Saturday, September 14, 2024 at 4PM
Calling all epicures, foodies, and bon vivants to join the DC Food & Beverage Collective for a summer happy hour in the newly renovated, beautiful dining room of Hank’s Oyster Bar Old Town. Trailblazing Chef Jamie Leeds has curated a flight of wines to perfectly compliment the fresh seafood featured on Chef’s famous shellfish tower. A raffle of prizes fit for foodies will round out the festivities.
Seamore's
Seamore’s, a seafood restaurant in Arlington, VA focused on offering sustainable seafood from the Chesapeake region. A delicious multi-course dinner where 5 different types of seafood will be served, with lovely wine pairings.
Port City Brewing
A fun afternoon of beer, cheese & charcuterie. Port City and Arrowine are teaming up to deliver a fun filled event at the longest operating brewery in metropolitan Washington, DC. Both companies will walk you through their product.
Michele's
Chef Baker has prepared a delicious 2 course brunch featuring appetizers like crawfish hushpuppies and black truffle tart flambee which will be followed by your choice of an entrée from the delicious menu options below. In addition, Judy Elahi, Corporate Bar Director, has created a lovely menu with inventive cocktails for guests to choose from and enjoy.
The Italian Store
Everyone is familiar with Chianti, Barolo and Pinot Grigio. We would like to introduce you to wines many Italians drink with their daily meals. Join our host, Brenan Downey (Downey Selections), in a wine tasting of 5 lesser-known Italian varietals expertly paired by Italian Wine Store Director John Kay. A sparkling starter will also be offered to each guest.
CHIKO
Chef Scott Drewno is serving up a fabulous family-style dim sum brunch at the Bethesda location of CHIKO. Come join the fun as we enjoy dim sum classics for a good cause! Choice of two beverages per person are included (beer, wine, soda, iced tea).
NaRa-Ya
Upon arrival we will receive a glass of sparkling wine to sip on as we watch a demonstration by a NaRa-Ya chef on how to create a sushi roll. We will then enjoy a sushi roll and two drinks from the Sunset Happy Hour Menu which includes Wine, Beer, Daily Selection of Cocktails, or Highballs.
Mariscos 1133
A fundraising Tequila and Mezcal class followed by a margarita demonstration at Mariscos 1133. Enjoy margaritas, family-style guacamole, queso fundido, and an assortment of tacos while watching beverage director and mixologist, Scott Clime, explain the differences between Mezcal & Tequila and then demonstrate how to make a classic margarita and variations such as Mariscos 1133’s specialty, the “margarita con puré de frutas.”
Boqueria Penn Quarter
This brunch will feature familiar Spanish specialties such as jamon serrano, patatas bravas, and tortilla Espaniola. And did we mention the refreshing, free-flowing sangria? A raffle will round out the festivities.
Stellina Pizzeria
Our annual Rosé All Day event is back! Please join us for a fun afternoon at Stellina Pizzeria’s new location in Mt. Vernon Square, which was just included in Eater’s 15 Hottest New Restaurants in D.C. (June 2022). Owner and Italian Wine Scholar Antonio Matarazzo will lead us through a tasting of 6 different roses that will be paired with a delicious 3 course family style Italian lunch prepared by Chef and Owner Matteo Venini.
The Tavern at Ivy City Smokehouse
The contest will pitted eight of the area’s top chefs against one another in a crab cake showdown utilizing Department-verified Maryland blue crab. The winning chef’s restaurant received funds to support a culinary intern in their kitchen. In addition to this “main event,” students from area culinary schools or programs competed in their own crab cake competition. The winning student was awarded a $500 scholarship. Guests had the opportunity to sample each of the chef contestants’ crab cakes and cast a vote for the People's Choice award. Guests also enjoyed an oyster bar, New England clam chowder station, and other passed appetizers for which Ivy City Smokehouse is known.
Ris
A fun Rosé All Day tasting and learning experience about this underappreciated wine style. We discussed the various methods of making rosé wine and then sample a dozen different rosés from all over the world. Guests tasted several small plates by Chef Ris Lacoste and learned why this wine style was chosen "Best Wine" in this year's Sommelier Smack Down at Cochon 555. The event was concluded with guests ranking their top three favorites.
Cotton & Reed Distillery Tour & Tasting
A cocktail event at Cotton & Reed, Washington DC’s first rum distillery. The event included a tour of the distillery, an ingredient tasting, a rum flight and two cocktails. This specially arranged tour allowed attendees to not only learn about the history of Cotton & Reed and taste their amazing rum, but also see the rum distilling process. DCFBC provided light snacks while guests enjoyed their rum flight and cocktails.
BIN1301
An exciting and educational seminar and tasting of aromatized and fortified wines. Chad Cortner of BIN1301 will lend his expertise, guiding us through carefully selected wine flights served with international meat and cheese boards.
Tico
We celebrated summer by learning how to make ceviche! Attendees enjoyed this instructional class with Chef Rodrigo Perez while having a glass of cava. Following the class, a family style dinner was served, which included different types of ceviche and a multi-course menu with an assortment of Tico's signature dishes. A cocktail paired with each course.
Brasserie Beck
With the help of olive oil expert Luanne O'Laughlin of Olio2go, we learned the characteristic aroma and flavor of olive oil produced from specific cultivars that can be assessed through proper tasting. We also discovered the characteristics of the cultivars and where they are found in Italy, as well as the type of olive oil that they produce. After the guided tasting, we feasted on a special 5 course lunch menu provided by Brasserie Beck, using the olive oils in every course, even dessert. This menu highlighted the varied tastes and qualities of the extra virgin olive oils when used with different cooking methods or simply “crudo” (raw). A wine pairing accompanied each course.
Arroz
The talented bar team led by Taha Ismael offered guests a primer on how to make the perfect summertime refresher: sangria! This demonstration will be followed by a coursed, family-style brunch, paired with refreshing white and red sangria.
Alta Strada
Guests were welcomed with cheese and Salumi followed by pizza making demo with Alta Strada's new local Italian food guru. After the demo, we enjoyed a sit down lunch (Family style) with Roasted Cauliflower, Crispy Meatballs, Charred Greens, pizza and chocolate pistachio bundino for dessert. Unlimited house wine and Moretti was included.
Buttercream Bakeshop
This hands on class will feature Buttercream's buttermilk pie crust recipe which participants will turn in to apple pie as well as a savory quiche. While the goodies are baking, the chef/owner Tiffany MacIsaac and Lead Decorator/Partner Alex Mudry-Till took questions from the class. Guests took home home one 5" apple pie and one 5" savory quiche, as well as recipes to make 9" versions of each.