Mardi Gras’ good times roll on Tuesday. If you can’t get to New Orleans, try celebrating at Union Street Public House (121 S. Union St., Alexandria) with a traditional gumbo or barbecued shrimp, served with grilled bread to mop up the sauce.
A Mardi Gras extravaganza will take place Tuesday at The Showroom (1099 14th St. NW, Suite 101L) from 6 to 10 p.m. The all-you-can-eat-and-drink event, priced at $55 per person, benefits DC Central Kitchen. New Orleans-style food will be prepared and presented by 20 of the city’s top chefs. The evening will include a costume competition and New Orleans-style music.
In Italy, pre-Lenten Carnevale is celebrated with parades, masquerade balls, entertainment, music and parties. In keeping with its Venetian tradition, Bibiana Osteria Enoteca (1100 New York Ave. NW) is celebrating the Carnevale di Venezia with a daily four-course, prix-fixe menu, priced at $65 per person, through Tuesday. Colorful masks are scattered throughout the 12-seat bar. The restaurant will feature several cherry blossom-inspired dishes during the National Cherry Blossom Festival.
David Guas, a New Orleans native, has been organizing Mardi Gras festivities at his Bayou Bakery, Coffee Bar & Eatery (1515 N. Courthouse Rd., Arlngton) for nine years. This year, the Bayou is hosting a NOLA “blowout” from 6 to 9 p.m. on Fat Tuesday. For one night only, creole and Cajun dishes, such as jambalaya and red beans and rice, are priced at $5 each.
On Friday, Chef Guas and Gina Chersevani of Buffalo & Bergen will create special Mardi Gras-themed dinner specials and hurricane cocktails from 9:30 p.m. to midnight at Chiko (423 Eighth St. SE), as part of the restaurant’s After Dark Series. A late-night Kitchen Counter seating will be available at 10:30 p.m. for an Eat the Menu tasting, priced at $65 per person.
On Sunday, March 10, Lupo Verde Osteria (4814 MacArthur Blvd. NW) will host an Italian-language class in collaboration with the Casa Italian Language School. Two 90-minute classes will be held, one for adults and one for children aged 6 to 10. The first 45-minute session begins at 4 p.m., followed by a 30-minute interval during which participants will go to the restaurant’s Italian market for complementary snacks. The second session takes place from 5:15 to 6 p.m., followed by a seated prix-fixe, three-course dinner priced eat $55 per adult and $25 for children.
This year’s National Cherry Blossom Festival, commemorating the 1912 gift of 3,000 cherry trees from Tokyo’s mayor to the city of Washington, D.C., takes place from March 20 through April 13. Many local restaurants celebrate the festival with cherry-themed dishes:
⦁ Red’s Table (11150 South Lakes Dr., Reston) features three cherry-blossom inspired dishes: a cherry salad with goat cheese and candied pecans, pork chop with cherry mostarda and cherry tart.
⦁ The Oval Room (800 Connecticut Ave. NW) features cherry blossom-cured hamachi and cherry blossom ice cream cake, as well as a special cocktail made with Japanese whiskey.
March 8 is International Women’s Day, celebrating women’s economic, political and social achievements. The Light Horse (715 King St., Alexandria) honors the occasion by showcasing wines from female winemakers and women-owned vineyards throughout the month. Eight wines will be available by the glass, including wines from California, Portugal, France, Germany and Italy. Prices range from $7 to $15 per glass.
March 14 is National Pi Day, celebrating the mathematical constant pi — 3.14. On the 14th, Dyllan’s Raw Bar Grill (1054 31st St. NW) will offer a three-course, prix-fixe menu priced at $31.40. Dessert, of course, is pie, either Key lime or apple crumble. Dyllan’s is holding cooking classes, priced from $55 to $65 per person and limited to 10 participants. Mixology classes are priced from $35 to $45. The first mixology class takes place March 13 from 7 to 9 p.m., Quick and Easy Soup Night is on March 14 from 6 to 8 p.m.; and shellfish shucking occurs on March 24 from 4 to 6 p.m.
Bastille (606 N. Fayette St., Alexandria) is now open on Mondays, offering a bar menu from 4 to 9 p.m., happy hour from 4 to 7 p.m. and a special $29 prix-fixe bistro menu in the dining room from 4 to 8 p.m. Bastille’s March wine class — “the Loire Valley, a romp through the garden” — is scheduled for Saturday, March 9, from 2 to 4 p.m., priced at $35 per person. It includes cheese, charcuterie, flatbread crackers and bread to pair with the wine.
New York bagels have arrived in Washington. At Buffalo & Bergen (1309 Fifth St. NE), owner Gina Chersevani receives a week’s supply of hand-crafted dough from Queens every Saturday. Recently, she introduced the “flagel” — a lighter, flattened, crispier, crunchier version of the traditional bagel, available in 16 flavors.
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