offering two or more courses for $12 to $15. Some top choices may be booked, but last-minute cancellations abound during any Restaurant Week.

Our picks? We’d happily grab a table (and a discounted meal) at Chevy Chase’s new branch of Sushi-Ko; the recently renovated wine bar Grapeseed; or Passage to India, one of the area’s best Indian dining rooms. Other enticing options include David Craig Bethesda, Raku, Rock Creek (dinner only), Jaleo, and Faryab (dinner only). Or try out one of the newest additions to Bethesda’s dining scene: Assaggi (lunch only), Visions, and Redwood (dinner only) are all participating.

PS7's in Penn Quarter in Penn Quarter is offering Restaurant Week deals for lunch and dinner.

Update: Get Details on Restaurant Week Menus 

Ladies and gentlemen, start your OpenTable clicking. Today, the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington announced the dates and details for DC’s next Restaurant Week, which will take place from August 11 to August 17. That's when you can score a three-course lunch for $20.08 and a three-course dinner for $35.08 (a $5 jump from last year) at nearly 200 participating restaurants.

On the list this summer are Hook, Poste, Charlie Palmer Steak, Equinox, Farrah Olivia, PS7’s, the Oval Room, the Prime Rib, and Vermilion. Conspicuously absent from this round of Restaurant Week is the newly relocated Corduroy, which was known for giving RW diners full run of their regular menu. The best deals have always tended to be at the spots that let diners do just that. In the past, these have included Circle Bistro, Kinkead’s, Ceiba, Mendocino Grille, Tabard Inn, Bistro Bis, and Vidalia. 

This summer, one of DC’s most beloved historic landmarks turns the big 5-0. Ben’s Chili Bowl isn’t a monument or a museum, but it might as well be. Ben and Virginia Ali opened “the Bowl” as newlyweds on August 22, 1958. At the time, its U Street location was in the middle of DC’s “Black Broadway,” and jazz greats like Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald, and Nat King Cole were known to stop by for one of Ben’s famous chili dogs.