Food Events Around Town

Popular Queen Anne cantina Peso's Kitchen & Lounge is challenging Broadway's Galerías in the nouveau Mex game. Their "new Mexican" menu features fashionable offerings that are at least as much Seattle as Tijuana. Blackened rockfish with serrano ham and gulf shrimp sauce ($13.95), shrimp-and-crawfish cakes with ancho remoulade ($7.50), and endive-arugula salad with d'Anjou pears ($6.50) are among Peso's high-concept takes on south-of-the-border cuisine. Menu prices vary. Dinner served after 4 p.m. 605 Queen Anne Ave. N., 206-283-9353. QUEEN ANNE

FEB. 13

Get out of town for the long weekend. Then smoke, drink, and binge your way through Friday the 13th, and let fate take its course. Defy superstition and indulge in all things delightful (and, consequently, potentially detrimental to your health) at Hinzerling Winery's annual winter cigar dinner. The decadence will start with cigars ablaze at 6 p.m. Hors d'oeuvres, sherry and "convivial conversation" will ensue. Then sit down for a seven-course meal accented by appropriate libations. Just when you think it's over, fail to leave well enough alone with a port-and-cheese course, dessert, and an after-dinner cigar. $36.99. 6 p.m. 1520 Sheridan Ave. (Prosser), 800-727-6702. PROSSER, WA

FEB. 15

Close your eyes and it's Kansas City. The cobblestone streets of Pike Place will come alive with thick smoke and extremely tangy sauces at the Market's annual barbecue and chili cook-off. Organized by the Pacific Northwest BBQ Association (didn't know there was one, did you?), the event should include a beer garden and a great deal of meat. Free. 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Pike Place Market, 206-528-2550. PIKE PLACE MARKET

FEB. 21

We at Food Files love gnocchi, so the arrival of Father Gnocchi is like the Rapture. Those who appreciate the Italian potato dumplings will enter into the Gnocchi Kingdom, and those who have lived without knowing the pleasures of gnocchi will be left to their own questionable devices. To honor Verona's annual winter carnival, where Father Gnocchi is a regular guest, Piatti Ristorante is welcoming The Big F.G. (as his friends call him) for a special Seattle appearance today. The restaurant will also feature three special gnocchis?spinach, squash, and pesto?through February. Menu prices vary; seeing Father Gnocchi is free. 1-1:30 p.m. 2800 N.E. University Village, 206-524-9088. UNIVERSITY VILLAGE

From faraway India come the frost teas?two oolongs, one green?featured at the Perennial Tea Room this week. Picked from a frost-marred field in the Subcontinent's Nilgiri district, the trio of teas on tap should prove challenging to enthusiasts and first-time drinkers alike. Free. 11 a.m.-1 p.m. The Perennial Tea Room, 1910 Post Alley, 206-448-4054. PIKE PLACE MARKET THE GRAPEVINE

FEB. 11

Echt Deutsch and New Thai unite at the Seattle Enological Society's Dee Vine Wines dinner. Featuring German rieslings and a pinot noir paired with lip-smacking apps from the kitchens of Wild Ginger, the evening is hosted by Dee Vine diva Liz Grubel. $25 ($15 for SES members). 7 p.m. St. Demetrios Cultural Center, 2100 Boyer Ave. E., 425-603-9558. CAPITOL HILL

FEB. 12

Meet DeLille Cellars representative Chris Upchurch at Daniel's Broiler's February "Meet the Winemaker" event. Includes tasting, natch, and all tasted wines will be available at Daniel's during the dinner hour. Free. 6:30-8 p.m. 809 Fairview Pl., 206-621-8262. SOUTH LAKE UNION

FEB. 14

If you were astonished by Seattle Opera's recent production of Carmen and hope to find similar tragic grandeur in the Bordeaux varietal called "carmenere," you're in for a disappointment. But if you crave a merlotlike wine with considerably more cherry, raspberry, and current overtones, this unusual grape?once thought extinct?might be an enological dream come true. Experience its subtle splendor at an afternoon tasting. Free. 3-6 p.m. Fremont Red Apple Market & Wine Bar, 3601 Fremont Ave. N., 206-633-FOOD. FREMONT

FEB. 14-16

Escape the doldrums of the city and brave the wilds of the Olympic Peninsula, downing red wine and gourmet chocolate all the way. For what is sure to be one of the more romantic adventures of the Valentine's Day weekend, the North Olympic Peninsula & Islands Winery Association offers "Red Wine and Chocolate" (see this week's Sips column). Your mission will begin on Saturday, at 10 a.m., at any of the NOPIWA's wineries (located in Port Angeles, Sequim, Port Townsend, Bainbridge Island, Whidbey Island, et al.). For a mere $15, you'll receive a special wine glass that allows you to infiltrate the tasting rooms of all nine wineries. All will offer premium red wines paired with the work of some of the Northwest's premier chocolate mavens. Be sure to book yourself at a quaint B&B, as your quest is likely to be long and decadent. $15. For locations, visit www.wineryloop.org. 360-379-3378. GREATER PUGET SOUND AREA

Think zydeco and beads as Lisa Dupar Catering teaches you to whip up crawfish étouffée, shrimp creole, seafood gumbo, and other dishes at a New Orleans-themed cooking class. $65. 6:30-8:30 p.m. 17825 N.E. 65th St., Suite A140, 425-881-3250. REDMOND

FEB. 15

Quirkyfabulous culinary clinic the Boat Street Kitchen lets the sun shine in with a class devoted to citrus. Old familiars (lemon, orange, grapefruit) and lesser-known oddities (kumquat) are both part of the pucker-inducing program. $69. 3-6 p.m. 2238 Eastlake Ave. E., 206-323-7132. EASTLAKE