Eating & Drinking

A swing dance evening at Italiamo Kitchen! Swing dancing, live music, and Aperol Spritz — at one of Rockville's coziest Italian spots. Come as you are. Leave knowing how to swing. 7:15 PM — Free intro class (no experience, no partner needed) 8:00 PM — Social dance with live swing music and DJ set Live music by The Matt Kramer Project, featuring Donna Thiel on vocals.  Italiamo Kitchen · 15855 Redland Rd, Rockville MD $10 suggested contribution Aperol Spritz $5 · Food and drinks available all night Smart-Casual dress. Comfortable shoes. Vintage clothes welcome.

Attention all you meat lovers! Let's have brunch at Fogo De Chau at the Tyson's location, and enjoy made-to-order omelets, fresh fruits, waffles, yogurt parfaits and nutrient rich superfoods. All this, along side continuous fire roasted premium Brazilian cuts served tableside. Price: $54 + taxes and tip, per person (self-pay at restaurant) [MENU](https://fogodechao.com/menu-detail/?location=410&type=menu-brunch&id=4694) Valet and garage self-parking is available.

Join us for a ramen rendezvous and Japanese comfort food at the VERY recently lopened (4/15/26) **Kyuramen** in Herndon! ***FFX Now:*** National ramen chain Kyuramen opened Wednesday, April 15, 2026 at 2330 Silver Arrow Way and is currently offering a limited “soft service” menu of the brand’s popular dishes. The opening marks the Kyuramen’s second location in Northern Virginia and first outpost in Fairfax County. “We saw an opportunity to bring something unique to the Herndon community and look forward to sharing a new experience with our guests, alongside the signature dishes they know and love,” founder Gary Lin told FFXnow. Later this month, “the restaurant will transition into [an] elevated yet fun concept, debuting new creative menu offerings that build on Kyuramen’s signature approach to Japanese cuisine,” according to a press release. For now, the opening menu includes items like Tokyo tonkotsu shoyu ramen, with chashu pork, marinated soft-boiled egg, bamboo shoots, corn, seaweed and scallions, as well as a Korean-inspired kimchi ramen. These are joined by a “Yin-Yang Bowl,” which offers both tonkotsu shoyu ramen and sapporo miso ramen in one divided dish. “Beyond ramen, the menu features Japanese comfort food staples such as fluffy omurice served with curry or demi-glace, takoyaki octopus balls, dumplings, steamed bao buns, and other signature dishes reflecting the brand’s broader vision of Japanese comfort cuisine for American diners,” the release reads. The new restaurant was designed with the brand’s signature “honeycomb-style” private booths, an open kitchen and signature “wishing tree” decor, where guests may write and hang their wishes. It can seat about 130 guests. Lin founded the chain in New York City in 2014, aiming to make ramen “a more affordable daily cuisine” in the United States, according to previous reporting. In 2022, Lin told Gotham magazine he intended to create “the Starbucks of ramen in the U.S.” Today, Kyuramen has more than 126 locations worldwide, including over 70 nationwide outposts. The new Herndon restaurant is part of the brand’s expansion into the D.C. area, which so far includes one location in Falls Church in Falls Church that opened last October. Check out Kyuramen menu [here ](https://www.kyuramen.com/menu#sectionId-a1e247ea-0c57-498e-a9be-4044ed48bda8) **WAITLIST:** Meetup does not allow a waitlist for paid events. If this event fills and you are interested in adding your name to the waitlist, please send host a message through the app. To enhance the opportunity for great conversation, we would like to keep the group small. Please feel free to sign-up to meet us along with up to 2 friends. In the future, we will vary the days of the week, geography and the cost of restaurants so that we can attract many different types of diners. PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU ARE COMMITTED TO GO WHEN YOU RSVP FOR THIS EVENT. In the event our group incurs a fee for no-shows / late cancellations, your ability to RSVP for future events will be restricted. Thank you in advance for your understanding.Feel free to make suggestions for future meet locations. All diners will have their own tab to avoid any confusion. \*\* The small non-refundable registration fee helps us share the cost associated with Meetup platform ($360/year) and reduces the likelihood of no-shows, allowing us to better plan our events and accommodate attendees. Thank you in advance for your understanding!\*\* If you are unable to join us in July, we hope you'll stay interested and join us for a meal in the future. Looking forward to seeing you at Kyuramen in Herndon!

We invite you to an engaging evening of wine, cheese and lively conversation around NYT Editor's Choice ***All The Worst Humans: How I Made News for Dictators, Tycoons, and Politicians,*** a bridge-burning, riotous memoir by Phil Elwood, a top PR operative in Washington who exposes the secrets of the $129-billion industry that controls so much of what we see and hear in the media—from a man who used to pull the strings, and who is now pulling back the curtain. **From Goodreads:** After nearly two decades in the Washington PR business, Elwood wants to come clean, by exposing the dark underbelly of the very industry that’s made him so successful. The first step is revealing exactly what he’s been up to for the past twenty years—and it isn’t pretty. Elwood has worked for a murderer’s row of questionable clients, including Gaddafi, Assad, and the government of Qatar. In *All the Worst Humans*, Elwood unveils how the PR business works, and how the truth gets made, spun, and sold to the public—not shying away from the gritty details of his unlikely career. This is a piercing look into the corridors of money, power, politics, and control, all told in Elwood’s disarmingly funny and entertaining voice. He recounts a four-day Las Vegas bacchanal with a dictator’s son, plotting communications strategies against a terrorist organization in Western Africa, and helping to land a Middle Eastern dictator’s wife a glowing profile in Vogue on the same time the Arab Spring broke out. And he reveals all his slippery tricks for seducing journalists in order to create chaos and ultimately cover for politicians, dictators, and spies—the industry-secret tactics that led to his rise as a political PR pro. Along the way, Phil walks the halls of the Capitol, rides in armored cars through Abuja, and watches his client lose his annual income at the roulette table. But as he moved up the ranks, he felt worse and worse about the sleaziness of it all—until Elwood receives a shocking wake-up call from the FBI. This risky game nearly cost Elwood his life and his freedom. Seeing the light, Elwood decides to change his ways, and his clients, and to tell the full truth about who is the worst human. As always, please feel free to join even if you have not finished the book - no stress :-) All attendees are asked to please bring one of the following: 1. A bottle of wine 2. Cheese and Crackers 3. An alternate beverage or nosh of your choice Host will provide glasses, wine opener, plates & napkins. To enhance the opportunity for great conversation, we would like to keep the group small. Please feel free to sign-up to meet us along with up to 2 friends. 📚 Exciting Updates for 2026 Book Club! 📚 Starting in January 2026, we’ll be implementing a new system for book recommendations that will make our reading selections even more collaborative and engaging! **Book Recommendations:** From January through October, members can submit book recommendations at each meeting, via email, text or Meetup DM. All suggestions will be added to a shared Google Sheet, which will include links to Goodreads and other pertinent information for each book. [LINK to 2027 BOOK LIST](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/18AC_FH9bGGxyH6v7Rw36EvPtKtVl5e_N/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=102804280893316002961&rtpof=true&sd=true) **Voting for 2027 Reads:** Our voting for next year’s book selections will take place during the November 2026 meeting. Members in attendance will have the opportunity to cast 12 votes for their favorite picks. If you’re unable to attend the November meeting, you can still participate! Simply submit 6 votes via email, text, or DM through Meetup before the start of the November meeting. **Announcement of Selections:** The chosen books for 2027 will be revealed at the end of the November meeting. We’re excited about this new process and can’t wait to see the amazing book recommendations you all have! 📖✨ PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU ARE COMMITTED TO ATTEND WHEN YOU RSVP FOR THIS EVENT. We ask that ALL folks honor their RSVP. If you are unable to attend after sending in a YES, please update your status so that others may join us. In the event you do not communicate and are a no-show, your ability to RSVP for future events will be restricted. Thank you in advance for your understanding. If you are unable to join us in June, we hope you'll remain interested and join us for an evening in the future. Looking forward to wine & cheese with you soon - happy reading!