MONDAY, FEBRUARY 13
FOOD & DRINK Chef José Andrés is launching the first annual Truffle Festival at his ThinkFoodGroup restaurants, running through February 26. Winter is the peak of black truffle season in northeastern Spain and southwestern France, where Andrés’s friend Nacho Ramírez Monfort uses a team of Labrador Retrievers to harvest the fungi. Zaytinya, Oyamel, China Chilcano, barmini, and all three local locations of Jaleo will feature special dishes and cocktails incorporating truffles, such as Zaytinya’s Truffle Pide (a Turkish flatbread topped with shaved black truffle), Oyamel’s Tortitas de Papa con Trufas (potato fritters with Mexican crema and black truffles), Jaleo’s cocktail When the Bears Are Around (vodka, lime juice, sangria, truffle honey, and raspberries), and China Chilcano’s Earth Diamond cocktail (Macchu Pisco, lime juice, truffle honey, egg white, and shaved truffle).
BOOKS Bard College lecturer Daniel Karpowitz is the director of policy and academics for the Bard Prison Initiative, which offers a liberal arts education to inmates at high-security New York state prisons and others nationwide. Karpowitz will read from his new book, College in Prison: Reading in an Age of Mass Incarceration, at the Busboys & Poets at 14th & V NW, using his experiences as an administrator and instructor in the program to discuss the larger issues of mass incarceration, rehabilitation, and the value of the liberal arts. Free, 6:30 PM.
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14
MUSIC Singer-songwriter JD Souther has written or co-written songs that were recorded by Linda Ronstadt and the Eagles. His classic songs include “Heartache Tonight,” “Heart of the Matter,” “New Kid in Town,” and “Faithless Love,” earning him a spot in the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2013. He’s also recently had a recurring role as Watty White on the ABC show Nashville. Souther performs an intimate show at the Mansion on O Street with Norwegian country singer Ida Jenshus. $50 (buffet dinner extra), 6 PM (doors), 8 PM (performance).
BEER ChurchKey pays tributes to its loves of yesteryear with a half-price vintage beer night on Valentine’s Day. All of the 75 bottles on its vintage beer list will be offered at half price, including 2011’s Firestone Walker XV Anniversary and 2012’s Eclipse aged in Bernheim Straight Wheat Whiskey Oak Barrels. Free to attend, 4 PM.
SINGLES If you’re unattached this Valentine’s Day, steer clear of restaurants with prix fixe deals for two and drop by the Rosé & Roses singles mixer at 201 Bar. The event is sponsored by and will feature television producer Myles Franklin’s Julian Wines. Free (with registration), 7 PM.
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 15
SKATING Disney On Ice presents Dream Big at the Verizon Center through February 20. The show features Disney favorites both old (Ariel, Rapunzel, Cinderella, and Belle) and new (Anna, Elsa, and Olaf from Disney’s Frozen), as skaters re-create favorite Disney tales live on ice. $15 to $85, 7:30 PM
PODCAST The Women of Uncertain Age are presenting a live podcast recording at West Elm’s pop-up at Union Market. The theme of the evening, “Valentine’s Day Hangover,” will center around attendees’ best and worst Valentine stories and will feature special guests Brandon Wetherbee (host of “You, Me, Them, Everybody”) and Mary Nichols (aka DJ Fusion). Free, 6 PM.