What's Happening In Washington, DC: June 27, 2016
Not everyone has scattered to beach-side getaways or cabins in the woods yet and for those who are still around for the summer, we have some foodie suggestions for this week, next, and the Fourth of July.
701 Restaurant
Want to dine well on July 4th but still stay close to The National Mall for fireworks viewing? Go whole hog and head to 701 Restaurant for its whole roasted pig feast and patio barbecue. On Monday, July 4th, the feasting begins at 2 p.m., and executive chef Benjamin Lambert has pulled out all the stops for an a la carte menu that ranges in price from $5 to $20 per menu item. The menu includes a whole roasted barbecue pig, lobster rolls, hot dogs with onions and pimento cheese, a 701 burger with bacon, Comte cheese, and French fries, pit beef sandwich, loaded potato salad, cole slaw, and cornbread. You can also dine in the restaurant and order from a limited dinner menu of American cuisine served from 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Lupo Verde
Beginning July 1 and ending in December, head to Lupo Verde and order two new lifesaving menu items: a new pizza and a new cocktail. What gives? Any time you order the Pizza Capitano (made with tomatoes, eggplant, red peppers, smoked scamorza, nostralina, olives, and oregano) or the Lupo Verde cocktail (made with Don Ciccio e Figli fennel liqueur, rye, fennel bitters, and strong tonic) for brunch or dinner, $2 dollars from each sale will be donated to help support Defenders of Wildlife's fundraising campaign to protect wolves, an endangered species. Med Lahlou, owner and partner at Lupo Verde, is a strong proponent of getting involved and says, "We are very pleased to be supporting an important nonprofit whose headquarters are here in the nation's capital, and that does incredible work to preserve and protect wildlife, especially the majestic wolf which is currently under attack in many places in North America and beyond."
Smithsonian Folk Life Festival
Every summer, the Smithsonian hosts the Folklife Festival on The National Mall and gives visitors a chance to learn about other cultures through food, music, language, art, industries, and culture. This year, the festival is celebrating resilient communities around the world and their dedication to preserving their culture, traditions, and foodways, and the focus is on Euskadi, or Basque country in France and Spain and as part of the Diaspora. From Wednesday, June 29 to Monday, July 4, and then July 7 until July 10, you can attend an amazing array of concerts and workshops celebrating the Basques in France, Spain, and California, but foodies will enjoy the packed schedule of exciting cooking demonstrations, wine and cider tastings, cheese making demonstrations, and food tastings. In addition, you can sample traditional Basque dishes prepared and sold in concession tents at the festival, just find out where to find them on this map.
Taberna del Alabardero
Every day of the Smithsonian's Folklife Festival, from 11 a.m. to 8:45 p.m., food concession tents will be selling samples of traditional Basque food and the food of the Basque Diaspora will be prepared and sold by the chefs of famed D.C. Spanish restaurant Taberna del Alabardero. The restaurant's chef, Javier Romero, has prepared a traditional Basque menu that includes "talo amurrioko txistorrarekin" pork sausage tortilla wrap made with locally produced sausage from San Sebastian that is slightly thinner than chorizo and made with pork and beef flavored with garlic, salt, and paprika; "tolosako babarrunak" Tolsa red bean stew with vegetables(a specialty bean from south of San Sebastián that is famous for its rich flavors); "txangurroko burger club ranero bakailoarekin, gernikako piperrak" crab and cod burger with ranero sauce and gernika peppers, this dish is made with spider crab and served hot with butter; sukalki mugiako estilora beef short rib and vegetable stew is a hearty meat and potatoes dish from the Armintza (Vizcaya) region traditionally prepared by attites or grandfathers; astigarrako pantxineta puffed pastry filled with custard cream and toasted almonds is classic Basque. Desserts tend to be thick, custardy, and sweet and this dish is considered a cornerstone of Basque cuisine.
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.