Photo by beerboybeltsbrews

Dish/Drink of the Week: Pumpkin everything

Where: The Black Squirrel, Jack Rose Dining Saloon, and Pizza Paradiso

Do you prefer you pumpkins in a glass or on your plate? Or do you want them off the menu completely, relegated to the front stoop to greet visitors with a toothy grin?

As the fall months settle in, pumpkin flavor and the spices it’s usually prepared with (ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon), make their way into lattes, beer, and dishes both savory and sweet. And while many greet this time of year with glee, clamoring for more gourdy goodness, others cringe at the thought of pumpkin tainting taps and edging it’s way into entrees around the city.

If you fall into the anti-pumpkin eating camp, reconsider your stance this year. With pumpkin popularity at an all time high right now, there’s likely a pumpkin drink or dish out there that will win you over. For instance, pumpkin beers fall on a spectrum of “pie in a glass,” like Southern Tier’s Pumking, to less sweet, more spice-centric options, like Williamsburg AleWerks’ really excellent Pumpkin Ale. Consult our resident beer expert John Fleury’s 2010 post on pumpkin beers for more insights on the varieties of flavors you can find in the bottle.

Likewise, when it comes to eating, pumpkin is no longer just reserved for pie. It’s also being served up in soup, pasta, even on pizza (see below). Check out Serious Eats’ roundup of pumpkin dishes, which includes pumpkin potato latkes, pumpkin fritters, pumpkin orzo, and a number of other recipes that incorporate pumpkin.

If you’re still not convinced, it’s best to get out there and judge for yourself. Here are three upcoming (the first is tonight!) pumpkin-oriented eating and drinking events:

Smashing Pumpkin Fest
Where: The Black Squirrel (2427 18th Street NW)
When: Tonight, September 28, 2012, 5:00 p.m. til it runs out
What: A night so stuffed with pumpkin flavor that you’ll probably never want to eat or drink pumpkin again.
Pumpkin Offerings: Roasted pumpkin Soup, duck stuffed Jack B. little pumpkins, pumpkin crème brulee, and lots of pumpkin beers (Hopping Frog Frog’s Hollow Double Pumpkin, Schlafly Pumpkin, Southern Tier Pumking, Elysian Night Owl Pumpkin, Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin, Brooklyn Post Road Pumpkin, Starr Hill Box Car Pumpkin Porter, Uinta Punk’n Harvest, Smuttynose Pumpkin, Shipyard Smashed Pumpkin).

Night of the Living Gourd
Where: Jack Rose Dining Saloon (2007 18th Street NW)
When: October 3, 2012, 5:00 p.m. to midnight
What: A evening collaboration between Flying Dog and Jack Rose Dining Saloon.
Pumpkin Offerings: Flying Dog’s The Fear (an imperial pumpkin beer), nine other pumpkin beers, and a pumpkin pie eating contest.

Autumn Fest
Where: Pizza Paradiso (Georgetown, Dupont, Old Town)
When: Begins October 1, 2012
What: A celebration of fall food and drink. All 42 draft lines will offer Oktoberfest, pumpkin, ciders, and harvest ales.
Pumpkin Offerings: Pumpkin pesto, bacon, parmesan pizza and pumpkin beers.

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Small Bites

Keep on Truckin’
José Andrés’ Pepe food truck, which offers a selection of Spanish sandwiches, is expanding service to Montgomery County, Maryland (Rockville Town Center, NIH, Bethesda Row, Friendship Heights) and Arlington, Virginia (Ballston Plaza, Rosslyn, Crystal City, Shirlington, Clarendon). Track it down through its Twitter feed.

The Art of Beer
Next Wednesday, October 3, join Widmer Brothers Brewing and Draft Magazine at Long View Gallery (1234 9th Street NW) for Explore Your Craft: DC, an evening of interactive art, brewing demonstrations, food and beer. 7:00-10:00 p.m. Tickets: $45.

Prost!
Virtue Feed & Grain (106 South Union Street Alexandria VA) will be serving up oysters, sausages, sauerkraut, German potato salad, beer, and live music at their Oktoberfest on October 6, 2012 from 11:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.