Bayou Bakery’s King Cake will be served at Dock 5’s Mardi Gras bash this Tuesday, along with plenty of beads. (Photo by Bayou Bakery).
The week ahead is anchored by the Oscars on Sunday and a hefty amount of Mardi Gras food and booze. There are also some notable openings to get excited about along with an entire afternoon of ramen slurping. Here are our picks to keep in mind:
This week’s food events
Ramen World
The popular Ramen World event takes over Mess Hall (703 Edgewood St. NE) on Sunday. As of this morning, limited tickets are available to the 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. session of Ramen World 3. The $70 tickets score you ramen from seven highly regarded shops including Haikan and Erik Bruner-Yang’s Paper Horse. The afternoon also serves as something of an introduction for Conbini by Uzu’s upcoming Japanese comfort food, Bird’s Eye sandwich shop by Doi Moi, and Cassava Bubble Tea.
Pizza for the movie stars
The pizza pies at Declaration (804 V St. NW) are normally named for America’s founding fathers, one from each of the original colonies. On Sunday night, Ryan Gosling and Denzel Washington take the center stage from John Adams and Benjamin Franklin. Declaration will host an Oscar party with pizzas inspired by La La Land and Fences along with $20 bottles of prosecco and a cash prize for the best dressed guest.
Oyamel’s mezcal festival
Chef José Andrés kicks off Oyamel’s (401 7th St. NW) 10th annual Tequila and Mezcal Festival this Monday evening. The party, with tickets for $49, includes over a dozen agave tasting stations, passed bites and cocktails, and live music. And José knows how to throw a party. The festival goes on for two weeks with special dishes and cocktails featuring mezcal. On March 6 and 7, ticketed dinners will pair Oyamel dishes with artisan mezcals and tequilas and those at the bar between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. those evenings can have some free tastes of the featured spirits.
Cider for The Bird(s)
Logan Circle’s The Bird (1337 11th St. NW) teams up on Tuesday night with a Frederick County, Maryland cider house. Chef Michael Bonk will cook up a five course poultry-focused menu with each dish paired with Distillery Lane Ciderworks’ hard stuff. That means wild Scottish grouse scrapple and egg ravioli with a Woodberry Sparkling Cider Sabayon and jerk spiced, butter stuffed chicken Kiev with a sparkling cider aged in rye and whiskey barrels. Seats are $77, inclusive of tax and gratuity.
Bourbon Street on K
Stepping into Vieux Carre (1413 K St. NW) is a bit like strolling New Orleans’ French Quarter. The architecture will transport your mind to Bourbon Street and their balcony overlooking the action below is the perfect place to get your Mardi Gras on this Tuesday. There’s no cost to enter, but a free RSVP to get on the guest list is being asked for. Once inside you can grab a Hurricane, Sazerac, or anything else from their Big Easy-inspired cocktail menu. Big band, Louisiana-style jazz, and that balcony will help get the party going.
A D.C. Mardi Gras extravaganza
An extravagant Mardi Gras party pops up at Union Market’s Dock 5 (1309 5th St. NE) on Tuesday from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. New Orleans native David Gaus and Spike Mendelsohn team up with Gina Chersevani and Mendelsohn’s sister, Micheline, on the food and booze for Mardi Gras Extravaganza. Meanwhile, three brass bands will roam the floor providing entertainment. And expect some beads. Tickets are $75.
Mardi Gras all weekend at Black Jack
A reminder that Mardi Gras goes on for days at Black Jack (1612 14th St. NW). A weekend kickoff party on Saturday goes from 3 p.m. until close gets things going with $10 New Orleans cocktails, beads, and masks. Tickets for their Funk Brunch on Sunday are $65, including unlimited Creole cuisine and sips. And, of course, funk music. A Sazerac party on Monday leads into the finale—a Fat Tuesday party with a massive ice luge and hurricane cocktails meant for group slurping.
Openings
Michael Schlow has brought a copy of his Alta Strada to Fairfax’s Mosaic District (2910 District Ave). The Italian restaurant opened this past Monday with similar dishes to the downtown Washington restaurant, plus the addition of some new appetizers and entrees under Chef Nicole Belverd. It’s the fourth Alta Strada, which has other locations in Boston and at Connecticut’s’ Foxwoods Casino.
Lucky Strike Bethesda
Luxury bowling options in Bethesda are about to expand. Lucky Strike, long a fixture of the Gallery Place entertainment scene, will open on March 4 at the Westfield Montgomery Mall (7101 Democracy Blvd, Bethesda). Twelve lanes of bowling will accompany the alley’s refined pub grub. The opening announcement touts Victorian-inspired cocktails, as well.
Tiger Fork
The newest addition to Shaw’s Blagden Alley is the Hong Kong-inspired Tiger Fork (922 N St. NW) opening this Sunday. The project comes from chef Nathan Beauchamp and business partner Greg Algie of the Fainting Goat. The duo traveled back and forth to Hong Kong to perfect the concept, which will feature dim sum, Cantonese dishes, cocktails, and teas.
Plan Ahead
Wine dinner at Ripple
Ripple (3417 Connecticut Ave. NW) loves its wine dinners, and things on that front haven’t slowed down with new chef Ryan Ratino at the helm. On March 6, he will pair his food with wines from importer Martine Saunier. The five course menu opens with a kampachi crudo with uni, shiso, coconut, and turnips; includes a duck terrine with duck fat brioche, roasted turbot with foie gras, and sous vide short rib with black truffle; and closes with a dark chocolate and cheese tart with cherry sorbet. That and five glasses of wine costs $125, plus tax and gratuity.
