Monday, April 11
Thai Restaurant Week, sponsored by the Thai Embassy, starts today and runs through Sunday, April 17. Lots of restaurants in DC, Maryland, and Virginia are offering either special menus or 10 percent off the entire meal. Click here for a free-appetizer coupon and a list of participating restaurants.
Tuesday, April 12
The annual Embassy Chef Challenge is a competition among more than a dozen embassy toques that raises money for Cultural Tourism DC. The event, 6:30 to 10 at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, also includes a silent auction of such items as cooking classes and foreign trips. For more information and to purchase tickets ($250), click here.
It’s Ben & Jerry’s free-cone day. Stop into any location for a free ice-cream cone.
Wednesday, April 13
Starting Monday and running through Sunday, 11 restaurants on Bethesda Row are offering Spring Restaurant Week specials: $15 three-course lunches and $30 three-course dinners. The list of places includes Jaleo, Raku, and Assaggi Mozarella Bar. Click here for more information.
Thursday, April 14
Rocklands Barbecue and Grilling Company in Arlington is hosting its fourth annual Shed Your Coat fundraiser for Doorways for Women and Families, a Northern Virginia-based nonprofit that helps domestic-violence victims. Bring a nonperishable food item and/or used coats in good condition, and Rocklands will have a roasted 98-pound pig to carve up for sandwiches. Customers are encouraged to bring their dogs; Thursdays are Doggy Yappy Hour at Rocklands. $5 suggested donation. Click here for more information.
Cindy Packard Richmond, who used to write about food, now paints pictures of it. Through May 2, she has a solo exhibit, “Food, Glorious Food,” at the Art League in Alexandria. There’s an opening reception tonight from 6:30 to 8. Free. For more information, click here.
Friday, April 15
Screwtop Wine Bar in Arlington is hosting a Meet the Winemaker event with Rita Ferrier of Conceito Winery in Douro, Portugal. The two seatings—5:30 and 6:45—include five wine-and-cheese pairings. The cost is $19.99, or $14.99 for Screwtop Wine Club members. To RSVP, e-mail wendy@screwtopwinebar.com.
Saturday, April 16
Hank’s Oyster Bar is hosting its annual Oysterfest from 11 to 3 at both the DC and Old Town locations. Tickets ($75), which must be purchased in advance, include all-you-can-eat oysters—both raw and barbecue—as well as a selection of craft beers. For DC tickets, call 202-462-4265; for Old Town, call 703-739-4265.
Chef Peter Smith and cocktail whiz Gina Chersevani of PS 7’s are holding a joint cooking class, One Nation Under Bacon. Smith will show participants how to clean and cook a pig, and Chersevani will pair cocktails with the pork products. The class ($100) starts at 11. There’s a pig roast ($95) that night with optional cocktail pairings ($50). For reservations, call 202-742-8550.
The Heights in DC’s Columbia Heights is also hosting a pig roast. To celebrate its new summer menu, the restaurant will slow-roast a Maryland-sourced pig—marinated in beer and honey, smoked over charcoal and applewood—starting at noon and ending when the food runs out. Specials today include pulled pork with corn pancakes and jalapeño-and-lime sour cream. For reservations, call 202-797-7227.
Sunday, April 17
The Smithsonian Food as Craft show is at the National Building Museum starting at 1:30. There’ll be a panel discussion and tasting with Sally Swift, managing producer of American Public Media’s The Splendid Table; panelists are cookbook author Joan Nathan, chef Fabio Trabocchi of the brand-new Fiola, Washington Post food and travel editor Joe Yonan, and Persian-cuisine expert Najmieh Batmanglij. For tickets ($45), click here.
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