Belgian Restaurant Week: The fourth annual Belgian Restaurant Week starts Monday, spearheaded by Belga Café and B Too chef/owner Bart Vandaele. You’ll find a number of specials and events throughout the festival—which ends on Belgian National Day this Sunday—at eight local restaurants, including spots such as Brasserie Beck and Granville Moore’s. Head out to the eateries for half-price mussels and beers on Tuesday, happy hour deals on Thursday, and the big event Saturday: a mussel throwdown from noon to 3 at Eastern Market with tons of bivalves, beers, and a raffle (the big prize: two tickets to Brussels).
Steakhouse summer special: BLT Steak launches a new “skirts and shorts” special on Monday. Head to the bar or patio for the deal, which includes a ten-ounce Wagyu skirt steak, truffle fries, Caesar salad, and a “short-pour” (four-ounce) flight of four beers for $35.
Happy birthday, Poste: The Penn Quarter restaurant celebrates its 11th birthday on Monday. Each diner gets gratis birthday cake for dessert, and special glasses from wine magnums will be available until the bottles run dry. Chef Dennis Marron also runs a four-course set menu through Saturday ($65 per person before pairings).
Celebrate squash: Oyamel’s annual squash blossom festival returns now through July 28 with a rotating list of specials based on flor de calabaza, sourced locally from Maryland’s Good Fortune Farm. You’ll find the blossoms atop chilled corn soup, stuffed with goat cheese, and more.
Best of Washington: Want to taste fare from a number of restaurants on our 100 Very Best Restaurants list in one evening while sipping from an open bar? There are still tickets left for the AT&T Best Of Washington party on Wednesday at the National Building Museum. Tickets are $125 general admission and $175 for VIP, which gets you early entry—meaning first access to all the eats.
Smithsonian summer series: The National Museum of American History launches a summer series on Thursday called Food in the Garden. Each Thursday through August 15 (Julia Child’s 101st birthday) you’ll find a different locally focused panel discussion paired with two Green Hat gin cocktails and food from nearby farms (all included in the $20 ticket price). Up this week: Heirloom Foods 101.
Unlimited eats and drinks: The Clarendon branch of American Tap Room throws a backyard party on Thursday from 7 to 9 with all-you-can-eat small bites and beers for $30. Each of four brews will be paired with tastes such as mini andouille dogs and tuna tartare tacos.
Doggy brew benefit: Get your beer-and-four-legged-friend fix on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday at Baying Hound Aleworks, which teams up with City Dogs Rescue for a tasting and benefit at the Rockville brewery starting at 5 on Friday. The $20 tickets get you six three-ounce beer pours with partial proceeds going toward CDR, who’ll be present with adoptable pooches. You can also BYO—dogs, not beer.
Deli cooking classes: Learn to cook like a Jewish grandmother—or chef Barry Koslow—at a new series of deli-focused cooking classes launched by DGS Delicatessen. The first is Saturday at 4, themed around pickling summer vegetables, mushrooms, and eggs, as well as classic half-sours and dill pickles. Next up: cured, smoked, and pickled fish. Classes are $30, or $75 for all three, and include light bites and sparkling wine.
Farm dinner: Head out to East Lynn Farm in Round Hill, Virginia, on Saturday for a farm-field dinner featuring television personality and cookbook author Pati Jinich. You’ll start at 5 with a farm tour, followed by cocktails and dinner from Jinich’s new cookbook, Pati’s Mexican Table. Tickets are $150.
South American special: Vinifera continues its “world tour” dinner series with a stop in South America on Saturday. A set menu with optional wine pairings is available from 6 to 10 ($50 for dinner; $75 for the meal with pairings).
Ice cream social: Union Market hosts the third annual ice cream fest, DC Scoop, on Sunday from 1 to 4. The kid-friendly event includes tastes of cold treats from Dolcezza, Goodies Frozen Custard, Dolci Gelati, and more, plus live music, ice-cream-making demonstrations, and a children’s ice cream eating contest. The event is free (including samples!), with full-size treats sold individually.
Happy birthday, Hemingway: Bar Pilar celebrates Papa’s birthday on Sunday with a number of all-day specials themed around the author. Come for ropa vieja, and stay for Ernest’s favorite daiquiris (or any booze, really).
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.
