Monday, July 11
Joan Nathan is at L'Academie de Cuisine to talk about her cookbook Quiches, Kugels and Couscous: My Search for Jewish Cooking in France. She'll discuss stories from the book, and guests can sample such hors d'oeuvres as cold sorrel soup and crustless quiche clafoutis with tomatoes and basil. After a lesson on making challah bread, there'll be a dinner of salmon with pearl onions, Tunisian carrots, molten chocolate cake, and Champagne and wine. For reservations ($65 for American Institute of Wine & Food members, $75 for nonmembers), contact Carolyn Margolis at 202-633-1140 or margolis@si.edu. 6:30 to 9. Click here for more information.
Janice Waugh, who writes the Solo Traveler blog, and Washington Post food editor Joe Yonan—author of the cookbook Serve Yourself: Nightly Adventures in Cooking for One—are teaming up with the Smithsonian Institute for a seminar on dining and traveling alone. They'll give tips on navigating cites and restaurants, and how to successfully shop for one at the supermarket. For tickets ($25) for the event, which runs from 6:30 to 9:15 at the S. Dillon Ripley Center Lecture Hall, click here.
Tuesday, July 12
Chef John Shields, host of the PBS series Coastal Cooking, is at Wildfire in Tysons Corner for a three-course Chesapeake crab-and-wine dinner. The event begins with a reception at 6:30 and is followed by such dishes as stacked crab salad with tomato, avocado, roasted corn, and lemon-garlic aioli; and crab-stuffed rockfish with sauce supreme and crab risotto. To make reservations ($70 per person), call Michelle Bringham at 703-442-9110.
Thursday, July 14
Happy Bastille day! There are lots of Francophile celebrations today, which you can check out in our roundup here.
The National Zoo's annual Brew at the Zoo event, which runs from 6 to 9, features samples from more than 40 local and national microbreweries, including Abita, Leinenkugel's, Starr Hill, and Port City Brewing Company. Click here to purchase tickets ($65 general admission; $50 FONZ members); a portion of sales goes toward animal care, education, and other programs at the zoo. Cash tickets are also available at the door. Visit the event Web site for more details.
Friday, July 15
Today is the start of Belgian Restaurant Week, during which nine restaurants—including Brasserie Beck, Marcel's, and Granville Moore's—and the Embassy of Belgium are hosting events. Tonight's launch features prix fixe menus at all of the participating restaurants (click here for the list). Other festivities include tomorrow's mussel competition at Eastern Market (a $5 entrance fee includes a beer and bowl of bivalves), and Belgian chocolate paired with Veuve Cliquot Champagne at some restaurants on July 18. Visit the Web site for a complete list of events.
The second Truckeroo food-truck gathering is happening today from from 11 to 9 across from the Navy Yard Metro. Get grub from the Red Hook Lobster truck, Takorean, Curbside Cupcakes, and more (click here for the full list) while listening to live tunes.
Saturday, July 16
Aspiring gardeners can check out Temple Garden's (1750 15th St., NW) open house from 10 to 4. There'll be hors d'oeuvres, based on ingredients grown and harvested from the garden, cooked by local green thumbs. There'll also be stations set up for kids to touch, see, smell, and taste the various plants grown nearby. Visit the Facebook page for more information.
Sunday, July 17
Red, White & Bleu in Falls Church is holding a cheddar-focused cheese class at 1 PM. Participants will sample eight farmstead cheddars, each with a wine pairing, and learn about the flavor profiles along with lessons on the cheesemaking process, the history of the cheese in the US, and the comeback of artisanal cheddars. For reservations ($25 per person), call 703-533-9463. Visit the shop's Web site for more details.
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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.
