Monday, March 21
What do beer and whiskey have in common? They’re both traditionally aged in barrels. Beer guru Greg Engert is leading a dual tasting at ChurchKey. Participants will try Superstition Scotch from the Isle of Jura, Willett Pot Still Reserve Bourbon, and Rendezvous Rye as well as three barrel-aged brews: Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout, Brewdog Paradox Springbank cask ale, and Dominion Millennium Oak-Aged Brett. The tasting ($35 per person) begins at 7 and is accompanied by hors d’oeuvres. Visit the event Web site for more information, and call 202-567-2576 for reservations.
Sharpen your knife skills at Open Kitchen in Falls Church, where chef Jackson Yordon is teaching a hands-on class from 6:30 to 9:30. The lesson covers both basic cuts and eye-catching flourishes as well as knife safety and care. Participants will practice on fruit, vegetables, meat, and fish, which chef Yordon will then prepare for the class meal. Reservations ($79 per person) can be made on the Open Kitchen Web site.
Tuesday, March 22
Basketball may be the focus this month, but football fans can get their fix at Morton’s in downtown DC during the Lunch With a Legend series, a reception and three-course lunch with ESPN radio hosts Thom Loverrro and Kevin Sheehan and NFL MVP and Redskins running back Larry Brown. Start off with a Caesar salad followed by a choice of steakhouse staples (broiled salmon, chicken Christopher, filet mignon) and cheesecake for dessert. The lunch ($40 per person) runs from 11:30 to 2, and reservations can be made by calling 202-955-5997. Visit the Morton’s Web site for more details.
The Washington Wine Academy explores the central ingredients in beer—hops, barley, and yeast—in a three-part seminar. Tonight’s class explores the role of barley in beer making, how the grain affects the drink, and how it has been treated in brewing throughout history. Guests will sample six beers, including Stone Pale Ale, Bells Amber Ale, and Schlenkerla Märzen, a smoked brew. The class begins at 7:30 at the Wine Academy’s education center in Crystal City (1201 S. Eads St., Arlington). For reservations ($58 per person), go to the Wine Academy Web site. The class doesn’t cover basics, so a general knowledge of brewing is recommended.
Wednesday, March 23
Dino is hosting a ten-dish farm dinner with the owners of Tree & Leaf in Unionville, Virginia, at 6:30. The menu may change due to weather and harvest, but dishes tentatively planned include stuffed veggie rolls; steak Florentine; a trio of salads; and a trio of pastas with mushroom cannelloni with mixed escarole, chard cannelloni, and risotto with greens. An all-vegetarian tasting is available. For a full menu, click here. For reservations ($50 including tax and gratuity for vegetarian, $65 with meat), call 202-686-2966.
Thursday, March 24
The Environmental Film Festival in the Nation’s Capital, which runs through March 27, includes several food-focused documentaries. These include School Days With a Pig, a film about Japanese sixth-graders raising a piglet for slaughter over the course of a year; A Community of Gardeners, which focuses on the history of home gardening in the US and Washington; Planeat, a documentary on the West’s love affair with meat and dairy and its ramifications; and Truck Farm, about two filmmakers who planted a garden in the bed of a pickup truck. Visit the Web site for a full list of films. Most are free.
Friday, March 25
Head to the Newseum from 8 to midnight for Smirnoff cocktails, dinner from Wolfgang Puck Catering, and a spin through the galleries and on the dance floor. The even, hosted by Brightest Young Things, includes music from ESL DJs Nikodemus and Ancient Astronauts. Click here for tickets ($15 for entrance; food and drink extra) and for more information. Tickets purchased closer to the event are $20.
Help kids learn to love reading while you nosh on dishes from ten restaurants at the Of Wine & Words fundraiser for the nonprofit the Reading Connection. The event, at the Boeing Conference Center in Arlington from 5:30 to 9:30, includes food from Liberty Tavern, Ping Pong Dim Sum, and Willow, as well as winetastings from Chateau O’Brien at Northpoint. There’ll also be music and a silent auction. For tickets ($75 per person; $35 for volunteers), go to the Reading Connection Web site.
Saturday, March 26
Washington’s annual National Cherry Blossom Festival kicks off today, and we have the details on the best places to sip sake, eat sushi, and enjoy festival-themed food and drinks.
If you’d like to celebrate cherry-blossom season at home, learn to prepare a festival menu at TenPenh from 11 to 1. Chef Bob McGuire is demonstrating dishes from the restaurant’s cherry-blossom tasting menu, such as duck confit with wild-cherry gyoza as well as pan-seared black grouper with scallion-crab crepe and black-bean sauce (a full menu is here). After the demonstration, guests will sit down to a four-course meal with sake and wine pairings. For reservations ($75), call 202-408-0201 or e-mail jillian@passionfoodhospitality.com.
At Cork Market & Tasting Room, learn about food-and-wine pairings in the last of the wine-fundamentals series. Guests will learn how to build a menu of food-and-wine duos and taste several varietals with hors d’oeuvres. The class, which runs from 2 to 3:30, is $55 per person. E-mail classes@corkdc.com to sign up.
Sunday, March 27
It’s true March Madness at Red, White & Bleu in Falls Church when five cupcake flavors are paired with five wines and five beers to determine whether which booze is better with the dessert. Faceoff times are at 1, 2, and 4 ($20 per ticket). For reservations, call 703-533-9463, and click here for more information.
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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.
