Monday, September 27
Birch & Barley is teaming up with Sly Fox Brewery for a five-course beer dinner, with hops-friendly dishes and pairings of the Pennsylvania brewery’s beers. Brewmaster Brian O’Reilly will be on hand to talk about the beer. If you’re not up for the dinner, five Sly Fox cask ales are available at the upstairs bar ChurchKey. The dinner, $76 per person (excluding tip and tax), begins at 7. Call 202-567-2576 for a reservation.
Oneophiles can get their fix tonight in the private dining room at Georgetown’s Bourbon Steak, where chef David Varley and sommelier Julian Mayor are kicking off a three-part series of wine dinners. Tonight’s five-course meal showcases Oregon Pinot Noirs paired with such dishes as risotto with matsutake mushrooms and Chincoteague clams, and a trio of duck with pistachios and braised chard. The dinner, $135 per person, begins at 7. Call 202-944-2026 for reservations.
Tuesday, September 28
Brothers Michael and Bryan Voltaggio, Top Chef season six’s winner and runner-up, respectively, will be in the kitchen together for a big-ticket dinner—seats start at $1,000—for Share Our Strength at Bryan’s restaurant, Volt. A reception begins at 6:30, followed by an eight-course meal with wine pairings. Proceeds go to the Partnership to End Childhood Hunger in Maryland. Click here to make a reservation.
Wednesday, September 29
Againn may be known for its high-end British pub fare and array of Scotch whiskeys, but a dinner tonight is highlighting ingredients and wine from Virginia. Chef Wes Morton is teaming up with Fresh Link, a co-op of farms in the Shenandoah Valley, to create an entirely local meal (check out the menu here), paired with wines from Barboursville Vineyards. The dinner, $55 per person, begins at 7. Call 202-639-9830 for reservations.
The Old Town restaurant Brabo is leading an early-evening winetasting based on the “Judgement of Paris,” where judges performed a blind sampling of wines from France and California to determine the best producer (spoiler alert: Cali kicked derrière). National pride isn’t at stake, but wine director Leah Dedmon will lead guests through eight blind pours and explain how to analyze them. The class, $35 per person, runs from 6 to 7:30. Call 571-482-3308 for reservations.
Les Dames Escoffier is hosting a dinner and talk about modern Indian cuisine and its origins at Indique Heights, led by the restaurant’s chef and co-owner K.N. Vinod and food writer Monica Bhide. A buffet will focus on different regional cuisines and include such dishes as Malabar shrimp curry and Syrian lamb fry, along with tamarind margaritas. Tickets—$55 for Les Dames members and their guests, $65 for nonmembers—are available here or by calling 202-973-2168.
Thursday, September 30
Nearly 30 chefs—including Michel Richard, José Andrés, and two Top Chef DC contestants (Arnold Myint and Kenny Gilbert)—are gathering at the Ritz-Carlton in DC’s West End for the second annual Night of Extreme Taste, which benefits the Jerome Girardot Fund, set up in honor of the late Ritz-Carlton pastry chef. Guests can graze among savory stations and a dessert buffet, and a mixologists will stir up cocktails. A chocolate showpiece will honor Girardot, whose two young sons receive money from the foundation. The event, $125 per person, begins at 7:30. Purchase tickets here.
Georgetown Tobacco and Morton’s Steakhouse are coming together for an evening of food, wine, and quality smokes. A four-course menu on the patio at Morton’s in Georgetown is paired with Davidoff and Ashton cigars. The dinner, $125 per person, starts at 6. Call 202-342-6258 for reservations.
The International Spy Museum is digging up the hidden science behind several cocktails. Participants in the free presentation discover how gravity, surface area, pH levels, and other factors contribute to several libations, which they get to sample with hors d’oeuvres after the demonstration. The event runs from 6 to 8. Click here to register.
Friday, October 1
Vendanges, France’s fall wine-harvest celebration, comes to Washington for the third year by way of Café du Parc. French purveyors will fill the courtyard with regional wine and beer, and chefs will dish up grilled Toulouse sausages, monkfish brochettes, both sweet and savory crepes, and more. Consider it fuel for the dancing and grape stomping. The event, $20 per person, begins at 5:30. Call 202-942-7000 for tickets.
New World-wine fans will get a chance to hang out with Argentinean winemaker Luis Reginato during a dinner at Patowmack Farm. Chef Christopher Edwards is planning a seasonal menu of grilled watermelon salad, hay-smoked gnocchi, and short ribs to pair with a selection of wines, which Reginato will talk about. Dinner, $110 per person (excluding tax and gratuity), begins at 7. Call 540-822-9017 for reservations.
Saturday, October 2
The 21st annual Taste of Bethesda takes over Woodmont Triangle with 50 restaurants serving sample-size dishes. Look for sliders from BGR the Burger Joint, paella and gazpacho from Jaleo, and sweets from treat-makers Georgetown Cupcake and Just Cakes, among others. Live music, face painting, dancing, and a kid’s corner entertain between bites. The event runs from 11 to 4. Tickets for dishes are sold on-site in bundles of four ($5). Click here for more.
Sunday, October 3
Some of Washington’s best female chefs are gathering at Willow for World Fare, an indoor street-food festival benefiting Women Chefs & Restauranteurs’ scholarship and intern programs. Jamie Leeds (Hank’s Oyster Bar and CommonWealth), Ris Lacoste (Ris), Nora Pouillon (Restaurant Nora), Meshelle Armstrong (Restaurant Eve, the Maje
stic, and more), and others offer nibbles such as blue-crab spring rolls, oyster po’ boys, and miniature lobster rolls, along with a selection of cheeses, and beer, wine, and spirits. Top Chef: Just Desserts contestant and Hook pastry chef Heather Chittum is making desserts, and Top Chef season five finalist Carla Hall will emcee. A silent auction features items such as a vintage steamer trunk filled with culinary gifts and tickets to Hank’s Oyster Bar’s oyster festival. The event, $50 per person, runs from 5 to 8. Click here for tickets.
Slow Food DC and Poste are throwing an afternoon animal roast featuring Eco-Friendly Foods’ roasted goat, lamb, and pork. Birch & Barley’s Tiffany MacIsaac is preparing the sweet finish. The event runs from 3 to 7. Tickets ($25) include a tasting of each roast, dessert, and two beer or wine passes (additional drinks are $5), with proceeds going to Slow Food DC. For more information and to purchase tickets, click here.
Brasserie Beck is putting on a five-course brewmaster’s dinner with beers from North Coast Brewing. Dishes include roasted cod and sweetbreads. The dinner, $100 per person, begins at 7. All proceeds go to the Thelonious Monk Institute for Jazz’s international music-education programs. Call 202-408-1717 for 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.
