Virginia Cider Week starts on Friday and there are plenty of events, tastings, and pairing dinners around Washington. You can get a head start on all things apple on Thursday at Caboose Tavern, which is partnering with Blue Bee Cidery for a five-course cider and beer pairing dinner on Thursday from 7 to 9:30 PM (tickets are $90). Check out the full lineup of events, including tap takeovers at Pizzeria Paradiso and a tap takeover/pairing dinner at ChurchKey.
Lauded Pittsburgh chef Justin Severino is moonlighting at Chiko Barracks Row on Friday from 9:30 PM to midnight as part of the restaurant’s ongoing Chiko After Dark series. Come for cocktails and salumi, stay for a special late-night kitchen tasting counter seating at 10:30 PM with a special menu of Severino’s creations for $65. Register for the party here and head to Resy for counter reservations.
In addition to VA Cider Week, cider enthusiasts will want to check out Rootstock on Saturday at noon at Hook Hall. The festival boasts unlimited tastings of mid-Atlantic made ciders and live music from Two Ton Twig. The District’s own ANXO and Capitol Cider House are included among the 50-plus vendors that will be at the event. General admission tickets are $39.
One of the biggest celebrity chef gatherings in DC is here. MetroCooking DC returns to the Washington Convention Center at noon on Saturday and Sunday for two days of cooking demos, cookbook signings, tastings, shopping sprees, and more. Attendees can catch Wolfgang Puck and Martha Stewart on the event stage (check out our pre-event interview with the lifestyle guru here) stop by a beer and wine garden, try some bites at the Grand Tasting Pavilion, and more. One-day general admission tickets are $21.50, but special event tickets vary.
Little Miss Whiskey’s Golden Dollar is hosting its fifth annual Movember pig roast on Saturday at 3 PM. Enjoy an all-you-can-eat spread with food by the Queen Vic’s Ryan Gordon and drinks from DC Brau. Proceeds benefit the Movember Foundation. Tickets are $60.
Ahead of its spring 2020 opening in Navy Yard, Puerto Rican restaurant La Famosa is hosting a pop-up and menu takeover at Right Proper Brewing’s Brookland facility on Saturday from 1 to 6 PM. Enjoy chef Joancarlo Parkhurst’s take on classic Puerto Rican fare including bolitas de queso ($5) and tripleta sandwiches ($9).
Republic Restoratives hosts an Autumnal AF party and cocktail competition on Sunday from 2 to 6 PM. Five local mixologists will compete to make the best drink with the women-owned distillery’s Chapman’s Apple Brandy. Spectators will get samples of all five cocktails and there’ll be eats from Call Your Mother and Migue’s Magnificent Mini Doughnuts. Tickets are $25.
The Passenger is celebrating ten years of boozy fun in Shaw on Sunday. Drinks will flow and live band karaoke will play.
And heading into next week…
DC Cocktail Week is back on Monday! Over thirty bars and restaurants around DC are participating including Dos Mamis, The Royal, and Fainting Goat. Check out the lineup of places serving special libations and throwing happy hours.
Manhattan restauranteur Lidia Bastianich is giving a behind-the-scenes look at her storied Italian restaurant Felidia during a book talk on Monday at the Smithsonian at 6:45 PM. In a conversation moderated by the Washington Post‘s Mary Beth Albright, Bastianich will discuss her time on public television, her family, and her new cookbook, Felidia. Tickets to the event, which include a copy of the new cookbook, are $50 for Smithsonian Associates members and $60 for non-members.
Walk through a winter wonderland at All-Purpose Capitol Riverfront starting on Monday. The pizzeria is setting up a holiday winter garden featuring fire tables, festive decor, and cozy drinks like hot mulled Pennsylvania cider and hot chocolate.
Madeline Rundlett is an editorial fellow for Washingtonian. She previously covered All-Met sports for the Washington Post and was an editorial intern at The Hill. Madeline graduated from the George Washington University with a degree in Political Communication in 2019.
