Arts & Entertainment
Stuck in D.C.?
Those who can’t make it home for Thanksgiving have several local dining options
D.C. has lots of dining options for those staying in town next week. (Blade photo by Michael Key)
Looking to enjoy a Thanksgiving feast without the hassle of spending hours in the kitchen cooking and cleaning up? Then, a number of D.C.’s finest and most popular restaurants will be the most welcome Thanksgiving day sight since the Pilgrims first spotted Plymouth Rock.
On Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 22) dozens of area restaurants will be serving up menus ranging from traditional to innovative holiday meals.
Here’s a list of what some will be offering:
Ardeo Bardeo Restaurant
3311 Connecticut Ave. NW
202-244-6750
Celebrate a traditional Thanksgiving meal or enjoy one of Chef Nate Garyantes’ dinner specials at Ardeo Bardeo from 5-11 p.m., which features everything from butternut squash soup to wild mushroom risotto to ricotta agnolotti. Turkey of course will be served but other dining choices include grilled swordfish, seven hour-braised Shenandoah lamb shoulder or grilled beef strip loin.
Art and Soul
415 New Jersey Ave., NW
202-393-7777
Executive Chef Wes Morton will pull out all the southern-inspired stops with his Thanksgiving buffet menu, featuring house-made maple ham, a roast of local heritage turkey and all the best holiday favorites. Seatings are available from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Adults are $55 per person and children ages 6 to 12 are $25. All customers will receive a “leftover” roast turkey sandwich complete with cranberry sauce and gravy to take home.
Beacon Bar and Grill
1615 Rhode Island Ave. NW
202-872-1126
Chef Steven Hunter will welcome all to Beacon Bar and Grill’s Thanksgiving Day dining celebration with traditional holiday fare and great seasonal alternatives. The three-course dinner is available from noon to 7 p.m. Adults $34.95, children $15.95.
Bistro Francais
3124 M St. NW
202-338-3830
This Georgetown French eatery will be offering a traditional three-course Thanksgiving meal, as well as an a la carte option from 11 a.m. to midnight. Lunch begins at $29.95 for adults, $19.95 for children, with dinner fetching $10 more.
Brasserie Beck
1101 K St. NW
202-408-1717
Chef Brian McBride will prepare Brasserie Beck’s first Thanksgiving Day feast with seatings from noon to 9 p.m. This contemporary Belgian brasserie will also offer special holiday desserts.
Café Berlin
322 Massachusetts Ave. NE
202-543-7656
This German-themed restaurant will be offering menu choices from its regular and special Thanksgiving Day menu from 1 to 8 p.m. The holiday meal begins with pumpkin soup and is followed by roasted turkey with all the trimmings and choice of dessert. Cost is $27 per person.
Darlington House
1610 20th St. NW
202-332-3722
Owners Fabio and Patricia Beggiato invite Thanksgiving revelers to head to their Italian eatery for a special holiday meal, that starts with a glass of prosecco. Traditional offerings will be available from 2 to 11 p.m. Adults cost $49, children $25.
Freddie’s Beach Bar & Restaurant
555 S. 23rd St., Arlington, VA
703-685-0555
The restaurant will be offering its annual Thanksgiving all-you-can-eat buffet from noon to 7 p.m., featuring a traditional menu of turkey, stuffing, yams plus pumpkin pie and other dessert favorites. Cost is $19.99 per person.
Palm Restaurant
1225 19th St. NW
202-293-9091
Looking to give thanks in style? This Dupont Circle steakhouse is offering a three-course Thanksgiving prix fixe menu featuring slow-roasted hand carved turkey with all the trimmings. Dinner is served from 2 to 8 p.m. at $45 for adults and $19 for children under 12.
Rasika West End
1190 New Hampshire Ave. NW
202-466-2500
This contemporary Indian restaurant will be serving turkey in addition to its regular menu from noon to 11 p.m.
Roberts Restaurant at the Omni Shoreham
2500 Calvert St. NW
202-756-5300
Executive Chef Dan Murray and his culinary team will be offering a Thanksgiving brunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., featuring all the traditional favorites mixed in with his signature style. Brunch is $64 for adults, $27 per child.
Taberna del Alabardero
1776 I St. NW
202-429-2200
Celebrate the holiday at this Spanish restaurant with a prefixed menu and live entertainment. Enjoy a lavish Turkey meal and finish the night with a special dessert of cherry sponge cake, corn cream, blueberry mousse and pumpkin marmalade. Price is $64 a person. Dinner will be served beginning at 5 p.m.
Trio
1537 17th St. NW
202-232-6305
From noon to midnight Trio will be offering a special four-course Thanksgiving meal for $17.95. On tap for the menu is cream of turkey soup, choice of salad, an entrée of roast turkey with giblet gravy, roast duckling aux oranges or baked sugar-cured ham with raisin sauce, plus all the fixings. Dessert will offer pumpkin pie, homemade bread pudding and rice pudding.
Sports
Jason Collins dies at 47
First openly gay man to actively play for major sports team battled brain cancer
Jason Collins, the first openly gay man to actively play for a major professional sports team, died on Tuesday after a battle with brain cancer. He was 47.
The California native had briefly played for the Washington Wizards in 2013 before coming out in a Sports Illustrated op-ed.
Collins in 2014 became the first openly gay man to play in a game for a major American professional sports league when he played 11 minutes during a Brooklyn Nets game. He wore jersey number 98 in honor of Matthew Shepard, a gay college student murdered outside of Laramie, Wyo., in 1998.
Collins told the Washington Blade in 2014 that his life was “exponentially better” since he came out. Collins the same year retired from the National Basketball Association after 13 seasons.
Collins married his husband, Brunson Green, in May 2025.
The NBA last September announced Collins had begun treatment for a brain tumor. Collins on Dec. 11, 2025, announced he had Stage 4 glioblastoma.
“We are heartbroken to share that Jason Collins, our beloved husband, son, brother and uncle, has died after a valiant fight with glioblastoma,” said Collins’s family in a statement the NBA released. “Jason changed lives in unexpected ways and was an inspiration to all who knew him and to those who admired him from afar. We are grateful for the outpouring of love and prayers over the past eight months and for the exceptional medical care Jason received from his doctors and nurses. Our family will miss him dearly.”
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said Collins’s “impact and influence extended far beyond basketball as he helped make the NBA, WNBA, and larger sports community more inclusive and welcoming for future generations.”
“He exemplified outstanding leadership and professionalism throughout his 13-year NBA career and in his dedicated work as an NBA Cares Ambassador,” said Silver. “Jason will be remembered not only for breaking barriers, but also for the kindness and humanity that defined his life and touched so many others.”
“To call Jason Collins a groundbreaking figure for our community is simply inadequate. We truly lost a giant today,” added Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson in a statement. “He came out as gay — while still playing — at a time when men’s athletes simply did not do that. But as he powerfully demonstrated in his final years in the league and his post-NBA career, stepping forward as he did boldly changed the conversation.”
“He was and will always be a legend for the LGBTQ+ community, and we are heartbroken to hear of his passing at the young age of 47,” she said. “Our hearts go out to his family and loved ones. We will keep fighting on in his honor until the day everyone can be who they are on their terms.”
The Washington Blade will update this article with additional reaction when it becomes available.
Glitterati Productions held the “Studio 69” party at Bunker on Friday, May 8.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
Arts & Entertainment
Washington Blade’s Pride on the Pier returns June 13 to kick off D.C. Pride week
Pride on the Pier officially launches Pride Week in D.C.
The Washington Blade’s annual Pride on the Pier celebration returns to The Wharf on Saturday, June 13, 2026 from 4-9 p.m., bringing thousands of LGBTQ community members and allies together for an unforgettable waterfront celebration to kick off Pride week in Washington, D.C.
Now in its eighth year, Washington Blade Pride on the Pier extends the city’s annual celebration of LGBTQ visibility to the bustling Wharf waterfront with an exciting array of activities and entertainment for all ages. The District Pier will offer DJs, dancing, drag, and other entertainment. Alcoholic beverages will be available for purchase for those 21 and older.
“Pride on the Pier has become one of the signature moments of Pride in D.C.,” said Lynne Brown, publisher of the Washington Blade. “There’s nothing like watching our community come together on the waterfront with live music and incredible energy as we kick off Pride week.”
Pride on the Pier is free and open to the public, with VIP tickets available for exclusive pier access to the Dockmaster Building. To purchase VIP tickets visit www.prideonthepierdc.com/vip.
Additional entertainment announcements, sponsor activations, and event details will be released in the coming weeks.
Event Details:
📍 Location: District Pier at The Wharf (101 District Sq SW, Washington, DC)
📅 Dates: Friday, 13, 2026
⏱️ 4-9PM
🎟️ VIP Tickets: www.PrideOnThePierDC.com/VIP
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