This week, toast to all things rosé, try your hand at judging crab cakes, back charitable causes, and nosh on Peruvian cuisine and pisco.
A Taste of Northeast D.C.
Northeast Eats, the annual extravaganza of cuisine and drinks from companies and producers based in that quadrant, returns for its fourth year Saturday at DC Brau. The more than 50 vendors on deck include Toki Underground, Brookland’s Finest, Ruby Scoops, Wunder Garten, Sloppy Mamas BBQ, Masala Story, Mess Hall, Tastemakers, Exotic Chef, One Eight Distilling, Republic Restoratives and The Pug. All of the proceeds from Northeast Eats support participating vendors. (DC Brau, Saturday, 4 p.m.-8 p.m., $50 for general admission or $20 for people under 21)
Celebrate all things rosé
Can’t get enough rosé? Head over to Yards Park on Saturday for Rosé All Day, an ode to the pink sparkling wine, bringing you rosé bars galore, an Instagram-ready rosé garden lounge (with flower crowns, natch), wine glass monogramming, live music and more. Splurge for the VIP experience at Whaley’s Raw Bar and Restaurant to score a flight of three rosés, souvenir Rosé Garden Coconut with frozen drinks, and six River Keeper oysters. (The Yards Park, Saturday, 1 p.m.-5 p.m., tickets $10, VIP $50)
Books in bloom
Award-winning chef and global humanitarian José Andrés has been tapped to headline the third-annual Books in Bloom festival on Sunday, where he’ll discuss his book We Fed An Island: The True Story of Rebuilding Puerto Rico in conversation with Tim Carman, a food reporter at The Washington Post. Other featured authors include chef Kwame Onwuachi, author of Notes From a Young Black Chef, and fellow Top Chef contender Edward Lee, author of Buttermilk Graffiti, a Chef’s Journey to Discover America’s New Melting-Pot Cuisine. Busboys and Poets will erect a pop-up bookstore at the festival, and bars will feature rosé, beer, and more. (Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, Md., Sunday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m., FREE with registration)
Peru for you
Bring an empty stomach Sunday to the seventh-annual Taste of Peru – Washington, D.C. , at the University of the District of Columbia, billed as the biggest culinary festival highlighting the South American country’s gastronomical marvels. It’ll feature more than 20 food and beverage stands helmed by Peruvian Brothers, Pastor Delicious Sweets, and others from around the area. There will also be live cooking demonstrations from chefs Andres Orellana, owner of La Niña in Peru, and chef Emma Perez of La Limeña Restaurant in Rockville, and others. (University of the District of Columbia, Sunday, 10 a.m.- 6 p.m. tickets $15 for general admission, $40 for VIP)
Judging the best crab cakes
Eight chefs will whip up their best crab cakes during the 14th annual D.C. Crab Cake Competition, hosted by the D.C. Food & Beverage Collective and the tavern at Ivy City Smokehouse. You can vote for your favorite cake, created by chefs from Tiger Fork, Taqueria del Barrio, Coconut Club, Zeppelin, Pappe, and others. The chef that wins the people’s choice award scores money to support a culinary intern in their restaurant’s kitchen. If crab cakes aren’t your jam, there will be plenty of oysters, New England clam chowder and other appetizers to go around. (Ivy City Smokehouse, Sunday, 12 p.m.- 3 p.m., tickets $75 for DCFBC members, $85 for nonmembers, price includes select wines, beer, tax, and gratuity)
Chef Carla Hall gets a little help from her friends
Chefs join forces with students Monday to prepare a cocktail reception and four-course feast for the Presidential Suite inside Union Station. The event honors chef Carla Hall and her philanthropy while also supporting the Careers through Culinary Arts Program, a nonprofit helmed by chef and author Marcus Samuelsson that grooms low income students for culinary and hospitality careers. C-CAP students and alumni will put their skills to the test Monday by assisting chefs, including recent James Beard winner Kwame Onwuachi, Jerome Grant, executive chef of Sweet Home Café at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Nicholas Tang, executive chef of DBGB Kitchen & Bar, and Top Chef contender Joy Crump, founder of FOODE, a catering and private event company. (Union Station Presidential Suite, Monday, reception starts at 6 p.m., followed by dinner at 7 p.m., general admission $195)
Update: The C-Cap Benefit has been postponed.
Komi goes casual Greek
The Michelin-starred kitchen at Komi is transforming into a “Happy Gyro” pop-up for the month of June. That means the standard $165 tasting menu will be paused for a seven-course vegetarian meal, promising “nothing fancy” and no meat at all. Tickets will go on sale week-by-week, starting this Tuesday afternoon at 2 p.m. A beverage option will be available as well. (Komi, Tuesday through July 6, $60 for food and $50 for the drink pairing)
This post has been updated.
