Tapas and a Wine Tasting: It’s a holiday week; might as well start it off with the first in a series of monthly wine tastings at Café Dupont from 5:30 to 6:30 PM, led by chef Silvan Kramer along with Michael Mongoluzzo of Washington Wholesale. Tastings will vary, with four half-glass pours and paired tapas ($28 per person); this one focuses on sparkling wines and dish such as foie gras with rhubarb chutney and hamachi sashimi. Call 202-483-6000 for reservations.
Independence Day: Happy Birthday, America! Even though your anniversary awkwardly falls on an Wednesday this year, we still love you and have a full lineup of festivities, dinners, and specials. And if you’re throwing or attending a backyard bash, definitely check out our recipes for Red Truck Bakery’s berry cobbler and a whole vodka-soaked watermelon from the devilish geniuses at Bourbon Steak.
Frida Feast: Oyamel celebrates the famous Mexican artist Frida Kahlo with dishes and drinks inspired by her life and paintings. Specials, starting on Friday and running through Kahlo’s birthday on July 13, include shredded pork chorizo tacos, confit rabbit leg with tropical fruit, and the Frida cocktail with El Tesoro tequila, blackberries, cucumber, and Cabernet.
Independence Day II: If you didn’t get your patriotic fix on Wednesday, chef Ryan Wheeler is a throwing a backyard-barbecue-style American feast in the alley adjoining Virtue Feed & Grain on Saturday from 11:30 AM to 9 PM. Think ribs, chicken, cornbread, tomato and potato salads, and free snow cones ($21.95 per person; $12 kids). If you’re hoping to catch the Alexandria fireworks, head there on the later side as the show begins at 9:30 PM.
Or Get Crabs: The Front Page in Dupont throws a Maryland crab fest on Sunday starting at 4:30, where $19.50 buys you a dozen crustaceans plus unlimited coleslaw and corn. And if you think endless cabbage is exciting, then you’ll also fancy Everything Crab day with half off all crabby dishes, continuing at the Dupont joint every Sunday throughout the summer.
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.
