Restaurant week begins: Bethesda Restaurant Week runs Monday through Sunday. Eateries like Jaleo and Luke’s Lobster offer two-course lunches for $15, and/or three-course dinners for $30. More information and a list of participants is available online.
Book talk: Nora Pouillon, early champion of the organic foods movement in DC and pioneering restaurateur, speaks about her new memoir My Organic Life: How a Pioneering Chef Helped Shape the Way We Eat Today on Monday at 7. Head to Sixth & I for a conversation about Restaurant Nora’s forty-year history, and the importance of local food systems. Tickets ($14) are available online.
Roof party: Masa 14 opens its deck on Tuesday from 6 to 9 for hor d’oeuvres and a new spring dinner menu. Two drinks are included in the affair, and the discounted happy hour menu is also available. Vote afterwards for your favorite dish and receive a voucher for a complimentary return trip. Tickets ($25) are available online.
Beer n’ whiskey: Farmers Fishers Bakers hosts a pairing dinner on Tuesday with local brews from 3 Stars and brown liquor from Utah’s High West Whiskey distillery. Each of the five courses will be matched with a different beer and taste of rye or bourbon. Tickets ($75 per person) are available online.
Purposeful dining: Make a difference in the lives of children and adults facing HIV/AIDS, cancer, and other serious illnesses during the annual Dining Out for Life campaign. Participating restaurants like BlackSalt and Tosca pledge between 25 and 100 percent of sales to Food & Friends’ life-saving services on Thursday.
Chesapeake feast: PassionFish presents a wine dinner with seafood and produce from around the Chesapeake region on Thursday from 7 to 10. Try a local soft shell crab spider roll, Maryland rockfish, and jumbo lump crab cakes alongside Bay watershed wines. Tickets ($130) are available online.
The trucks are back in town: The monthly Truckeroo food truck festival returns to the Half Street Fairgrounds in Navy Yard on Friday. Expect the same format: food and drinks from 20-plus trucks between 11 and 11, live music, lawn games, and cold beer from the Bullpen bars.
French market: Francophiles welcome the return of Georgtown’s annual open air French Market and sidewalk sale on Friday from 10 to 5, and Saturday from 11 to 4. In addition to live entertainment, shopping sales, and family activities you’ll find foods like grilled sausages, crepes, pastries, and other Gallic eats (all priced individually). Admission is free.
Oyster festival: The 8th annual Oyster Fest goes down on Saturday at Hank’s Oyster Bar in Dupont from 11 to 3. Tickets ($80 per person) include all-you-can-eat oysters (raw, fried, and barbecued), popcorn shrimp, Old Bay fries, and onion rings, and bottomless craft draft beers.
Wine festival: Get a taste of Virginia wine at the Great Grapes Wine & Food Festival on Saturday and Sunday from noon to 6, where 20-plus vineyards offer casual tastes of their bottles. The gathering is at Lerner Town Square at Tysons 11, and easily walkable from the Tysons Corner Metro Stop (there’s also free parking). Live music, food, and a free kids area round out the fun. Tickets (starting at $25) are available online.
Beer festival: The Capitol City Spring Beer Festival returns on Saturday, with over 35 Mid-Atlantic breweries pouring four-ounce samples. The festivities run from noon to 7 at the Village at Shirlington location. Tickets are $30 for drinkers, free for attendees.
Boozy brunch: Spend Saturday afternoon sipping tequila and feasting family-style at Tico, which hosts an agave-centric brunch from 1 to 3:30. Guests start with a meal of shared plates like spicy fried chicken and green chili grilled cheese, followed by an agave tasting and seminar. Tickets ($80) are available online.
Tastes like spring: 2941 welcomes the arrival of spring ingredients on Sunday with a special seven-course dinner. Dishes include wood-grilled and braised local lamb, jumbo white asparagus with morels, and a rhubarb vacherin. Wine pairings are available, and seatings are offered between 5 to 8 ($75 per person; $150 with pairings).
And get your tickets now…
Next week James Beard Award-winning chef Sean Brock of Charleston’s Husk and McCrady’s collaborates on a dinner at Jack Rose Dining Saloon alongside host chef Russel Jones. The duo will prepare “A Night of Southern Hospitality” on Wednesday, April 29 from 6 to 9, which includes a multi-course meal, tastes of rare Stitzel-Weller whiskeys, and an open bar offering select wines, beers, and spirits. Tickets are $125, and benefit local charity Jeeps for Joy. Tickets are still available online.
