Bastille Day brought plenty of Francophile activities to Washington this weekend, but the Belgians are one-upping their neighbors with Belgian Restaurant Week. Party like a Walloon with a different event for every day.
Fuel Up on Monday
You may not catch the chefs as they bike to farms and markets for
special produce, but you can literally sample the fruits of their labor
at Tour of Belgium beer dinners. Tonight’s is at Et Voila! with dishes
and beers from the Bavik region, while a
lineup
from Ghent is rolled out tomorrow at Granville Moore’s. The full week’s schedule is available online.
Snag Discounted Mussels and Brews on Tuesday
Come hungry to eateries such as
Marvin,
Belga
Cafe,
and Brasserie Beck, which are serving half-price bowls of mussels and discount
brews.
Expand Your Chalice Collection on Wednesday
Chimay celebrates its 150th anniversary this year, so it’s feeling
pretty generous: Glasses of Rouge, Bleue, and Blanche are served in
collector glasses you can take home. Alternatively, head to Locolat for a beer, chocolate, and Genever
tasting.
Drown Your Sorrows on Thursday
There’re plenty of beer events going down towards the end of the week,
including a four-course beer
dinner
at Brasserie Beck, and Hoegaarden floats at
Belga Cafe.
Party in White on Friday
Get dressed in all white and head to any participating bar for citrusy white brews.
Attend a Moules Throwdown on Saturday
Cap off the festivities on Belgium’s independence day at Yards Park from
noon to 5 PM, where chefs show their mussels to compete for the winning
pot of bivalves. If you’ve missed all the events this week, here’s a
good chance to catch a bunch of dishes in one place, with plenty of
waffles, frites, beer-based floats, and flowing brews.
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.
