All the DC news that’s fit to eat (and drink).
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Happy lunchtime, DC! It doesn’t look or feel like it, but it’s sort of, almost spring in DC. You can tell from the resurgence of wine dinners and cocktail festivals and drink battles. New menus are popping up while the city is coated in depressing brown slush– maybe those two balance each other out. Dig in.
This week in BYT food:
- We want you to have the BEST MARCH EVER, and that includes introducing you to the most awesome drinking and dining options at your disposal.
- Oyamel kicks off their 7th annual Tequila and Mezcal Festival this weekend, and we’ve got a preview so you can maybe know more about tequila than don julio shots.
- Bethesda Row does Martinis– March Madness style. You don’t have to care about sports to care about these drinks.
- DC Brau and Zentan go together like good beer and great food. We had something for this, I swear.
- Cava Mezze sold us with warm aesthetics and six creative courses (which means food porn for you).
- Heavy Seas Alehouse opened a new location in Roslyn and we finally get to show it to you.
- We visited Brabo and ate all the meat. All of it. There is probably none there now. But there are these photos.
- Le Diplomate has a “distinguished gentleman” behind the bar, revamping their beverage and cocktail program. The results are distinguished indeed.
- Did you enjoy your weekend cocktail at Firefly?
Upcoming food events:
- You can enjoy an evening with Ina Garten tonight, thanks to this groupon.
- Also tonight, Blue Duck Tavern hosts a Newton Wine Dinner.
- Waterfront Kitchen’s Greenhouse Dinners series with Moet Hennessy continue tomorrow with sparkling spring cocktails.
- On Friday, Little Washington Winery’s seminar is a Battle of the Pinots. You probably want to eat before you head to this.
- You can find even more Friday night wine with Capital Wine School’s French Wine Month series.
- The DC Craft Beer Festival is SATURDAY, so hold onto your britches and your valuables.
- Also on Saturday, Oyster Fest returns to Early Mountain Vineyards.
- Les Dames D’Escoffier CELEBRATE FOOD with Carla Hall in Rockville, also on Saturday.
- Maybe a heavier Saturday is in order: Make the hike out to Baltimore for Heavy Seas’ Real Ale and BBQ Fest before tickets sell out.
- On Sunday, head to la Tasca for a paella making class so you can host fancy and impressive dinners of your own.
- Also on Sunday, you can learn more about why Irish whiskeys are so special over in Mount Pleasant.
- As we said before, Oyamel’s 7th Annual Tequila and Mezcal Festival kicks off on Monday and runs through the 23rd.
- Head to the Howard Theatre on Tuesday to learn a thing or two about how to launch a business in the food industry— with DC industree’s launchology series.
- Or if you’d rather someone else did the work, Kapnos hosts a Greek Wine Dinner on Tuesday night as well.
- This time next week, City Paper hosts a cocktail competition at the Embassy of Italy.
- Looking ahead to March 17, Bourbon Steak hosts a Pappy Van Winkle dinner. In your face, St. Patrick’s Day.
Everything else that’s fit to eat (and drink):
- The biggest food news in DC right now is the “secret document” about food writers and bloggers that restaurants have been referring to for quite some time. Apparently I know nothing, and I’m only in it for the free dinner.
- Apparently Europeans hold the name “brie” very dear and we’ve offended their sensibilities by using it to refer to our American-made dairy product. Whoops.
- Zentan’s Jennifer Nguyen dishes on what she learned from competing on Bobby Flay’s show.
- Union Kitchen will be opening a second facility in DC and launching a “made in DC” food label.
- DC loves chickpeas. Did anyone else get this memo? Haven’t we always loved them?
- We didn’t know pizza had been in hiding, but according to Esquire it’s making a “triumphant return” in the Bronx.
- McSweeny’s does our perfect taste test: a review of Biscoff spread.
