DC Meat Week: The porkiest, beefiest seven days in the District goes down on
Monday with the start of DC Meat Week 2013.
Participants hop around to different restaurants, such as Hill Country and Pork Barrel BBQ for barbecued treats, or taste along as ’cue trucks battle it out at the LivingSocial
event space on Friday at 6. Certain stops require advance registration/pay, while others are just
drop-in, so check out the full schedule to plot your carnivorous strategy. Vegetarians,
don’t worry—you’ll have your revenge next week with DC Meat-Free Week.
Happy birthday, Inn at Little Washington: One of our area’s biggest dining destinations celebrates its 35th birthday on
Monday (and if you’ve seen our just-released 100 Very Best Restaurants issue, you know Patrick
O’Connell and his dancing crew are doing better than ever). A special menu marking the past three and a half decades with the most popular dishes from each is
available for $178. Too late to drive out to the other Washington tonight? The special
offer is also available on Wednesday and Thursday. Call 540-675-3800 for reservations.
Fishy benefit: ProFish hosts the Snakeheads at the Harbour fundraiser on
Monday at
Tony and Joe’s from 6:30 to 10:30, with proceeds going toward the Oyster Recovery Partnership. You’ll
feast on raw oysters, sip local brews and wine, rub elbows with Redskins Hall of Famer
John Riggins, and sample a five-course menu from the likes of
Scott Drewno and
Victor Albisu with a few samples of the invasive (yet delicious) snakehead fish. Tickets ($125)
are available online.
Italian vino dinner:
Dino hosts a five-course Italian wine dinner on
Monday at 7 with
Francesco Pacenti, grandson of the Canalicchio Di Sopra winery founder, who’ll present his family’s
varietals along with the meal ($125 per person). You’ll find hearty, perfect-for-cold-weather
dishes such as cheesy potato gratin with wild mushrooms and pork in red wine sauce
over polenta. Call 202-686-2966 for reservations.
Winter wine classes:
Vinoteca launches a series of wine classes on
Tuesday from 7 to 9 in the upstairs lounge, led by sommelier
Tim Galvin. The wine master will guide guests through five to six tastings around topics like
Valentine’s Day bubbly (February 12) and Chardonnay for Chardonnay haters (February
19). First up this week: a global exploration of Cabernet Sauvignon. The classes are
limited to 20 people and cost $40 each (plus tax). Call 202-332-9463 for reservations.
Sugar & Champagne: The annual Humane Society fundraiser returns this
Thursday for a blowout bash at the
Reagan Center, starting at 7. Expect flowing bubbly, cocktails, and sweets from the city’s top
pastry chefs, as well as plenty of cute (leashed) pets. The VIP section is sold out,
but you can still get tickets ($90 per person) for the general reception.
Oyster happy hour: Head to
Urbana on
Friday from 4 to 7 for the first in a series of local oyster happy hours, to be held on
the first Friday of each month. Chef
John Critchley teams up with War Shore Oyster Company and Port City Brewing Company—which is not
stranger to seafood with its bivalve beer—for
50-cent oysters, $4 pints, and a combo of six oysters and a beer for $6.
Happy birthday, Port City: It’s a big day for Alexandria’s award-winning brewery, which also turns two on
Friday. It’s celebrating from 3 to 9 in the tasting room by tapping of a new line of smoked
imperial porter, Two, which will be available by the glass or take-home growler. The
Borinquen Lunchbox truck is serving Puerto Rican eats to pad the stomach starting
at 5.
Tamale Festival: El Centro D.F. launches its first celebration of all things tamale, the Mexican festival food of
masa stuffed with a variety of fillings.
Saturday marks the start of the fest, which runs through March 31. You’ll find specials such
as tamales filled with braised pork
mole, beans and cheese, or fried chicken with poblano salsa and pickled vegetables.
Groundhog (i.e., Bill Murray) Day: Everyone’s favorite prescient rodent returns on
Saturday, so what better way to celebrate than by watching
Groundhog Day? Get off your couch and head to
Jackson 20, which is
screening the movie throughout the day and offering specials like the gin-based Spring
Fever Fizz cocktail and groundhog burgers, thankfully not made of groundhog (substitution:
pork topped with jalapeño cheddar instead). Call 703-842-2790 for details and reservations.
Super Bowl: Love ’em or hate ’em, our neighbors the Ravens are taking on San Francisco this
Sunday at 6:30 for Super Bowl XLVII (that’s 47 for all you non-Romans out there). Stop hiding
in your Redskins shame closet and check out our recipe slideshow of 20 comfort dishes from local chefs, perfect for your party (the Vidalia mac and cheese,
for one, is a tried-and-true favorite of this author). Check out After Hours for a
roundup of bars offering Super Bowl specials,
and tune in for a restaurant roundup soon.
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.
