Dog Days: It’s officially the dog days of summer, which isn’t a bad thing tonight. All EatWell DC restaurants (Grillfish, Logan Tavern, Commissary, the Heights, and the Pig) are donating 15 percent of all food and drink tabs to City Dogs Rescue.
Beer Week: DC Beer Week officially started yesterday with a brews cruise, but there are still plenty of tap takeovers, pairing dinners, brewer meet-and-greets, and specials to check out before it wraps up on Saturday. Browse our list of activities, and check in with your favorite beer bars to see what they may have up their kegs.
Restaurant Weeks: Not one but two restaurant weeks are going down. DC restaurants run their $20.12 lunch and $35.12 dinner deals Monday through Sunday, while Alexandria eateries mainly focus on dinner with three-course prix-fixe meals for $35 per person, or a $35 dinner for two. Late to the reservation game? Check out our procrastinator’s guide for dining in the District.
Celeb Signer: Food Network host Melissa d’Arabian is signing copies of Ten Dollar Dinners at the Williams-Sonoma Mazza Gallerie location on Friday at 2 PM. The cookbook will cost you more than a Hamilton—$24.95, to be exact. Pre-purchase a copy over the phone or at the store in order to get it signed.
Julia Child’s Birthday: JC is being remembered this week on the anniversary of what would have been her 100th birthday (Wednesday). We mentioned a few ongoing specials in last week’s events, including a Julia-themed lunch club at Ris and the reinstallation of her kitchen at the National Museum of American History on Wednesday. Also recently brought to our attention: an homage to Julia at the Inn at Little Washington, featuring a menu ($168 per person) filled with dishes such as lobster à l’Américaine and baked Alaska.
National [fill in the blank] Day: This week we’re celebrating rum (as a change from other healthy things, like doughnuts, tequila, and burgers). To mark the occasion, Cuba Libre offers half off all rum and rum-based drinks on Thursday during “Caippy” hour from 4:30 to 6:30 PM.
Free tastings: The Butcher’s Block hosts two gratis tastings this week. First up on Monday are Oregon wines from the Biggio Hamina Winery with winemaker Todd Hamina, who’ll focus on Pinot Noirs for the 6 to 8 drop-in tasting. Then on Friday, in honor of DC Beer Week (see above), distributor Michael Zelechoski of Hop and Wine pours craft brews like Bell’s Two-Hearted Ale and Port City Optimal Wit alongside charcuterie snacks from 4:30 to 6:30. Like the tastes? Full bottles of all of the above are available to purchase.
Crab class: Saturday, BLT Steak kicks off its celebration of soft-shell crabs with a class on how to cook the local specialty. The tutorial runs from 12:30 to 3 PM and costs $100 per person—call Lindsey Greenbaum at 202-689-8989 to reserve. It’s also the debut night of a soft-shell menu, which the restaurant will be offering through August.
Pork out: Bourbon Steak hosts its third annual Porc Out on the restaurant’s back patio on Sunday from noon to 3 PM. There’s a whole roast pig, plus pork-shoulder tacos, Red Apron sausages, Thai-style pork ribs, a War Shore Oyster Company oyster bar, and plenty of sides. For dessert: soft-serve sundaes and the infamous spiked watermelon. Tickets ($50 for food only; $60 with drinks; $40 for children 12 and under) are available through Eventbrite.
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.
