Supper club returns: Chez Le Commis is back on Monday, popping up at Le Bon Cafe on Capitol Hill. Reservations have already been booked for the first session, but at 8:30 the doors open for a first come, first served four-course meal ($60, $90 with wine pairings). Don’t feel like waiting? Try cassoulet to go starting at 6:30 ($20 for a two-person serving).
Week of booze: RAMW launches its second annual Cocktail Week on Monday. More than 55 Washington restaurants participate, preparing specialty cocktails paired with bites (price varies) through Sunday. Check out the full list of eateries and what they’re serving on the event page.
Cookbook party: Award-winning chef Sean Brock of Charleston restaurants Husk and McCrady’s heads to America Eats Tavern on Tuesday for a dinner surrounding the release of his new cookbook, Heritage. The meal ($60 per person) begins at 6:30 and includes dishes prepared from recipes in the book—guests take home a copy—as well as Trump Winery wines.
The three Fs: Those would be “funky,” “foraged,” and “fermented,” the theme of a nearly weeklong dinner series at Boundary Road beginning on Tuesday. The kitchen offers a mushroom, cheese, and beer pairing ($30)—such as grilled lobster mushrooms, cabra la mancha cheese, and a five-ounce brew—starting at 5:30 nightly. No reservations required.
Get in the spirit: Wisdom barman/owner Erik Holzherr hosts a discussion and book signing on Tuesday at 7 with author Matt Teacher to mark the release of Teacher’s new work, The Spirit of Gin: A Stirring Miscellany of the New Gin Revival. Learn more about the spirit while sipping a specialty flight put together by the duo.
Welcome, Deschutes: ChurchKey welcomes Oregon’s Deschutes Brewery to Washington on Tuesday by offering six of its drafts, including chef José Andrés‘s collaborative Zarabanda beer. Stop in for the brews starting at 6, which can be paired with cheeses and desserts all evening.
Duck dinner: Chef Dean Gold hosts a quack-tastic meal on Wednesday at Dino’s Grotto, where guests get a ten-tasting duck dinner with duck rillettes and pastrami, duck-schmaltz matzo soup, duck Bolognese, and more. Various seatings from 6 to 9:45 are either $79 or $89, all-inclusive, plus optional beverage pairings.
Winemakers on site: The team behind Sonoma’s Idle Cellars visits Republic for a five-course pairing dinner on Wednesday at 7 ($80 per person). Each dish, such as hamachi crudo or braised short ribs with roasted mushrooms, is paired with a different glass of vino.
Beaujolais est arrivé: Washington welcomes the arrival of Beaujolais Nouveau this week. Two great dining options for celebrating the annual release of the French wine on Thursday: Central and Mintwood Place. The latter offers $10 glasses and $40 bottles alongside belly-warming boeuf bourguignon made with the vin, priced at a happy hour discount all night. Over at Central, guests can sip two kinds of Beaujolais as well as pick from a list of discounted Burgundies. The kitchen offers an à-la-carte pairing menu, with dishes such as crispy pork belly with braised green lentils and crepes Suzette. The promotion runs through Saturday. Feel more like a party? Head to Malmaison at 9, which throws a vintage-style soiree with French music, dancing, and an open Beajolais bar.
An evening chez Prune: Gabrielle Hamilton, chef/owner of New York’s famed Prune and author of Blood, Bones, and Butter, spends an evening with guests at Buck’s Fishing and Camping on Thursday. The meal, cohosted by Politics & Prose, is held in conjunction with her new cookbook, Prune. Chef Amy Brandwein prepares recipes from the book. Tickets start at $150, and include a copy of the book.
Sweet conversation: Cookbook author Dorie Greenspan appears at Sixth & I on Thursday at 6 to discuss her new work, Baking Chez Moi, and sign copies. Tickets are $15, or get two free passes with the $40 purchase of the book.
Free food: Delaware-based sandwich chain Capriotti’s celebrates the one-year anniversary of its inaugural Washington location on Friday with a lunch giveaway at the M Street spot. The first 50 people in line at 11 receive a free Bobbie (Thanksgiving-style turkey). And yes, you may see Joe Biden.
Winter beer fest: The DC Craft Beer Festival arrives at the Washington Convention Center on Saturday, with 75 breweries offering tastes of more than 150 local and national brews. Tickets can be purchased for two sessions—2 to 4:30 or 7 to 9:30—and range from $49 to $110 for VIP experiences.
The leftovers: Far less troubling than the Guilty Remnant, but still problematic: Thanksgiving leftovers. Blue Duck Tavern is here to help with a class on Saturday that teaches guests how to turn day-old dishes into a feast of turkey dumpling soup, pumpkin pie milkshakes, and more. Tickets are $65, which includes tastes of several holiday dishes.
Tons of truffles: Sample the luxurious mushrooms at a fairly affordable price during Seasonal Pantry‘s Dine and Dash on Sunday. Chef Dan O’Brien prepares house-made fettucine with butter sauce and white truffles for $35, plus an optional glass of wine for $5. Seating is limited to 12 at a time between noon and 9, so call early for reservations.
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.
