One of my favorite bar experiences this year (that I can remember) was drinking the night fantastic at Chris Hassaan Francke’s Middle Eastern cocktail pop-up “The Green Zone” in February. During that visit I earned the title of Green Zone champion/hero; I won’t say it was the proudest moment of my life, but it was… Read More Happy Persian New Year at the Green Zone
Adorned with stunning artwork, Espita Mezcaleria stimulates the senses with a sophisticated atmosphere and powerful, stunning cocktails. Ambiance: **** Decor: ***** Service: **** Cocktails: **** Overall Rating: 4.25 A couple of months ago I was walking around Shaw and observed some interesting Mexican window art going up in a restaurant space. Intrigued, I began reading up… Read More Under the Volcano – Espita Mezcaleria
Mussel Bar is a good easy spot to catch some games and sip a few simple drinks. Ambiance: *** Decor: **** Service: **** Cocktails: ***1/2 Overall Rating: 3.5 It’s been my pleasure over the past few years to use Glebe Rd for my morning and afternoon commutes. Usually I’m so dead-eyed tired or worn down that I fail to… Read More From the Sea to A-Town – Mussel Bar
After an inexcusable 3-week absence, I headed back to Petworth Citizen’s beautiful Reading Room for Graham Greene weekend, the latest installment in the bar’s awesome Literary Cocktail series. Frankly, I was surprised to be let back in after that display of disloyalty! Determined to repair my tarnished reputation, I launched into Chantal Tseng’s great menu… Read More Power and Glory at Petworth Citizen
This week I’m reviewing “At the Existentialist Cafe” by Sarah Bakewell. The book, which recounts the lives and debates of the leading lights of existentialism, opens in 1932 at a meeting of Simone de Beauvoir, Jean Paul Sartre, and philosopher Raymond Aron at the Bec de Gaz bar in Paris. The house speciality there was… Read More Existentialism and Apricot Cocktails
Adorned with beautiful artwork and colors, Tico provides great service and a bevy of superb cocktails. Ambiance: **** Decor: ****1/2 Service: ****1/2 Cocktails: **** Overall Rating: 4.25 I’m a fan of awards, although I rarely win them. Honors like the Rammy’s help me (and my liver) by lending order and focus to my cocktail love, pointing me… Read More On the Corner of 14th and Class – Tico
One of the more beautiful bars in the DC area, 2 Birds 1 Stone is a wonderful little basement spot with best-of-class cocktails. Ambiance: **** Decor: ***** Service: ****1/2 Cocktails: ****1/2 Overall Rating: 4.5 So many bars, so little time – that’s the dilemma for any two-bit cocktail blogger like myself. A glut of nice cocktail… Read More Basement Chic – 2 Birds 1 Stone
March is good for two things – St. Patrick’s Day and college basketball. Now, I’m the impatient sort of nominally Irish-American, so I spend the first two weeks of March counting the days until the ritual of heavy drinking, debauchery, and cultural celebration commences. But it dawned on me recently – in this go-get ’em, fast-paced world of… Read More St. Patrick’s Day Comes Early at Jack Rose
This week I’m reviewing “Fighters in the Shadows,” Robert Gildea’s new and excellent history of the French Resistance, so I did some thinking on French liqueurs and cocktails. One liqueur that always catches my eye is Chambord, a raspberry-blackberry flavored liqueur that comes in a cute little hand grenade-shaped bottle. Manufactured in the Loire Valley, the liqueur… Read More Heroes and Liqueurs of France
Alfie’s is a stellar bar with best-of-class cocktails, a wonderful crowd, and a simple warm décor. Ambiance: ***** Decor: **** Service: ***** Cocktails: ***** Overall Rating: 4.75 “Ooh she gave me Mekong Whiskey Ooh she gave me Hong Kong Flu Ooh she gave me Mekong Whiskey Put me on a breeze to Katmandu” -Sayonara, The Pogues… Read More On a Breeze to Kathmandu – Alfie’s
