Photo by chbrenchley.
By DCist Contributor Nathan Wilkinson
There’s a lot to begrudge of February. It’s a short month in the middle of winter with lots of little holidays that won’t get you out of work. That’s why restaurants are courting diners with exclusive menus and grand events to shake off our winter blues. Below are our picks for eating and drinking out for the rest of February.
FOUR COURSE UMBRIAN WINE DINNER: For couples that want a stellar dining experience on Valentine’s Day, enjoy a four-course Umbrian-themed Italian meal at Via Umbria (1525 Wisconsin Avenue NW). Italian winemaker Roberto Di Filippo is guest curating a private winemakers dinner featuring the wines of Di Filippo and Plani Arche. Roberto will share stories about his life in Umbria, the role of food and wine in his culture, and how his wines pair with certain foods. This is an all-Umbrian cuisine experience beginning with appetizers and followed by salad, primi (pasta or grain), secundo (meat), and dessert. Dinner costs $125 per person and includes wine. Seating is at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, February 14 or Sunday, February 15. For reservations call (202) 333-3904.
AN OFFAL VALENTINE’S DAY DINNER: Bar Pilar (1833 14th Street NW) is getting into the anti-Valentine’s Day spirit with a special menu devoted to other organs besides the heart. Have an offal Valentine’s Day with their special menu of “Offal Food and Bitter and Sour Cocktails.” Sharable plates are $10-14 and feature unusual delicacies that are seldom served at restaurants. Take the smoked head cheese, which is a meat jelly, with pickled quail egg and fried chicken skins; or there’s the ham wrapped rabbit offal served with beef fat whipped mashed potatoes, mushroom sauce, and fried onions. Liver lovers will appreciate the chicken fried chicken livers with black pepper cream gravy and buttered grits; or pig out with the H.A.M. on ham sandwich with crispy Bentons ham, bacon, smoked pork shoulder, pig ear slaw, jalapeño jam, and onion rings. The most unusual item is ankimo (Japanese monkfish liver) with yuzu curd, shaved horseradish cream, toasted benne seed, radish, and fried scallion whites.
On the drinks front, Bar Pilar offers fantastically-named cocktails: The Cactus Where Your Heart Should Be is a spiced mescal and lime drink that includes cactus. The very floral Dead Flowers To My Wedding uses vodka infused with rose petals, green tea, and a soda topper. Another, called No One Will Ever Love You, is a rye cocktail with prickly pear, lemon, and Cocchi Americano. And for the most anti-social drinker, there’s Love Is Like A Bottle Of Gin, which is just a shot of gin with a bitter amaro chaser.
ANTI-VALENTINE’S DAY PUNK SHOW: You can have Valentine’s Day dinner with a sweetheart or just come to the post-dinner Anti-Valentine’s Day concert at Republic (6939 Laurel Avenue in Takoma Park, Md.) featuring local punk band Booze Riot. Dinner guests are welcome between 5:00 and 9:30 p.m. where they will be treated to the sounds of award winning electronic “Gypsy jazz” singer songwriter Mary Alouette. Then stay for the concert beginning at 10:00 p.m., featuring Booze Riot, Eyelet, and Caustic Casanova. Bar manager Brett Robinson has made three tribute drinks to help you forget your Valentine’s Day blues. The Booze Riot is a combination of Copper Fox rye, Amarro Averna, and sherry; the Fascist Pig makes use of Pig Nose scotch, Amaro Ramazzotti, Green Chartreuse, basil, and is garnished with a flamed orange peel; and My Girlfriend’s Girlfriend is made with anise and rosemary steeped lemon juice, Hennessy, Soliterre dessert wine, and Amaro Montenegro. Make reservations for dinner at (301) 270-3000.
CAPITAL COCKTAIL COMPETITION: Forget about the cold with $2 Bacardi Hurricanes and pours of Abita Amber and Flying Dog at Black Jack (1612 14th Street NW), where the competition is heating up. This Mardi Gras, February 17, will be the first ever mix off between some of the best bartenders in the city. Each bar team will be shown a secret ingredient and given two minutes to craft two identical cocktails. One will be judged and the other will be auctioned off to benefit Black’s Family Foundation. Sample the auctioned drinks and take in Mardi Gras-inspired delights like crawfish hushpuppies, pulled pork sandwiches, duck nachos, and shrimp campeche from chef Colleen Conrad. Tickets are $30 and must be purchased through Eventbrite.
DIM SUM, DUMPLINGS, AND NIGHT MARKETS: The Source (575 Pennsylvania Avenue NW) is kicking off the Chinese New Year with a week of special events and menus. Beginning February 18, Sichuan chef Peter Chang will take over the lounge from 7-9 p.m. with a dim sum menu. Local brewery Atlas Brew Works will offer two of their beers, District Common and Rowdy, to compliment the spicy dishes. The event begins with a cocktail reception with a cash bar for additional requests. Tickets for the reception are $50 dollars per person.
The Source’s Executive Chef Scott Drewno will also be leading a dumpling cooking class from 6-7 p.m. before the lounge takeover. The price of $100 dollars and includes the cooking class as well as entry to the lounge takeover later in the evening. Call 202-637-6100 for reservations to the class.
On February 19, The Source will transform their main dining room to replicate a Chinese outdoor food market with lion dancers and guest chef food stations manned by Cathal Armstrong of Restaurant Eve and Marjorie Meek-Bradley of Ripple and Roofer’s Union. Guests will be encouraged to peruse the stalls and enjoy dishes such as cumin-soy marinated sheep chop and whole-fried rockfish with lobster sauce. Tickets are $85 per person. Call 202-637-6100 for reservations.
GOATS AND KUNG FU: It may be the year of the sheep, but at The Fainting Goat (1330 U Street NW ) it’s all about the Sichuan goat. Stop in February 19 for an evening of festivities and a family-style feast of traditional Chinese dishes. Dine while a troupe of lion dancers performs around the restaurant and kung-fu films play throughout the night on the restaurant’s TVs. For $35 dollars, guests will enjoy dinner options such as Sichuan goat with long beans, tea-steamed duck with cashews, steamed bass with ginger and cabbage, and clams with XO sauce. The cocktail menu features two good luck drinks: Cara Cara Punch with Jameson Irish whiskey, Aperol, hibiscus, and Cara Cara oranges, and the Dragon’s Blessing with dragon fruit, baijiu (a Chinese rice liquor), St. Germain, lychee, tangerine bitters, and egg white. Tsingtao will also be going for $4. Tickets can be purchased online.
SPEAKEASY SERIES: Fiola Mare (3050 K Street NW) is hosting several speakeasy cocktails nights on the fourth Wednesday of the month, from now until April. (That’s February 25, March 25, and April 22.) Bar Manager Luca Giovannini designed this exclusive series with a special cocktails menu based on 1920s classics. Drinks like The Blinker (with grapefruit juice, rye, and raspberry syrup) and The Vieux Carre (made with rye, cognac, sweet vermouth and bitters) are strong on flavor and alcohol and are a tribute to the bartending pioneers of the early twentieth century. Drinks are $15 for a single serving, $42 for three, and $60 for five. The Speakeasy Series is held in the cozy, well-appointed Bar Piccolo at the back of the restaurant.
