These brief bouts of sunshine have us convinced that spring is just around the corner—and with it, ingredients like asparagus and rhubarb that we crave all winter. While our seasonal menus are still ramping up, check out these fun food events that’ll make March fly by:

Get a taste of Texas.
Matt’s in the Market is one of our favorite quintessentially Seattle restaurants, so it’s extra fun that they go outside the box—and state—for chef talent with their Planes, Trains and Traveling Chefs series. In January, that chef was San Francisco’s Chris Cosentino; on March 7, the restaurant is hosting Texan celebrity chef Tim Love. Menu details aren’t being released—part of the fun in this is that these visiting chefs get to go down to Pike Place Market and check out what’s available beforehand—but the $150 six-course dinner will surely be in the vein of Love’s signature “urban western” cuisine. Reservations are required: call 206.467.7909.

Celebrate pi with pie.
Arbitrary food holidays = lame. Math-themed food holidays = amazing. Our favorite is Pi Day (3.14 is March 14, duh), which translates to the perfect excuse to eat pie. Though many spots around town will be dolling out specials, we recommend heading to cute Greenwood café Preserve & Gather on Sunday, March 11, from 5 to 8 p.m., for a Pi Day pre-party: a pie bakeoff where you get to be the judge. Registration is closed for competitors, but tickets are $15 to taste. 

Wash down your mon hing ga with a little la phat yay.
No clue what we’re talking about? Get yourself over to Bellevue this Saturday, March 3, for the annual Tipitaka Monastery food fair, which features Burmese food you can’t otherwise find in the Seattle area. Event details can be found here, but plan to go on the early end (it starts at 4 p.m.) before all the mont hpet tok is gone. 

Support your local James Beard semi-finalists.
On March 14, nominees will be announced for the prestigious James Beard Awards, like the Oscars of the food world. Seattle has a really solid representation on the semi-finalist list—all deserving chefs whose food you should definitely be eating. Check out the full list here, and start making plans to visit the likes of JuneBaby, Eden Hill, Opus Co., Adana  and Kamonegi a.s.a.p.

Eat chocolate for dinner.
Local chocolate brand jcoco is launching a pretty cool collaborative project this month, wherein they’ll partner with local culinary innovators to launch a line of inspired new flavors. This inaugural lineup features Heartwood Provisions’ Amanda Reed, Hood Famous Bakeshop’s Chera Amlag and chef Tarik Abdullah of the popular pop ups Morning Star Brunch and Midnight Mecca. To celebrate, jcoco is hosting a chocolate-inspired dinner with Abdullah on March 31 at the Seattle Chocolate flagship store. Tickets are $85 to $125 and can be found here.