Food  |  Things to Do

13 Fun Food Events Around DC This Weekend

On the menu: strawberry planting, a mimosa festival, and a dumpling happy hour.

It's mimosa time. Photograph via iStock.

A Taste of Iceland, a celebration of Icelandic food and culture, runs Thursday, March 17 through Sunday, March 20. Downtown DC’s Equinox restaurant (818 Connecticut Ave., NW) is hosting Icelandic-themed dinners ($75 per person) each night, and on Friday, March 18 there’s a cocktail class with Icelandic spirits at the Betsy (514 Eighth St., SE).

Thursday, March 17 is the last night of dumpling week at fast-casual Korean/Chinese spots Chiko (locations in Capitol Hill, Dupont Circle, Bethesda, and Arlington). The final event is a dumpling happy hour. It runs from 3 to 6 PM in Dupont and Bethesda, and 4 to 6 PM in Shirlington. Options from the week’s special menu include char siu pork turnovers, lobster dumplings, and impossible meat potstickers. Order ahead here.

St. Patrick’s Day festivities are already in full swing today, March 17, but they won’t end when the sun goes down.  On Saturday, March 19,  Ireland at The Wharf will feature food, live music, Irish dancing, and a Guinness beer garden. It runs from 2 to 6 PM on the District Pier (101 District Sq., SW).

Los Angeles-based nonprofit Regarding Her (Re:Her), has already kicked off its two-week-long food festival, which highlights female-owned hospitality businesses around DC.  Check out  the roster of special events and promotions that will run through Sunday, March 27

Friday, March 18, Maketto owner Erik Bruner-Yang is heading to Virginia, and partnering with the Standard Barbershop (10409 Main St., Fairfax) for a Neighborhood Drop. Between 5 and 6 PM, you can pick up a dinner ($70) from the Northeast DC Cambodian/Taiwanese restaurant. On the menu: steak-and-cheese lumpia, braised pork belly, and a coconut crème brûlée Hong Kong tart. On Tuesday, March 22, Bruner-Yang will take part in a separate event at Songbyrd (540 Penn St., NE), where he’ll provide food and drinks to go along with a performance from Foreign Air.

Uplevel your bottomless brunch game with Mimosa Fest at the Bullpen (1201 Half St. SE) on Saturday, March 19 The celebration of everyone’s favorite little orange cocktail  runs from 11 AM to 3 PM. Look for clothing and craft vendors, a live DJ, and of course, a bar. General admission, which includes a single mimosa, is $15 (tomorrow the price rises to $20). Or, drop $49 for a VIP ticket, which includes early entry, three mimosas, and a t-shirt.

March Madness has begun, and you’ve got plenty of game-watching options at DC restaurants and bars—here’s our guide.

Cultivate the City is hosting volunteer strawberry planting at Gallaudet University (800 Florida Ave., NE) on Saturday, March 19 and Sunday, March 20. Volunteers will get to put in the season’s new crop, plus learn more about the fruit and take home their own strawberry plant.

Want to support a good cause while you dine? On Monday, March 21, some of the biggest names in the DC food scene—including Tim Ma, Kevin Tien, and Aaron Silverman—are putting together a ten-course dinner to benefit World Central Kitchen and its work in and around Ukraine. Tickets to the affair, held at Tien’s Wharf restaurant Moon Rabbit (801 Wharf St., SW), are $500 per person (with an additional option for a $200 wine pairing). All proceeds go directly to Ukrainian boarder relief efforts. The event, limited to 120 people, begins at 6:30 PM.

Eclectic food hall Urbanspace is reopening in Tysons Galleria (2001 International Dr., McLean) on Tuesday, March 22. A few newcomers—including a fish and chips spot, an empanada joint, and a Ghanaian fast-casual place—join long-running stalls Andy’s Pizza and Donburi,

Looking for an after school activity? The Pentagon City location of Sur La Table (1101 S. Joyce St., Arlington) is offering a kid-friendly cupcake class on Tuesday, March 22 at 4 PM. Participants—age 7 and up—will make their own cupcakes, fondant, and frosting, then learn how to design spring-inspired treats. The class is $59 per person; make a reservation here.

Indianapolis-based chef and cookbook author Tanorria Askew joins Washington Post food writer and recipe developer Aaron Hutcherson for a conversation at Bold Fork Books (3064 Mount Pleasant St., NW) at 7 PM on Wednesday, March 23. She’ll take about and sign Staples +5: 100 Recipes to Make the Most of Your Pantry.

Tori Bergel
Editorial Fellow