WEDNESDAY January 18

With wintery doom on the horizon, our city’s dauntless restaurateurs and barkeeps are already proclaiming they they will be open no matter the weather. Find a spot within walking distance, and hunker down with a window seat, video camera, and Youtube account.

Want to spice up your food life, but you just don’t know which ones to use? Carol Peterman joins World Spice Merchants from 6 to 8:30 for Spice 101. You’ll learn the basics on different spices and how to spice dishes to make them unique. Tickets are $45 and the class is limited to 18 participants (who will benefit from a 10 percent discount on any class-day purchases).

FRIDAY January 20

Join chef Gabriel Carrera, beverage manager Janae Webb, and brewmaster Chelsea Bernard for a five-course Samuel Adams brewmaster’s dinner at Salty’s at Redondo Beach. The $65-per-person menu includes dungeness crab mac and cheese, teriyaki beef kebabs, and grilled tiger prawns in barbecued hollandaise sauce, with beers paired by Webb and presented by Bernard. Call 253-946-0636 to reserve.

SATURDAY January 21

The Pike Place Market Foundation’s Chef’s Tour series continues with Franz Junga of Il Fornaio as this week’s guide. See how the chef shops, then follow him to SieMatic Seattle for a cooking demo and light meal to finish it off. Spots can be reserved online.

SUNDAY January 22

Keith Robbins’s Tini Bigs is going big for its 15th birthday party. Starting at 6, a selection of 17 cocktails (one from each year since 1996) will be just $5 each. To compile the list, Robbins contacted a bartender from each year for their suggestion. With a lineup of guest bartenders and bar alumni, it’s half a birthday party and half a reunion.

From 6 to 8, taste classic cheeses from around the nation and globe while learning all there is to know about cheese from the experts at Calf and Kid. $35 per person, reservations must be made at the shop or call 206-467-5447.

Ethan Stowell is celebrating Tavolata’s fifth birthday not only by jumping on the line with chef Brandon Kirksey, but also by handing out free rigatoni to everyone. No to-go bowls, however.

BEYOND

Jan 26 Local 360 is holding its first annual Oyster Shindig, from 3:30 to 6:30. Email [email protected] if you’re interested in competing in the shucking contest—$250 grand prize, or if you just want to watch tickets are $25. Participants will have three minutes to shuck as many oysters as possible, with three judges on hand to determine the cleanliness of each shuck. Audience members can then wash down the oysters with some great Northwest wines.

Feb 6 Now’s your Foodportunity to do some restaurant networking at Tom Douglas’s Palace Ballroom from 6 to 9. From 6:30 to 7:30, participate in a Q&A with Kathy Casey (Kathy Casey Food Studios), Kurt Dammeier (Beecher’s Cheese), Jessie Oleson (cakespy.com), and Lisa Dupar (Lisa Dupar & Co.). Throughout the evening, taste bites from restaurants such as Luc and Rover’s, The Coterie Room, Il Corvo, and more. Admission is $25 if you buy now, $30 later.