The Week In Eats

Get Out!

by Dena Merlino

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At this dinner, the futuristic grub you create doubles as art. "This event is a mix of culinary delights, aesthetic display, some performance — it's basically a potluck on hallucinogenics," says Space 1026's Caitlin Perkins, who's converting the Chinatown studio space into the Mos Eisley Cantina from Star Wars. What should you bring? Design your galactic dish (Quark quiche! Klingon cookies!) to be devoured. Space 1026, 1026 Arch St., 215-574-7630, space1026.com.

John DeBella loves classic rock, so it makes sense that he's all about classic home-cooked dishes. The radio personality has challenged city chefs — Coquette's Cary Neff and Lacroix's Matthew Levin, to name a few — to a cook-off using grocery-bought ingredients (think Rice-A-Roni). Who'll walk away with the Golden Spoon? That's up to travel writer Beth D'Addono, NBC10's Tracy Davidson and Brian Freedman. Tix are free, but space is limited, so call ahead. Cescaphe Ballroom, 923 N. Second St., 215-627-1060.

Dinners Express is a service that delivers prepared meals to your door, but this week, they're leaving the final prep for you. Drop in to assemble and tote away six prepared dinners (each serves between four and six) back home to your freezer or oven. Choices will include sesame-crusted salmon; rosemary roast pork; and bell peppers stuffed with turkey. Registration required. Unitarian Society of Germantown, 6511 Lincoln Drive, 215-843-6333, mtairylearningtree.org.

Originally designed to school the service industry, sommelier Marnie Old's tasting techniques are now going public. For this "crash course on how wine professionals taste and talk," she'll isolate objective taste characteristics and explore olfactory perception. Students will leave with the ability to understand tasting notes — and the knowledge to order the perfect glass. Registration required. Temple University—Center City, 1515 Market St., Suite 215, 215-204-TUCC, tucc@temple.edu.

Free soup at Reading Terminal? That's souper comforting. Vendors (Down Home Diner, Hershel's East Side Deli, DiNic's, etc.) will vie for the top spot in this soup competition, judged by the likes of Philly Mag's April White and Ken Foster of Foster's Urban Homeware. Jazz band Swing Sautee will provide the tunes; there'll also be hot chocolate and crafts for the kids. Did we mention free soup? Reading Terminal Market, 12th and Arch streets, 215-922-2317.