Friendly dinner: Jack Rose hosts a Friends of the Saloon dinner on Monday from 5 to 9, welcoming regulars and newcomers for a four-course fall meal for just $25. The lineup of an amuse, appetizer, entrée, and dessert includes new autumn items from chef Russell Jones, such as jambalaya-style shrimp and stone crab, grilled venison loin, and pumpkin-ginger pie. An à-la-cart menu is also served.
Industry night returns: Graffiato‘s popular Industry Takeover Night returns on Monday, with free eats and drinks in the bar from 10 to 1 (part of the $10 door fee benefits Fit to Fight by MIC). Special guests include Miami toques Jamie DeRosa and Dena Marino of Tongue & Cheek and MC Kitchen, respectively, and Top Chef alum Sarah Gruenberg. Don’t forget that Mike Isabella’s Pepita pop-up returns at sister eatery G for several days this week.
Happy birthday, Godzilla: Daikaya commemorates the Japanese monster’s official birthday on Tuesday with special drinks and dishes, served through Sunday. Items include fried alligator karaage, grilled elk and pork meatballs, and cocktails like the Alpha Predator with Japanese whiskey, rum, dry curaçao, and chocolate bitters. And of course, Godzilla will play on a loop from 6 to 10 on the first night.
Osteria anniversary: Osteria Morini notes its one-year anniversary in Washington on Wednesday by celebrating in style. Guests can meet Michelin-starred chef/owner Michael White and get signed copies of his new cookbook, Classico E Moderno, all while dining on a five-course meal with optional wine pairings ($85, or $125 with wine). Reservations between 5:30 and 9 can be made by e-mailing jgerlich@altamareagroup.com.
GF pasta pop-up: A ramen shop may seem like an unlikely destination for the gluten-free crowd, but Toki Underground welcomes celies on Thursday for a pop-up with Pasta Flyer. The fast-casual concept, helmed by Del Posto’s Michelin-starred chef Mark Ladner, serves GF noodle bowls and veggie burgers from 11:30 to close. No reservations could mean long lines, so head over early.
Bourbon night: Gypsy Soul barkeep Bryan Tetorakis teams up with Charlie Nelson of Nelson’s Green Brier Distillery in Nashville on Thursday for special drinks and pairings made with Belle Meade Bourbon. The historic distillery will reopen soon after a century of dormancy, but you can taste its spirits in two cocktails at the bar with snacks like pimiento cheese and fried chicken skins ($22), or alongside a three-course pairing dinner ($60). Both are offered all evening starting at 6.
Sweet pop-up: Pastry chef Tiffany MacIsaac brings her Alexandria-based Buttercream Bakeshop to 14th Street with a pop-up at Cork Market on Friday. Cookie monster cakes, gingerbread krispies, chocolate marshmallows, and more can be preordered for pickup, when you can sample and buy dessert-friendly wines and bubbly.
DC Beer Festival: Here’s one for both baseball and beer fans, who can sip suds on the Nationals’ home turf on Saturday during the DC Beer Festival at Nationals Park. More than 75 craft breweries set up on the actual field, so fest-goers can make their way around the bases for unlimited beer and cider tastings, eats from various food trucks, live music, and more. Tickets are $40 for regular admission from 1 to 4, and $60 for VIP that includes specialty pours from noon to 1.
Fermenting 101: Controlled rot—not just a great punk band name, but the focus of a course at the Hill Center on Saturday from 11 to 2. Dr. Bill Schindler heads a session on fermenting vegetables, grains, and dairy, from cultured butter to sourdough bread. Tickets are $75.
Bottomless pork and beer: Swine-lovers can head to Little Miss Whiskey‘s patio on Saturday for a pig roast at 3, courtesy of chef Ryan Gordon of the Queen Vic. The all-you-can-eat-and-drink menu ($40) includes whole roast pig with whiskey-apple sauce, bourbon-glazed ribs, house-made sausages and kraut, sides such as mac and cheese and jalapeño grits, and brews from two kegs (one of which will be a DC Brau double IPA).
Cider-fest: The District’s first big cider fest lands at Union Market‘s Dock 5 on Saturday. Guests sip 30-plus varieties of bottomless hard cider, as well as sample 20 beers, food truck fare, play games like giant Jenga and beer pong, and more. Tickets ($40) can be purchased for three sessions: noon to 3, 4:30 to 7:30, and 9 to midnight.
Swanky cocktail course: Veteran barkeep Angel Cervantes leads a hands-on cocktail class at the Capella’s Rye Bar on Saturday. Guests learn to make five classic and seasonal concoctions over passed canapés, followed by a sit-down three-course meal with cocktail pairing ($150 per person).
Meet Bobby Flay (and so much more): The Metropolitan Cooking & Entertaining Show returns to the Convention Center on Saturday and Sunday with a lineup of Food Network stars, cooking demos from local chefs, tastings, and more. Meet the likes of Bobby Flay and Guy Fieri, sip drinks in the wine and spirits pavilion, and take holiday-themed cooking classes. Tickets are priced separately for various events, and are $20 for general admission.
Off the ice, on the rocks: Caps players get off the ice and behind the bar at City Tap House on Sunday, where John Carlson, Karl Alzner, and Troy Brouwer guest-bartend and raise funds for Foundation 4 Heroes. Stop in between 5 and 7, where a $20 entry fee gets a complimentary beverage (autographs are an additional $10). All proceeds go to the nonprofit charity.
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.
