Food  |  Things to Do

10 Fun Food Events Around DC This Weekend

On the menu: truffle dinners, Leap Day deals, and a celebration of black female chefs.

Nicoletta Italian Kitchen. Photograph by Scott Suchman

Want to try Thin Mints and a Kalamazoo Stout? The Craft Beer Cellar on H Street, Northeast is continuing its Girl Scout cookie and beer pairings on Thursday from 4:30 PM to 7:30 PM. The $1 cost will be waived with a purchase of a box of cookies from DC’s Troop 44039, which will be selling the confections outside.

This Thursday, Via Umbria’s Chef’s Table celebrates winter black truffles in five courses. The Georgetown market and cafe has incorporated the delicacy into every stage of the meal, including dessert: an apple-almond cake with truffle honey. Tickets are $125.

Bad Saint and Domestique Wine have joined forces for a six-course vegetarian tasting menu and natural wine pairing (the latter highlights small producers from the Jura, Savoie, and United States). The family-style meal is reservation-only on Thursday and Friday night. Reservations are $85. 

Homemade biscuits at Astro Beer Hall. Sample their brunch options after their fitness pop up this weekend. Photograph by Scott Suchman

Astro Beer Hall is hosting a one-hour, high-energy dance class on Saturday at 10 AM. Afterwards, immediately re-up those sugar levels with a mimosa, hot cake doughnut, and fried chicken breakfast sandwich. Tickets are $20. 

This weekend, Anxo Cidery is launching their Nevertheless Dry Cider, a limited edition drink commemorating Women’s History Month. For a sneak peak, head to the Brightwood Park tasting room on Saturday from 1 PM to 5 PM where you can sip along with the Hen House artists’ live painting experience. The party continues on Sunday at 2 PM at the Shaw location, where prominent DC chefs face off in the first installment of Pintxos Madness cooking battle. Both events are free to attend. 

Leap Day babies only get to celebrate once every four years, but several restaurants hope to make up for that. Nicoletta Italian Kitchen is offering anyone whose birthday is on Saturday a free personal pizza to celebrate. And Brew’d Coffee Bar in Mount Vernon is offering Leap Day babies a coffee of their choice on the house. 

Look out for the lucky golden oyster at Hank’s this leap day. Photograph by Scott Suchman

In more Saturday Leap Day food fun, Hank’s Oyster Bar is hiding a “golden oyster” in one lucky diner’s bivalve at each of their DC locations: Capitol Hill, Dupont Circle, Old Town, and the Wharf. The finder of the gilded trinket will receive happy hour pricing on oysters at Hank’s until 2021.

In celebration of Black History Month and Women’s History Month, DC chefs, bartenders, and activists will collaborate on a four-course meal at American Son on Saturday at 6 PM. Host chefs Tim Ma and Hamilton Johnson will be joined by guest chefs Elle Simone and Kia Damon, plus cocktails from Andra “AJ” Johnson. The meal honors Southern traditions with dishes like shrimp and sausage perloo and turkey thigh cassoulet. Tickets are $125. 

And heading into next week…

The digs at Oyamel, host of the upcoming Tequila Mezcal Festival.

Oyamel’s annual Tequila & Mezcal Festival kicks off on Monday from 6 PM to 9 PM with a party that boasts a boozy sorbet station and a photo booth to capture the spirited fun. Three dinners, each inspired by Oaxacan cuisine, will happen throughout the month on March 5, 10, and 11. Dinner costs $75 to $95. The festival’s kickoff party is $65. 

If you still need to satisfy your black truffle craving, Fall Church’s 2941 Restaurant begins its special truffle tasting menu on Tuesday with dishes like scallops with truffle vinaigrette and a faux-truffle dessert. Reservations for the four-course meal are $75.

Emma Francois is an editorial fellow at Washingtonian covering everything from food to fashion. She graduated from Georgetown University and has previously worked for USA Today, the Georgetown Voice, and the Chautauquan Daily.