Deck the halls with…liver? Foie La La, a celebration of all things foie gras, starts at nine different H Street restaurants on Monday. Spots such as Boundary Road and Ocopa compete to make the best foie dishes, and diners can vote for their favorites online.
Clementine festival: The annual clementina festival returns to Jaleo on Monday through December 28. Look for dishes and drinks starring the seasonal citrus, including clementine gazpacho with scallops, seared calamari with artichokes and clementines, and a brandy-and-sherry cocktail with the citrus juice. Dishes and cocktails are priced individually.
War of the Roses: Barkeep Owen Thomson of Rose’s Luxury takes on Jack Rose’s Trevor Frye at Compass Rose on Monday, where host/barman Jack Caminos also contends. The challenge: Make a holiday cocktail with a rose as one of the ingredients. Tickets ($20) include one of each drinks, and benefit St. Jude’s and N Street Village.
Hanukkah: The Festival of Lights starts Tuesday, and Washington restaurants and bars offer plenty of ways to celebrate. Browse our Hanukkah guide for family-style feasts, themed cocktails, all-you-can-eat latkes, and more.
A taste of the stars: StarChefs hosts a party on Tuesday at Union Market’s Dock 5 with its Rising Star award-winning chefs, artisans, barkeeps, and sommeliers. Bites and drinks are served by a variety of big local names. Tickets are $125 for the VIP reception starting at 5:45, and $95 for general admission at 6:30.
Bad sweaters, good songs: Republic throws an ugly sweater sing-along party on Saturday with live band karaoke starting at 10. Guests can down house-made eggnog and mulled wine ($10 each) to fuel up for the competition, and the best/worst sweater wins a $100 gift card.
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.
