Monday, November 3
A five-course wine dinner at Corduroy (1122 Ninth St., NW) highlights eight different wines selected by Danny Haas of Vineyard Brands. The dinner starts at 7 and costs $100 per person. Call 202-589-0699 for reservations.
Tuesday, November 4
After you vote, stop by Lia’s (4435 Willard Ave., Chevy Chase) or Chef Geoff’s (3201 New Mexico Ave., NW; 1301 Pennsylvania Ave., NW) for an election-night happy hour. Election coverage will be featured on all restaurant TVs, and the bars will serve Ciroc O’Pomas ($5) and McCain Mojitos ($5). The happy hour goes from 4 to 10. Call Lia’s at 202-262-0232 or Chef Geoff’s at 202-237-7800 (New Mexico Ave. location) or 202-464-4461 (Pennsylvania Ave. location) for more information.
Grab a glass of wine or Champagne and wait for the returns to come in at Cork (1720 14th St., NW). The wine bar will show election coverage on a wide-screen TV and stay open later than usual so guests (we hope) don’t have to go home wondering who won.
At Dino (3435 Connecticut Ave., NW), voters can tune into NPR’s election-night broadcast and get a free American-themed cheese plate featuring Jasper Hill’s Constant Bliss and Sweet Grass Dairy’s Double Cream (bring proof of voting). Call 202-686-2966 for more.
Click on for more election-related events and food promotions.
Wednesday, November 5
Tired of mixing Coke and ginger ale into your cocktails? TasteDC’s “Mastering Spirits” series presents “Bourbon 101” at the Embassy Row Hilton (2015 Massachusetts Ave., NW). Bill Thomas, owner of Bourbon in Adams Morgan and Glover Park, will teach you how to choose and use the right type of bourbon for your taste. The class costs $65 and starts at 7. Call 202-244-3700 for reservations.
Thursday, November 6
Forget lunch? Head to the closest Rocklands Barbeque (Glover Park, Alexandria, Arlington, and Rockville). To prepare for the holiday season, Rocklands is offering free tastings of its red-oak-and-hickory-smoked turkey between 11 and 2. Customers have until November 25 to order their holiday birds, which range from $59.99 to $99.99 and feed eight to 16 people.
Does your nose need training? Former Maestro sommelier Vincent Feraud continues his series of wine classes with a blind tasting at the Ritz-Carlton Tysons Corner (1700 Tysons Blvd., McLean). Learn how to recognize different terroirs while eating small dishes prepared by chefs Jeff Sklaney and Gael Cruchet. The event, which runs from 6:30 to 8:30, costs $110 per person. Call 703-917-5496 for reservations.
Friday, November 7
Is the cold weather getting you down? Head to the cider happy hour at Equinox (818 Connecticut Ave., NW) from 5 to 7 for creative cocktails ($10 to $11), made with warm Shenandoah Valley apple cider, and free appetizers. For reservations and more information, call 202-331-8118.
Saturday, November 8
Good Taste presents a Southwestern-themed Thanksgiving cooking class at Glenfiddich Farm Cookery (17642 Canby Rd., Leesburg) hosted by Olwen Woodier in her home, a converted stone dairy barn built in 1840. The chef will share recipes and cooking techniques using organic vegetables, herbs, fruits, and free-range chickens from her farm, and Woodier’s husband, ceramic artist Richard Busch, will lead a tour of his pottery studio. After the tour, guests will head to the Notaviva Vineyards for a wine tasting. The day begins at 9 and costs $119 per person. For additional information, call 540-822-5000.
Saturday, November 8 and Sunday, November 9
The Food Network gang—Paula Deen, Bobby Flay, Giada de Laurentiis—and lots of local chefs will be at the DC Convention Center (801 Mount Vernon Pl., NW) for the Metropolitan Cooking & Entertaining Show. Activities include chef demonstrations, food and wine tastings, book signings, and a special children’s area. Advance tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for children; tickets bought at the door are $25 for adults and $13 for children. Additional tickets are required for activities. Visit metrocooking.com for tickets and more information.
Sunday, November 9
The Women Chefs and Restaurateurs organization will honor the area’s top women of food with Crowning Cuisine, a reception at Willow (4301 North Fairfax Dr., Arlington). You’ll meet some of the area’s prominent female chefs and sommeliers, including Nora Pouillon of Restaurant Nora and Barbara Black of Black Restaurant Group, and sample some of their favorite hors d’oeuvres. Guests have the chance to win door prizes, ranging from dining certificates to bottles of wine to the grand-prize, a 12-month personal-chef experience including cooking lessons and private meals. The event, which runs from 5 to 8, is $35 per person. Call 877-927-7787 or click here for tickets.
Drinking is good. For a cause? It's even better. Old Town speakeasy PX (728 King St., Alexandria) hosts Cocktails for a Cause, during which mixologists such as PX's Todd Thrasher, Tippling Brothers' Tad Carducci, William Grant & Sons' Charlotte Voisey, and Komi's Derek Brown take turns behind the bar making craft cocktails. For $50, guests can enjoy five handcrafted drinks and hors d'oeuvres. All proceeds, including tips, benefit the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. For reservations and more information, call 703-299-8384.
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