Washington, DC New Menu Report: 9/14/16

D.C. restaurant owners, chefs, and wine pros are finally realizing there's more to happy hour, fan food, and wine tastings and DMV diners are thrilled to try out all the new selections. If you are fan of iconic California Cabs and have never tasted wine from a magnum, that's a thing you can do; you can cheer on our favorite sports teams and eat well; and there's more to the five to seven hours then just cheap booze and food. You can actually meet an acclaimed winemaker and taste great wines; now that's what we call happy hours.

Blue Duck Tavern
They're baaack! Blue Duck Lounge at the Blue Duck Tavern has brought back its swanky Blue Duck Uncorked wine program for Tuesdays. In case you missed the last series, here's how it works: every Tuesday, from 5:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m., head to the Blue Duck Lounge and for $30 a glass you can sample a fine wine, in magnum, selected by GM Joseph Cerione from September through October. This round, the wines will all be Napa Cabs, and next week's selection for Sept. 20 is Arietta Winery Cabernet Red Blend Hudson Vineyard H block Napa Valley 2003.

Brickside Food & Drink
Not every sports fan is willing to settle for lousy hot dogs, cheap burgers, and grocery snacks; there are some sports aficionados that appreciate good food as much as any food lover, and now there's a place in Bethesda, Maryland for culinary discerning sports nuts: Brickside Food & Drink. Manning the stoves is chef Matthew Smith, a DMV native from Ellicott City, Maryland, and he has created a menu that includes indulgent old standbys like Maryland crab and artichoke dip along with more contemporary dishes like green curry mussels and wild mushroom crostinis and has included a range of meats, seafood, and poultry that are smoked in-house. In addition, when you need something to imbibe, Brickside's robust cocktail, punch (frozen adult creamsicles), and beer selections will win the game.  

Bibiana Osteria-Enoteca
Che bello Trentino is our motto, and if you love the wines from here as much as we do, you definitely want to attend the special tasting and Winemaker Happy Hour at Bibiana Osteria-Enoteca. This special happy hour menu is featured Thursday, Sept. 29 from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. and includes a guided tasting and winemaker's happy hour highlighting wines from historic Lechthaler winery in Trentino. Owner Romina Togn will be on hand to discuss the wines and a complementary selection of pizzas created by executive chef Jake Addeo will be served. This incredible experience can be had for just $25 per person (tax and gratuity not included) and here are the featured wines: 2015 Lechthaler Pinot Grigio; 2014 Lechthaler Pinot Noir and the 2013 Lechthaler Teroldego.

For more Washington DC dining and travel news, click here. Summer Whitford is the D.C. Editor and a food, drink and travel writer at The Daily Meal. You can follow her on Twitter @FoodandWineDiva and on Instagram at thefoodandwinediva. Read more of her stories here.