Espita Mezcaleria
Espita Mezcaleria Will Celebrate Day of The Dead with
A Month-Long Celebration this October
WHAT: Josh Phillips and his team at Espita Mezcaleria, the Southern Mexican-inspired restaurant located in the Shaw neighborhood of Washington, DC, invite guests to take part in one of Mexico’s great traditions, The Day of the Dead. From October 2nd through November 2nd, 2017, Espita Mezcaleria will offer a variety of specialty dishes & drinks throughout the month of October including Mole Negro, Pan de Muerto, and El Mezonte, a house-made Mezcal & Cynar flip cocktail made with activated charcoal. A series of events will also be available for guests throughout the month including a mezcal tasting, sugar skull painting, mole negro cooking demo and a puppy costume contest.
Additionally, Espita Mezcaleria will collaborate with local design firm, Reid & Taylor Studio, to redesign the restaurant for the month-long celebration. Windows will feature an art installation incorporating calaveras and other Dia de los Muerto designs. Throughout the dining room, a canopy of fairy lights will adorn the ceiling, along with a butterfly cage filled with hundreds of feather butterflies. At the entrance, guests are encouraged to leave offerings and gifts to departed loved-ones at their specialty “altar for the dead.” The complete list of events are pasted below:
Sunday, October 29th, from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.: Puppy Halloween Costume Contest on the Patio. One lucky pooch will receive a $100 gift certificate to the restaurant along with extra puppy treats.
Tuesday, October 31st, from 5 p.m. to 12 a.m.: Join us for drink specials and mezcal paired with special treats. Cocktails that will be available include the Vanilla Grapefruit Paloma with El Buho Espadin, Grapefruit Oleo and Mexican vanilla; the Mezonte with El Buho Mezcal, Cynar, espresso brown ale, lemon and chocolate bitters; the Oaxacan Sour with El Buho Espadin, angostura bitters, pineapple-Canela syrup, lemon, all-spice, clove and Canela as well as the La Llorona with espadin mezcal, bitter spirits, vermouths and Mexican fernet. Cocktails are priced from $12 to $13 each.
Wednesday, November 1st, from 5 p.m. to 12 a.m.: Annual Day of the Dead Party. The restaurant will be playing tunes from their favorite deceased artists. Guests will also enjoy face painting at the bar and various food and drink specials.
WHEN: October 2nd through November 2nd, 2017.
WHERE: Espita Mezcaleria is located at 1250 9th Street, NW, Washington, DC, 20001. The restaurant is located two blocks from the Mt Vernon Square, 7th St-Convention Center Metro Station accessible on the Green and Yellow Lines. For reservations or additional information, please visit http://espitadc.com.
WHY: Of pre-Hispanic and pre-Christian origin, the Day of The Dead is one of the most important holidays in Mexican culture. In rural Mexico, people visit the cemetery where their loved ones are buried and bringing candles to decorate gravesites. Toys for dead children and bottles of tequila to adults are also incorporated. Families sit on picnic blankets next to gravesites and eat the favorite food of their loved ones. Some families build altars in their homes, dedicating them to the dead. Altars are set up October 31st through November 2nd and are covered with offerings to the dead including flowers, fruits, vegetables, candles, incense, statues of saints, and photos of the deceased.