The magazine's Best Bargain Restaurants issue hits newsstands next week, with more than 25 newcomers nudging their way onto the annual list of 100 -- not to mention an up-close and personal look at the key players in the world of cheap eats and a celebration of some of the region's defining dishes (pho, dosas, kabobs, wats, pupusas).

With that in mind, and with food and wine editor Todd Kliman on assignment, we thought it only fitting to convene a special cheap eats panel to host Kliman Online this Tuesday, May 20, at 11.

Our guests may lack the pedigree and the publicity machine of their counterparts in the world of fine dining, but they are forces, nonetheless: Yared Tesfaye, the owner of Etete in DC's Little Ethiopia, the best Ethiopian restaurant in the region; Larry Ponzi, the proprietor and pizza-maker at Cafe Pizzaiolo, in Crystal City, home to one of the most addictive pies in town -- boutique or otherwise; and Kerry Britt, who runs KBQ in Bowie, which serves up stellar country-style 'cue and sides.

If Iceland has taught us anything, it's that a carefully orchestrated PR campaign revolving around food and spirits can put your country on the culinary map, so to speak, in a matter of minutes.

Enter Chile . . . the new Iceland? First, pisco sours started popping up on trendy cocktail menus around town—not quite as ubiquitous as mojitos, but steadily gaining ground. And now curious foodies can sample Chile's cuisine by ordering from a prix fixe dinner menu through Saturday at Ceiba. The menu—which costs $37 per person (without tax and tip) and $49 per person with wine pairings (worth it for a glass of the Montes Alpha 2005 Chardonnay alone)—is the work of Chilean chef Pilar Rodríguez, and highlights a few ingredients that remain a mystery to most American palates.

Proof server Annie Satsanapuckdee offers up the tarragon-flavored gin fizzes created by Central bartender Justin Guthrie.

There’s a holiday for just about everything these days. There’s Bunson Burner Day (March 31), National Hugging Day (January 21) and—fittingly— Make Up Your Own Holiday Day (March 26). Now there’s one to really say cheers to— World Cocktail Day. And raise your glass, because it’s today.

World Cocktail Day celebrates the first known instance of the use of the word “cocktail,” which was May 13, 1806 in the Balance, a New York newspaper. To celebrate the holiday, Penn Quarter wine bar Proof hosted a dinner last night that featured cocktails from some of the area’s most creative bartenders, including their own Sebastian Zutant, plus Derek Brown of Komi, and Gina Chersevani of EatBar. Read on for the best moments of the night.

Reason for the buzz: The dinner was a fundraiser for the Museum of the American Cocktail, which opens a permanent exhibit this July in New Orleans. 

A very happy hour: The evening kicked off with a cocktail hour that featured five specialty cocktails created just for the event. The drinks included Lady Randolph’s Revenge, a reinvented Manhattan, by John Hogan of Hudson, and the Zenzero Apertivo, a sparkling wine based drink with limoncello, ginger, and absinthe, by Chantal Tseng of the Tabard Inn.

Drink that could be the official cocktail of Ghostbusters: The Tarragon Gin Fizz by Central Michel Richard’s Justin Guthrie that was served during cocktail hour. The neon-green colored drink— Hendrick’s Gin infused with tarragon and lemon juice, then topped off with a tarragon soda that made it the color of Slimer—was far more delicious than the Green Ghost.

If you haven’t checked out the glitzy National Harbor in Prince George’s County, head over to the new riverfront complex this weekend. On Saturday, May 17 and Sunday, May 18, the inaugural Food & Wine Festival at National Harbor offers a lineup of lectures, demos, and tastings studded with local and national big-name chefs. (The Washingtonian is one of the event’s sponsors).

Michel Richard of Citronelle and Central is kicking off the festival on Saturday at noon with a demo from his glossy cookbook, Happy in the Kitchen. Stick around for a lecture on spices from Suvir Saran of Manhattan’s haute-Indian restaurant, Devi,  and a dessert demo from local pastry chef David Guas, formerly of Ceiba and Acadiana (mmm...dulce de leche cheesecake...we hope there are samples).
 

Next weekend, some of the nation’s keenest beer aficionados will be in DC. The occasion? Savor: An American Craft Beer & Food Experience. Forty-eight breweries from across the country will take part in the controlled bacchanal celebrating the art and science of pairing good beer with good cuisine. Guests will be treated to a reception of 35 food tastings, each with a suggested beer pairing. Representatives from breweries will be on hand to give seminars and talk up their favorite pints.

Every brewery that comes will be bringing one or two craft beers, each to be paired with the appetizers (supplied by Federal City Caterers). Some of the most interesting pairing ideas include Sexual Chocolate Imperial Stout with crostini of figs and prosciutto (Foothills Brewing Co., North Carolina), Liquid Sunshine Blonde Ale with steamed Thai turkey dumplings (Hoppy Brewing Co., California), and a Tartanic Scottish Ale with crème brûlée (Blackfoot River Brewing Co., Montana).

Last night, the basement ballroom of the Southwest waterfront’s Mandarin Oriental Hotel was transformed into a sweet tooth’s paradise. Pastry chefs proffered confections of every kind for Sweet Charity, an annual fundraiser to benefit the Heart of America foundation, which revitalizes libraries and collects books for DC’s at-risk children. The evening’s entertainment was a fashion show in which models—including two former Miss DCs and a few wives of Wizards players—sported outfits made of sugar and chocolate. Check out our slide show and read on for some of our favorite moments and tastes of the night:

Hungry Girl Lisa Lillien's diet includes Ooey Gooey Chili Cheese Nachos and Dreamy Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge. Photograph by Amanda Friedman.

Who: Calling all healthy eaters—but still lovers of delicious food.

What: Book signing for Hungry Girl: Recipes and Survival Strategies for Guilt-Free Eating in the Real World by Lisa Lillien. Get Lillien’s John Hancock while dining on free snacks (Vitalicious VitaTops and Fiber One bars) and asking the author which recipe she made last night.

Where: Tysons Corner Borders (8027 Leesburg Pike, Vienna)

When: Tonight (Monday) at 7:30

Why: In 2003, Lillien, a Los Angeles native, transformed her love of guilt-free foods into a free daily e-mail called Hungry Girl. The newsletter started out small, going to only 78 people; today it has more than 400,000 subscribers. Lillien has been a guest on Today and appears regularly on Extra. She also writes weekly columns on Yahoo! and WeightWatchers.com.

Her daily Hungry Girl emails include news, food finds, recipes, and weekend survival strategies. “I’m not a nutritionist; I’m just hungry,” says Lillien, who’s struggled with weight issues all her life. She’s a self-proclaimed “foodologist” on the lookout for foods that taste great but still allow you to zip up your jeans in the morning.