Parties!
Let the chef make your tastebuds tingle with An Italian Affair at Via Umbria, an exquisite four-course dinner hosted in the intimate Laboratorio Demontration Kitchen on Thursday at 7 p.m. The cuisine is prepared in front of you with fresh ingredients straight from the garden and served around a communal table. Menu includes fried zucchini blossoms and spaghetti with bacon, favas, black pepper and cherry tomatoes.
Jack Rose Dining Saloon is kicking off Memorial Day weekend with BBQ, beer and…blood (the cinematic kind, that is). They’re celebrating the latest Game of Thrones beer release from New York’s Ommegang Brewery with a rooftop Ommegang “Bend the Knee” Launch Party starting at 5 p.m. this and continuing all weekend through Monday. Besides the new “Bend the Knee” brew, Jack Rose will showcase two previous Game of Thrones releases and seven other beers from the Boulevard, Duvel & Ommegang family. The event runs begins at 5 p.m. daily on the rooftop terrace, and festivities are free to attend.
What better way to spend Saturday and Sunday of Memorial Day weekend than at the 24th Annual Delaplane Strawberry Festival? In addition to having delicious strawberries for sale, the festival features live music, a cornhole tournament, children’s games, hay rides, pony rides, a 4-H petting zoo, crafts, strolling entertainers, a 5k trail run and much more. It’s held at the scenic Sky Meadows State Park and sponsored by Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Delaplane. Tickets are $25 a car and proceeds benefit the church.
Bird’s Eye Sandwiches is partnering up with sister restaurant Proof for a festive all-you-can-eat-and-drink Pig Roast on Sunday starting at 2 p.m. Sasha Felikson and Proof chef Austin Fausett will roast a heritage pig from Spring House Farm in Virginia, serving it nose to tail with all the fixins’, ranging from potato salad, papaya salad, chilled mango soup shooters, and other creative bites along with unlimited draft beer, house-made radlers, and wine! Tickets are $55 ($25 for kids) which include all the food and beverages you can eat and drink; git ’em here.
Brunches!
Amber Clarendon will offer its Unlimited Weekend Brunch service. Priced at $34 per person, guests can enjoy an all-you-can-eat selection of starters, pastries and traditional dishes, egg dishes, open-faced sandwiches, flatbreads and sweets along with five distinctive brunch cocktails.
Boundary Stone in Bloomingdale will be open for Memorial Day–and it’s launched a new menu for summer that includes seasonal takes on classic pub fare. New brunch dishes to try include a chorizo sausage sandwich with an over easy egg, pepperjack cheese and tomatillo salsa, and short rib hash topped with two sunny side up eggs.
Lupo Verde‘s menu showcases authentic, rustic, Italian fare featuring a variety of antipasti, breakfast pizzas, house-made pastas, egg dishes, and crepes that will make your Memorial Day brunch something special.
U Street wine bar Vinoteca has Memorial Day bottomless mimosas for only $18, plus creative brunch dishes just introduced from Chef Anna Miller like duck confit enchiladas with mole, poached egg, avocado, cotija, crema, cilantro or jambalaya grits with a poached egg, sausage, shrimp, peppers, creole sauce.
Ambar DC, Washington’s first Balkan restaurant, will offer a fixed price ($39 per person) brunch menu of unlimited small plates and free-flowing cocktails this Memorial Day.
Espita Mezcaleria, a Southern Mexican-inspired Shaw restaurant will offer their Boozy and “Precio Fijo”, or prix fixe, brunch Memorial Day. Priced at $29 per person, Espita’s brunch menu includes guacamole and two salsas for the table followed by a choice of first course, second course, and sides for sharing.
Specials!
On Friday, check out the pisco tasting event at Grand Cata celebrating Chile’s National Pisco Day featuring Kappa, Waqar, Capel, Alto del Carmen, Bou Barrueta, Armidita, and Control, as well as Latin American inspired appetizers. Get your tickets here.
If you’re skipping the beach traffic for Memorial Day but want to spend the weekend poolside, The Embassy Row Hotel has events all weekend long. Take part in Hooky Friday from 2 p.m.-7 p.m.; rooftop day passes and signature cocktails are half off. Later in the night, dance the night away at Silent Disco. On Saturday workout gurus can enjoy Sunrise Yoga or enjoy dancing and patriotic cocktails at The Rooftop from 3 p.m.-6 p.m. for Embassy Row’s Memorial Day event. Day passes are $30. On Sunday, have some hair-of-the-dog bottomless mimosas and Bloody Marys for $35. Finally, on Monday splash into a fun and unique workout at The Rooftop’s SplashCycle for $25/class.
The Source by Wolfgang Puck is celebrating its 10-year anniversary in DC with Retro Week, an opportunity for diners to try original dishes at original prices. The entire dinner menu will include classic fan favorites that will only be available this Tuesday through Saturday starting at 5:30 p.m. Entrees include lacquered Chinese duckling with bing cherries, Lo Mein noodles, and star anise-plume wine reduction. Start your meal with a stir-fried Colorado lamb lettuce cup topped with toasted pine nuts and pickled ginger vinaigrette.
The Royal in LeDroit Park will be open all day on Monday. It’s celebrating Memorial Day with an all-day happy hour, starting at 11 a.m. and running until 1 a.m. Happy Hour includes $3 Miller High Life, $5 Classic Cocktails, $5 wines by the glass, and food specials starting at noon including pork empanadas ($4/reg. $6) and cheese arepa with avocado and pickled slaw ($7/reg. $9).
Join Chef Joseph at Barcelona for a special Memorial Day weekend rosé tasting experience and get tips on selecting the best wines to bring to your next summer picnic or pool party. This dinner will include a variety of your favorite rosés and a delectable menu including pan con tomate and Skull Island tiger prawn with sherry, garlic, and chile. Tickets are $57.
Julie Strupp is an editorial fellow. Before Washingtonian, she did francophone video, radio, and photography projects addressing gender-based violence in Togo, West Africa with Peace Corps. She worked at the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism and AllAfrica and has contributed to Mic, Center for Public Integrity, DCist, and more. Now a proud Petworth-dweller, she’s also a University of Wisconsin-Madison graduate who loves judo, biking, art, and keeping the powerful accountable.
