Free wine: Ease your way into the short week at Le Grenier, which hosts a complimentary French wine tasting on Tuesday from 6 to 8. Varietals include Laurent Perrier Brut Champagne, Famille Perrin Grenache, and more.
Rare Scotch tasting: If you’re never tried a $230 bottle of Chieftain’s Dailuaine 30-year-old Speyside Scotch, you can do so on Thursday (for much less than the bottle price). Sherry’s Wine leads a rare single-malt whisky tasting at New Heights from 7 to 8:30, featuring six varieties alongside Scotch-friendly canapés. The session can be followed by a special three-course dinner in the restaurant. Tickets are $45 and available by calling Sherry’s at 202-234-9200.
Pop-up of the week: Anju, Mandu’s monthly late-night pop-up, returns on Friday with guest chef Tim Ma (Water & Wall/Maple Ave Restaurant). As before, stop by the K Street location between 10 PM and 1 AM for a special menu of small plates, noodles, entrees, and more (between $6 and $15), plus plenty of soju.
Bivalve bash: Love oysters? Then the DC Oyster Fest is your kind of party. Rappahannock Oyster Bar takes over Dock 5 at Union Market on Saturday from noon to 5, with plenty of fresh-shucked bivalves, local beers and spirits, dishes from the likes of Red Apron, and live bluegrass music. For the brave: oyster eating and shucking contests. Tickets are $20 for adults and $5 for kids.
Food truck festival: We’ve been eating at a lot of food trucks lately, evidenced by our street eats guide in the current issue. The best place to sample a variety of mobile vendors: the Curbside Cookoff on Saturday. The festival, hosted by the DMV Food Truck Association, runs from 11 to 7 and features dishes from 20-plus trucks, local brews, a cooking competition, and awards like “best new food truck,” “best five buck bite,” and more. Tickets are $5, with edibles and drinks priced separately (children 12 and under get in for free).
Porks and brews: Indulge dual cravings at the Beer and Bacon Fest on Saturday at Woodbridge’s Potomac Town Center. The all-you-can-taste event includes 75 beers and wines, porky eats from ten restaurants including Smoke & Barrel and Rustico, and two tons of bacon. Tickets are $69 for VIP access (noon to 6), which includes unlimited food and drinks; $39 for beer-only tasting; free for kids under 12 (note the disclaimer: “this event is not designed for children”).
Happy beery birthday: Atlas Brew Works celebrates its one year anniversary on Saturday with—you guessed it—lots of beer. Head to the brewery in Northeast, DC between 1 and 5 for the festivities, which involve live music, food truck fare, and Atlas brews. Tickets are $10, partially benefit the Washington Humane Society, and include your first beer.
Harvest dinner: It still feels like summer, but chef Will Morris of Vermillion is teaming up with Arcadia Farm and several local toques for a collaborative fall harvest dinner on Sunday from 3 to 7. Each chef is tasked with reinventing classic barbecue dishes for the four-course, family-style meal, made with items grown and raised on the farm. Tickets are $175 (and you’ll understand why looking at this all-star lineup).
Sushi 101: Learn to roll your own sushi at Masa 14’s first Sunday Sushi School from 6 to 9. The monthly series is lead by Kaz Sushi Bistro owner (and Masa partner) Kaz Okochi and will focus on making crunchy shrimp and spicy tuna hand rolls and inside-out rolls with salmon and tuna. After the session, participants can enjoy their course material in the dining room. Reservations are $15, and $21 with an optional sake pairing.
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.
