Crawlers!
We're going to the Annual National Shamrock Fest!
We've already got the requisite 5 people interested in going, so our tickets are going to be $5 cheaper.
Details:
Saturday, March 12, 1pm
All day concerts, beer tents, etc.
http://shamrockfest.com/
$25/per person
I need to know COB if you want in b/c I'm pony-ing up for the tickets. You say yes, and you're on the hook for the ticket.
Dropkick Murphys will be there, and it doesn't get any cheaper to see one of the greatest Irish Punk Bands live.
Friday, February 18, 2011
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
U Street Crawl Review
Our first bar crawl was a TON of fun--thanks to everyone who came out!
Brief Bar Reviews:
Solly's
What a great place. It's shoe-box tiny, but it's definitely one of the most relaxed, unpretentious bars I've ever been to in DC. Definitely the place to take a "get-to-know-you-you're-kind-of-cool-but-I'm-still-feeling-you-out" dates to before dinner. Drinks are cheap and strong ($3 domestic bottles/$4 rail) and if you want live (but loud) music, head upstairs (yes, there is an upstairs). Bathroom is scary (hole in the door for those of you afraid of being watched) (and there's only one), so pee fast and move on, but you can order in food or bring it in since there isn't a kitchen.
High Points:
- Casual, come as you are
- Cheap Strong Drinks
- Good crowd
Low Points:
- One decrepit bathroom
- Live music is blow your ears out loud
Rating: 3.5 (Keep it in your portfolio)
DC9
DC9 made headlines lately after the terrible death that occurred a couple of months ago. However, I'd been a few times and had a great time at the Liberation Dance Party. Before the incident, you had to wade through frat boys looking to power hour before hitting bars better suited to their personalities. But now, the crowd is pretty manageable, the music is fun, and the atmosphere is generally pretty energetic without being overwhelming. It's a bit loud for good conversation unless you want to lose your voice.
High Points:
- Cheap drinks ($7 open bar, rail only)
- Good music
- Fewer frat boys
Low Points:
- Loud
- Rail drinks only (want a beer? head downstairs)
Rating: 3.5 (solid choice for drinking on the cheap)
Intermission: Ben's Chili Bowl
Amazing. Need I say more?
Cafe Saint-Ex
Let's be honest. By the time we got here after open bar rail drinks...I couldn't give you an accurate description of this bar if I tried. What I can tell you is this: dark, loud, crowded. And for the love of God, do not go down to the basement. It was like walking into a seedy sauna without lights and a hundred billion people writhing on each other. Remember that weird scene in one of the follow up Matrix movies where everyone is acting like a crazy meth head in a cave? That would be this.
Upstairs, someone managed to get drinks (I said eff it, I'd rather go home and have a beer) so we stood around upstairs and tried to avoid the overflow of the bar (3-4 people deep). Atmosphere looked cool though. Will return.
High Points:
- Cool Name
- Wide Selection of Beer (I had a Magic Hat #9)
Low Points:
- Meth heads trapped in dark dance in basement
- Very crowded
Rating: 2.5 (should be tested out once more before getting the boot)
Next Crawl will be Friday, March 4. Sorry for the Friday...I've got a half marathon on Sunday morning and I'm betting boozing and running don't mix too well.
Cheers
Brief Bar Reviews:
Solly's
What a great place. It's shoe-box tiny, but it's definitely one of the most relaxed, unpretentious bars I've ever been to in DC. Definitely the place to take a "get-to-know-you-you're-kind-of-cool-but-I'm-still-feeling-you-out" dates to before dinner. Drinks are cheap and strong ($3 domestic bottles/$4 rail) and if you want live (but loud) music, head upstairs (yes, there is an upstairs). Bathroom is scary (hole in the door for those of you afraid of being watched) (and there's only one), so pee fast and move on, but you can order in food or bring it in since there isn't a kitchen.
High Points:
- Casual, come as you are
- Cheap Strong Drinks
- Good crowd
Low Points:
- One decrepit bathroom
- Live music is blow your ears out loud
Rating: 3.5 (Keep it in your portfolio)
DC9
DC9 made headlines lately after the terrible death that occurred a couple of months ago. However, I'd been a few times and had a great time at the Liberation Dance Party. Before the incident, you had to wade through frat boys looking to power hour before hitting bars better suited to their personalities. But now, the crowd is pretty manageable, the music is fun, and the atmosphere is generally pretty energetic without being overwhelming. It's a bit loud for good conversation unless you want to lose your voice.
High Points:
- Cheap drinks ($7 open bar, rail only)
- Good music
- Fewer frat boys
Low Points:
- Loud
- Rail drinks only (want a beer? head downstairs)
Rating: 3.5 (solid choice for drinking on the cheap)
Intermission: Ben's Chili Bowl
Amazing. Need I say more?
Cafe Saint-Ex
Let's be honest. By the time we got here after open bar rail drinks...I couldn't give you an accurate description of this bar if I tried. What I can tell you is this: dark, loud, crowded. And for the love of God, do not go down to the basement. It was like walking into a seedy sauna without lights and a hundred billion people writhing on each other. Remember that weird scene in one of the follow up Matrix movies where everyone is acting like a crazy meth head in a cave? That would be this.
Upstairs, someone managed to get drinks (I said eff it, I'd rather go home and have a beer) so we stood around upstairs and tried to avoid the overflow of the bar (3-4 people deep). Atmosphere looked cool though. Will return.
High Points:
- Cool Name
- Wide Selection of Beer (I had a Magic Hat #9)
Low Points:
- Meth heads trapped in dark dance in basement
- Very crowded
Rating: 2.5 (should be tested out once more before getting the boot)
Next Crawl will be Friday, March 4. Sorry for the Friday...I've got a half marathon on Sunday morning and I'm betting boozing and running don't mix too well.
Cheers
Friday, February 4, 2011
Bar Crawl Tonight!
Remember: Bar Crawl Tonight!
Schedule:
7:30-9: Solly's Tavern (11th and U)
9-10:30 DC9 (9th and U)
10:30-Onward: Cafe Saint-Ex (14th and U)
Details:
It's cold outside, dress warmly, dress comfortably.
Solly's: I've never been, this one is a shot in the dark, but I hear good things
DC9: We'll be upstairs for the $7 open bar (rail only) BRING CASH liberation dance party, feel free to hang downstairs, too, but the open bar is only upstairs. Dancing is not required--prepare for indie music and music videos projected onto a big screen.
Cafe Saint-Ex: Dancing oriented, definitely, but you can stay towards the bar. Great beer, save room.
Let me know if you plan on making it so I know to look for you. Be there, bring friends, take pictures and look for us!
Schedule:
7:30-9: Solly's Tavern (11th and U)
9-10:30 DC9 (9th and U)
10:30-Onward: Cafe Saint-Ex (14th and U)
Details:
It's cold outside, dress warmly, dress comfortably.
Solly's: I've never been, this one is a shot in the dark, but I hear good things
DC9: We'll be upstairs for the $7 open bar (rail only) BRING CASH liberation dance party, feel free to hang downstairs, too, but the open bar is only upstairs. Dancing is not required--prepare for indie music and music videos projected onto a big screen.
Cafe Saint-Ex: Dancing oriented, definitely, but you can stay towards the bar. Great beer, save room.
Let me know if you plan on making it so I know to look for you. Be there, bring friends, take pictures and look for us!
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Outting Review: Ice Bar
Imagine yourself, arm in arm with someone you love. It's chilly outside. You have a date planned for nice drinks over looking the city at a temporary Ice Bar on top of one of DC's swankiest hotels...
You're walking to the hotel, hoping you haven't gotten there too late, after all, the bar is only opened from 5-10 and you're set to arrive around 8:30. Will there be room around a fire pit? An open air bar on the 14th floor in this weather is going to be a bit chilly...
You arrive at the lobby, a well dressed, professional "bouncer" checks your id, hands you a wrist band, then scans his card in the elevator for you. You and another few people head up to the bar. Down the hall, out the door, there's a covered pool, a stunning view blocked by absolutely no one and no thing.
There are some cool candelabra type things, a DJ playing Euro Mix music that Chadd describes sounding like: "unnss unss unsss DESIRE unnsss unss unsss PASSION." But hey, we're at a swanky place, we'll roll with that.
There's also a seating area:
And the ICE BAR!
So what's missing? Fire pits and people.
I don't know if they want to call a corner of ineffective space heaters and a gas flame in the side of a wall (that does not produce heat) a fire pit, but definitely not as advertised. And crowd? They must have also gotten the hint and taken a hike.
We both got a drink (even though we were freezing, neither of the warm cocktails sounded good at the time: spiked hot cocoa and mulled wine) and went for the cold specialty cocktails. One was some sort of firey vodka thing--jalepeno (I think?) infused vodka with some sort of juice and bitter oranges and I had some sort of Lychee nut vodka drink. Neither was particularly impressive and at the steep price of $12 a drink, they certainly weren't something to write home about. The bar tender poured Chadd's drink sloppily into the cup, so when he held it....wet cold hands.
We watched a couple try out the ice luge (cool), but I think they were as disenchanted as we were, even post luge. It was going to take a lot more than a cold shot of vodka to make it work.
High Points:
- Cool View
- Cool ice bar
- Cool concept
Low Points:
- No fire pit (effing freezing)
- Bad/Expensive Drinks
- No "scene" as it were
- Poor execution
Rating (based on a 1-5 scale):
1
You're walking to the hotel, hoping you haven't gotten there too late, after all, the bar is only opened from 5-10 and you're set to arrive around 8:30. Will there be room around a fire pit? An open air bar on the 14th floor in this weather is going to be a bit chilly...
You arrive at the lobby, a well dressed, professional "bouncer" checks your id, hands you a wrist band, then scans his card in the elevator for you. You and another few people head up to the bar. Down the hall, out the door, there's a covered pool, a stunning view blocked by absolutely no one and no thing.
You glance around the bar:
There's also a seating area:
And the ICE BAR!
So what's missing? Fire pits and people.
I don't know if they want to call a corner of ineffective space heaters and a gas flame in the side of a wall (that does not produce heat) a fire pit, but definitely not as advertised. And crowd? They must have also gotten the hint and taken a hike.
We both got a drink (even though we were freezing, neither of the warm cocktails sounded good at the time: spiked hot cocoa and mulled wine) and went for the cold specialty cocktails. One was some sort of firey vodka thing--jalepeno (I think?) infused vodka with some sort of juice and bitter oranges and I had some sort of Lychee nut vodka drink. Neither was particularly impressive and at the steep price of $12 a drink, they certainly weren't something to write home about. The bar tender poured Chadd's drink sloppily into the cup, so when he held it....wet cold hands.
We watched a couple try out the ice luge (cool), but I think they were as disenchanted as we were, even post luge. It was going to take a lot more than a cold shot of vodka to make it work.
High Points:
- Cool View
- Cool ice bar
- Cool concept
Low Points:
- No fire pit (effing freezing)
- Bad/Expensive Drinks
- No "scene" as it were
- Poor execution
Rating (based on a 1-5 scale):
1
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