August 15 would have been Julia Child's one hundredth birthday. There are lots and lots of places around town for D.C. foodies, frites fans and Francophiles to celebrate.
Par example, from August 15 until Sept. 3, the Smithsonian Museum of American History will be reopening its exhibit of Child's distinctive turquoise kitchen. (After Sept. 3, the kitchen will close again as part of renovations scheduled to conclude in November.)
Food-wise, peut-être try Cafe Dupont, in the Dupont Circle Hotel, which will be offering a special three-course, prix-fixe homage to the fabled chef until Aug. 15. The menu will include Julia's favorite parfait de foie de poulet, canard à l’orange, and tarte tatin de pêche with Amaretto ice cream for dessert.
At RIS, August 15 kicks off an entire month of Child-themed celebrations. Many regular items on the RIS menu will be "Juliafied," like mussels being transformed into moules marinière with the addition of toasted bread.
Bonus: The West End restaurant claims special connection to the culinary grande dame because owner and head chef and owner Ris Lacoste trained with her in France. In addition to food, we expect Lacoste to be serving up plenty of stories about the time she cooked for the 160 revelers at Child's 90th birthday dinner.
For Julia's homebody fans, we recommend curling up with her excellent, inspirational autobiography "My Life In France." Enjoy the book with some red meat and gin, and a cat.