Monday, June 21, through Sunday, June 27
More than 30 restaurants are featuring special children’s menus during Kids Restaurant Week. Each child is charged his or her age (for example, 11 year olds pay $11). Young diners at Taberna del Alabardero can tour the kitchen and pose with the chef, and Acadiana is handing out a balloon with the meal. The promotion is valid from 5 to 6:30. For our preview of the event and a full list of participating restaurants, click here.
Monday, June 21, and Tuesday, June 22
The Cleveland Park Italian restaurant Dino is reprising its ten-course “Everything But the Quack” duck dinners. The menu features such dishes as a duck bánh mì; crispy duck-thigh confit with ginger/pear mostarda; and saffron panna cotta with orange-glazed duck cracklings. Bring your own wine—there’s free corkage—or take advantage of a flight of two glasses of Brunello di Montalcino and one of Rosso di Montalcino for $40. The dinner, $55 per person, is at 7. Call 202-686-2966 to reserve.
Monday, June 21
Chocolate lovers, rejoice: The Des Alpes Chocolate Fashion Show returns to the Mandarin Oriental with outfits that are sweet—literally. Runway models sport dresses made from chocolate and other confections. The event is the centerpiece of the annual Sweet Charity benefit, which also features tasting stations from more than 40 local chefs. The event raises funds for Heart of America Foundation’s Books From the Heart Program, which collects books for needy children in Washington. The event, $95 per person, runs from 6 to 9. Call 202-554-8588 for more information.
Tuesday, June 22
White House pastry chef Bill Yosses dishes on his new cookbook, The Perfect Finish, and his time at the White House at the S. Dillon Ripley Center. Desserts will be provided by Praline and an autographed copy of the book are available for purchase. The event, $25 ($20 for members of Smithsonian’s Resident Associates program), begins at 6:45. Click here for tickets.
Prep for summer with a class on white and rosé wines at Vinoteca. You’ll sample five to seven varieties with a selection of cheeses and leave with a $5 gift certificate toward your next meal at the restaurant. The tasting, $35 per person, runs from 7 to 8:30. Call 202-332-9463 to reserve a spot.
Wednesday, June 23
The Passenger’s drink experts play teacher tonight with a class on the brandied and candied cherries that garnish classic cocktails. There’ll be drink-making demos of a Manhattan, blood and sand, Tom Collins, and an old fashioned, and you’ll bring home a jar of cherries. The class, $69 per person, begins at 7. Call 703-369-6022 to reserve a spot.
Jackson 20 hosts a five-course beer dinner featuring brews from Pennsylvania’s Yards Brewing Company. The meat-heavy menu includes citrus-cured salmon, meatloaf sliders, pine-smoked lamb chop, smoked boar loin, and rosemary/molasses-glazed pork shank. The dinner, $85 per person, begins at 6:30. E-mail Ray Manning at ray.manning@jackson20.com or call 703-842-2790 to reserve.
Chef Robert Barolin of City Square (9420 Battle St., Manassas; 703-369-6022) hosts the restaurant’s seventh annual wine dinner. Among the dinner’s five courses: Peruvian-style ceviche, halibut in mango sauce, and filet mignon. Each dish is paired with a selection from Sonoma County’s Pedroncelli Winery. The dinner, $69 per person, begins at 7. Call 703-369-6022 for reservations.
Thursday, June 24
Head to Trummer’s On Main for a wine-pairing class and four-course dinner with the restaurant’s sommelier, Tyler Packwood, who’ll talk about which wines best complement certain foods. Packwood, who has worked at the Inn at Little Washington, will choose ten wines to sample. The class, $57 per person, begins at 6. Call 703-266-1623 to reserve.
Scotch and chocolate: the best pairing you never knew worked so well. Find out why at Co Co. Sala’s tasting class, which matches a flight of three Scotches with different chocolates. The event, $65 per person (it includes a take-home gift), runs from 6 to 7:30. E-mail events@coco-dc.com to register.
Friday, June 25
Join veteran Italian chef Roberto Donna for a hands-on cooking class covering dishes from Naples and a five-course dinner with wine. The class, which begins at 7:30 and takes place at Donna’s home, has space for 14 people. The fee ($160) includes an apron to take home and a booklet of recipes. Reservations are required; learn the location of the class when you register. Call 202-257-0168 to reserve.
Saturday, June 26
Chef Brendan Cox leads a seafood-and-pasta cooking class at DC Coast. He’ll show participants how to make roasted-shrimp-and-scallop agnolotti, tomato-and-crab risotto, and more. The class, which runs from 11 to 1, is $75 per person. E-mail jillian@passionfoodhospitality.com or call 202-408-0201 to reserve a spot.
Love a good bloody Mary? In celebration of its new Saturday brunch, Firefly is offering one on the house to every person who orders from the brunch menu. Dishes include eggs Florentine; challah French toast; and quiche with spinach, Gruyère, and Virginia ham. Brunch runs from 9 to 2.
Head to the Tilghman Island Seafood Festival in Kronsberg Park (5996 Tilghman Island Rd., Tilghman) for crabs, crabs, and more crabs. The festival also offers music, dancing, crab races, and a beauty pageant. Admission to the festival is free, but bring cash for a bevy of vendors. It runs from 11 to 7.
Saturday, June 26, and Sunday, June 27
The Northern Virginia Summer Brewfest held at Leesburg’s Morven Park celebrates more than 50 American breweries with food and craft-beer tastings. Last year’s event drew more than 7,500 people. General admission on the day of the festival is $25 and $20 for designated drivers. Register early here for a $5 discount. Saturday 11 to 9, Sunday 11 to 7.
Think your smoked pork shoulder is the best there is? Enter Safeway’s National Capital Barbecue Battle (Pennsylvania Ave., NW, between Ninth and 14th sts.), where people come from across the country to compete for $40,000. The competitions include categories for beef, chicken, pork, and whole hog. There’ll be live music, and the go-go star Chuck Brown performs Saturday at 7:30. Click here for tickets ($10 general admission or $5 for children ages 6 to 12; $375 to register as a competitor). Saturday 11 to 9, Sunday 11 to 7:30.
Sunday, June 27
Hone your bartending skills at Georgetown’s Bourbon Steak, which hosts its first mixology class this afternoon. Bartender Duane Sylvestre teaches participants how to combine spirits, mixers, juices, herbs, and spices into the perfect cocktail. Snacks served alongside the drinks include black-truffle popcorn, Gun Powder bison jerky, and oak-fired burgers. The class, $95 per person, runs from noon to 2. Call 202-944-2026 to reserve your spot.
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