José Andrés’ pop-up America Eats Tavern is set to open on July 4, with a menu that he describes as looking through the windows of the 21st century at the past.

The recent closing of Cafe Atlantico reminded me of the first time I had tres leches cake. Even eight years later, it still looms large in my mental bank of desserts.

Superstar Chef José Andrés will temporarily shut down Penn Quarter’s Café Atlántico this summer to open a pop-up restaurant paying tribute to the history of American cooking.

We made sure to let you know a few times about the DC Craft Bartender’s Guild designation of July as Rickey Month. Bartenders from all over the city created their own variations on the District’s only indigenous cocktail, and members of the drinking public were encouraged to head out, try the rickeys, and vote for their favorite. The celebration of the Second Annual Rickey Month ended in style with a party at Bourbon last night…

>> Peabody Award-winning broadcaster Michael Lasser will be at the Phillips Collection tonight to give a lecture called “Songs from The Time of American Impressionism” — think Irving Berlin and the like. The event, which is free with a $12 admission to the museum, coincides with regular Thursday later hours (until 8:30 p.m.) and the upcoming end date of the American Impressionism exhibit (Sept. 16), so consider this your reminder to check it out….

We DCists and our readers have tested a pretty wide selection of this summer’s Restaurant Week participants, and we’ve come to a conclusion: Restaurant Week is at once awesome and disappointing. In sum, Washington’s Restaurant Week is a two-faced Janus bastard. In order to have a good restaurant week experience, one must put in a little work. There are restaurants who do RW that are worth a visit, those that completely phone it in, and…

Sure, we told you about this last week, but we’re telling you again because we are persistent and like helping local kids. We happen to think you should, too. Get your taste buds ready for the first annual Brainfood Grill-Off. This Iron Chef-like event will have teams, consisting of local chefs and Brainfood students, competing for the “Brainfood Skillet Award.” Marc Silverstein, of The Food Network’s The Best Of series, will be hosting the event…

You’re the mayor. Through both sheer fear and skilled negotiations the City Council and U.S. Congress bow to your every demand. Your city coffers are suddenly flush with millions of dollars in surplus. What do you do? What do you do? In yesterday’s Outlook section, the Post toyed with this quasi-realistic scenario and offered a variety of Washingtonians the chance to play God with the reported $300 million budget surplus the District is set to…