ChurchKey throws a Holiday Tap Takeover with Martha’s Table on Thursday in the spirit of holiday giving. From 4 to 11 PM, attendees who donate canned goods or cash receive a free four-ounce tasting of a holiday beer on draft. The special winter brews are available all day, including varieties from Norway, England, Germany, and Denmark.
Bastille hosts a Champagne dinner on Thursday, December 14 starting at 6:30 PM. The five-course menu includes dishes like tuna tartare with grapefruit, butter-poached lobster, and a hazelnut-strawberry cake–all paired with bubbles. The menu costs $119 per person.
Do you think you have what it takes to make an awesome gingerbread house? Find out on Friday at Ventnor Sports Cafe’s Annual Gingerbread House competition, starting at 6 PM. Guests can try on over 20 seasonal beers as they decorate, including the Christmas Ale from Great Lakes, Troegs Mad Elf, and Yule Tide Heavy Seas. The competition costs $20, and reservations are encouraged.
City Tap Dupont is the place for a pajama-themed brunch on Saturday from 11 AM to 3 PM. The laid-back afternoon includes an $8 pancake special, throwback holiday music, and a $100 gift card for the diner with the most festive PJs. Donations for DC’s food banks are encouraged, and those who donate receive a free peppermint schnapps-spiked hot cocoa.
Celebrate Nog Fest at the Wharf this Saturday from 1 to 4 PM. Bundle up and grab mugs of festive winter drinks, as well as seasonal beers from the Wharf’s Winter Waterfront Beer & Wine Garden. Wharf restaurants are also participating with beverage specials, including The Brighton and Hank’s Oyster Bar.
Take your aspiring young chefs to the Park Hyatt DC’s Mini-Masters of Food workshop on Sunday from 3 to 5 PM. Children between the ages of eight and 12 work with pastry chef Erin Reed to decorate the perfect gingerbread house. Tickets are $65 per parent and child, and include sweets and drinks for the participants.
And heading into the week…
Celebrate the holidays with a festive Spanish dinner at Jaleo in Bethesda. The menu consists of traditional winter dishes, including paella, roasted suckling pig, octopus and clementine salad, and fried bacon-wrapped dates. The dinner takes place on Monday, December 18 starting at 6 PM, and costs $86 per person.
Chef Russell Smith prepares a peking duck Christmas dinner to celebrate the holiday season at the Source. The menu includes a whole roast Chinese duck, duck and shrimp spring rolls, duck consomme with a poached duck egg, and a fudge chocolate pie (no duck included, thankfully). The meal is offered from Tuesday, December 19 to Saturday, December 23 and costs $65 per person, with an additional $25 for beverage pairings.
There’s matzoh ball soup, and then there’s matzoh ball ramen. Celebrate Hannukah (or life in general) with a big bowl of goodness at Bantam King. The Penn Quarter ramen shop offers the special ($13) through December 20th, made with spinach, matzoh balls, pulled chicken, carrot, celery, onion, and a shio chintan chicken broth.
Nehal joined Washingtonian as an editorial fellow in fall 2017. She enjoys all things food, arts, culture, and health and is always looking out for new trends. This past May she graduated from Johns Hopkins with a degree in creative writing and a minor in photography. She lives in Foggy Bottom.
