(Photo by Beau Finley)
Thanksgiving is around the corner and if you’re looking for where to eat or what to bring home for the holiday, we’ve got you covered. There are some tasty and boozy events going on this weekend before you focus on the turkey day schedule.
Food Events
DC Cocktail Week
We are in the midst of DC Cocktail Week, which runs through this weekend. Participating D.C., Maryland, and Virginia restaurants and bars have designed a cocktail and complementing small bite available together for a fixed price. Sort through the pairings list to decide for yourself which have heart and which just seem like an expensive drink with an amuse bouche thrown your way. Iron Gate’s Sazerac the Greek way, with the kitchen’s take on pikila—little fried foods meant to accompany glasses of ouzo—,is thoughtful, though pricey at $20. Oyamel‘s Blood Orange Margarita rimmed with Chile’s pequin spice, paired with a smoked fish taco at $12, is a little more affordable. There’s also a Ricotta Situation going on at Radiator.
Movemberfest pig roast
On Saturday from 3 pto 8 p.m., Little Miss Whiskey’s Golden Dollar (1104 H St. NE) hosts their second pig roast to benefit Movember and guys wearing mustaches. The Queen Vic is doing the cooking and DC Brau is tapping kegs. The event is $60 for all you can eat and drink.
Barley Mac pig roast and bourbon bash
If you’re on the Virginia side of the Potomac River and are feeling piggy, there’s a Saturday pig roast for you too! Barley Mac (1600 Wilson Blvd., Roslyn) will be partying from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. when only $30 gets you access to the pig, a few other dishes, and bourbon tastings, spiked cider, and hot toddies.
New fall menu at Fig & Olive
Given Fig & Olive’s (934 Palmer Ave. NW) high profile problems over the past year or so, it was with cautious optimism (heavy on the caution) that I sampled a few of their fall menu items at a recent media dinner. I came away impressed—both with the considerable crowds for a Monday and with the autumnal offerings, which included a rich duck breast served on a bed of buttery stewed red cabbage and a silky butternut squash and chestnut soup with a bit of a peppery kick. The chestnut mousse is served with a tart cherry sorbet (that I could have eaten a few buckets of) and a delicate walnut meringue. —Bridget Dicosmo
Openings
The Hilltop Bar & Restaurant
Pleasant Plains and Columbia Heights residents have been waiting for years for The Hilltop Bar & Restaurant to open at 2737 Sherman Ave. NW. It’s open! As the paint on the walls dry, the menu, created under the direction of Compass Rose executive chef Angel Franco, is not really up on the website. But there are some good looking photos of roasted cauliflower, colorful salads, and a yummy looking flatbread, booze in decanters, and language about embracing culinary flair without the formality.
Soapstone Market
Chevy Chase residents on the District side have a gem of a general store in the heart of their neighborhood in Broad Branch Market. Now Van Ness is getting in on the action. Soapstone Market (4465 Connecticut Ave. NW) is now open on the ground level of a new Connecticut Avenue apartment building. The store packs in a surprisingly large amount of grocery items, beer by the bottle and on draft, and an elevated prepared food deli case with more options to come. And someone is excited at the prospects of getting slushies from someplace other than 7-11.
IcyCode
IcyCode is in business at 2029 P St. NW where TangySweet used to be. It’s a Thai rolled ice cream shop. Sweet cream and toppings are laid out on a sub-zero surface, set to freeze, and scraped up and into your bowl right before your eyes. Perhaps you saw this ice cream rolling going on in downtown Rehoboth Beach this summer? Maybe you stopped for a sample and thought it was wacky and delicious but still proceeded to Royal Treat or The Ice Cream Store? Well, here’s your chance.
Plan Ahead
Ways to enjoy the Watergate
You may need to plan ahead for a seat at the Backroom at Kingbird. Washington Post food critic Tom Sietsema had nice things to say about the tasting menu experience, which seems a bit more accessible and affordable than some of the other tickets in town. And there’s a lot more going on with food and beverage at the revamped Watergate Hotel (2650 Virginia Ave. NW). A whiskey series on Wednesdays at the property’s The Next Whiskey Bar will feature a different distiller every week with rare whiskey tastes for drastically discounted prices from 4 to 6:30 p.m. This week, for example, it was Bruichladdich at about 85 percent off. The bar at the main restaurant, Kingbird, also runs a daily happy hour from 4 to 6:30 p.m., and the restaurant has begun offering a $20 express lunch deal.
Tea Tasting
The Park Hyatt’s (1201 24th St. NW) tea events involve sipping teas, not craft cocktails, for $85. And still they sound enticing. The hotel continues their Masters of Food & Wine series on Saturday, Dec. 17 with pours of five rare teas each, accompanied by light bites complementing their flavor profiles. Among the offerings are 1978 vintage, cave-aged pu-erh and a monkey-picked (!) golden oolong, served with tea smoked duck with currant chutney.
