Tonight, ChurchKey taps the only cask in town of Bell's coveted Hopslam. Meanwhile,  Smith Commons is hosting a whole dinner dedicated to out-of-market beers and unusual pairings: the goat cheese ravioli with raisin puree and pop rocks matched up with Hair of the Dog Brewing Co.'s "Fred" certain sounds interesting. Ditto the braised pork belly [...]

The annual release of Hopslam, the super-rare and coveted Imperial IPA from Michigan's Bell's Brewery that often has retailers jacking up their price guns, is upon us again. And, yes, at some outlets, it's already too late to buy some. Connecticut Avenue Wine & Liquors got six cases in on Monday and sold them out [...]

Cedric Maupillier's Mintwood Place opens Jan. 29 in Adams Morgan. Here's a sneak peek at the menu and check out the tagliatelle bolognese pictured above. [Eater DC] Cookie-themed café Uncle Chip's has opened in Truxton Circle [Prince of Petworth] Oh, truck it: The guys behind nightspots Ultrabar, Lima, and Barcode are launching two new food [...]

Megan Parisi, former lead brewer at Cambridge Brewing Co. in Massachusetts, has been hired by Neighborhood Restaurant Group, the owners of D.C.'s beer-centric Birch & Barley/ChurchKey, to head up production efforts at its new brewery, which is now under construction at The Yards near Nationals Park. Y&H colleague and "Brew in Town" columnist Daniel Fromson [...]

Happy Chinese New Year! Some tasty places to celebrate: Zentan, Toki Underground and The Source by Wolfgang Puck. [We Love DC] Hungry for Chinese peasant food the way they used to make it? You know, during the rule of Mao Zedong? There's a book for that. [NPR] Iconoclastic Alamo Drafthouse aims to open in the [...]

Newly proposed rules for D.C. food trucks include “vending development zones” allowing neighborhoods to decide how many mobile vendors can operate in their area. [WaPo] Does paying a little more for that hormone-free, veggie-fed beef burger at Black & Orange make you feel good enough to justify the money? [A Hamburger Today] ChurchKey not only [...]

Tonight, the newly rebranded 2100 Prime (ex-Jockey Club) caters a splashy—and I mean, splashy!—opening reception for the Capital Wine Festival at the Fairfax Hotel. Sip on samples from two Virginia wineries, Leesburg's Tarara Vineyards and Middleburg's Boxwood Vineyards, and some 45 others. Admission is $65 per person, with buffet fare included. Across town, Belga Cafe [...]

Really, it's OK to slurp your noodles at Toki Underground [NBC Washington] The new management at beleaguered Shaw's Tavern is feeling optimistic about its chances. Maybe someday soon, the place will actually be allowed to serve drinks. [Eater DC] The couple behind Le Caprice DC in Columbia Heights aims to “make people stop saying you [...]

In his weekly beer chat with WTOP, ChurchKey suds expert Greg Engert dishes up a few details about the new "boutique brewery" and restaurant that operator Neighborhood Restaurant Group is planning for the Southeast D.C. waterfront near Nationals Park. The project has already broken ground and Engert tells WTOP, "Hopefully, that'll be coming out—hopefully, keeping [...]

He might not think much of official cicerone certification programs, at least not as the only path to sudsy perspicacity, but that doesn't mean that ChurchKey beer director Greg Engert is opposed to a proper malt and hops education.  Next month, Engert is launching a year-long series of Saturday afternoon tutorials called "The Beer Academy" [...]