Definitive Washington DC visit thread

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Wonder if Aslin is going to do their popup at Nats games again this year. Never got a chance to make it up last year.
 
wuntrikpony said:
Wonder if Aslin is going to do their popup at Nats games again this year. Never got a chance to make it up last year.
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I never went either - I hate going down to that area anytime around games. I'm also pretty over Aslin at this point. The hazy thing has run its course with me and their beers are often incredibly sweet. If there's something I haven't tried on a Meridian or Smoke and Barrel, I may try it, but I've had about enough of them at this point.
 
bramsdell said:
I never went either - I hate going down to that area anytime around games. I'm also pretty over Aslin at this point. The hazy thing has run its course with me and their beers are often incredibly sweet. If there's something I haven't tried on a Meridian or Smoke and Barrel, I may try it, but I've had about enough of them at this point.
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I hear ya...just never been to a Nats game and being from LA, the ballpark beer options were $14 Tecate and 6 month old Golden Road IPA.

I want to jump off the haze train as well, but had a DDH IPA from Triple Crossing last night that was ****ing amazing.
 
wuntrikpony said:
I hear ya...just never been to a Nats game and being from LA, the ballpark beer options were $14 Tecate and 6 month old Golden Road IPA.

I want to jump off the haze train as well, but had a DDH IPA from Triple Crossing last night that was ****ing amazing.
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Word - big fan of Triple Crossing. Enjoyed stopping by there a couple of years ago while in Richmond.

What we really need in DC are stores that can serve pours, like in NC. I remember when I first visited Raleigh like 5-6 years ago and went to Bottle Revolution and Tasty Beverage. It was amazing.
 
bramsdell said:
What we really need in DC are stores that can serve pours, like in NC. I remember when I first visited Raleigh like 5-6 years ago and went to Bottle Revolution and Tasty Beverage. It was amazing.
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Haha, I actually can't stand the proliferation of bottle shops down here. Having a couple is cool and all, but we really lack great beer bars. All the good beer is available at places that I don't really want to hang out at(with the exception of Tasty).
 
wuntrikpony said:
Haha, I actually can't stand the proliferation of bottle shops down here. Having a couple is cool and all, but we really lack great beer bars. All the good beer is available at places that I don't really want to hang out at(with the exception of Tasty).
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I get you. To be honest, that's exactly how I feel about Churchkey here in DC. Yeah, that taplist is great, but it's pretty insufferable anytime from 5-9pm on weekdays and pretty much all afternoon on weekends. Just way too many people and a lot of post-work bros. The Sovereign is definitely better, but it requires going to Georgetown.

The bottle shop situation has drastically improved just in the last couple of years. It used to be that there were very few stores that gave a **** (D'Vines being the only one in my area), but now lots of grocery stores have a solid selection (especially Yes! Market by my house) and there are some real gems.

If anyone hasn't been to Odd Provisions, it's definitely a good spot to check out. It's adjacent to my neighborhood and I bike by it every day I go to work, but it always just looked like one of those "overpriced olive oil and chocolates" places. Their beer selection is very solid and prices are reasonable for the area. It's pretty much one block away from Meridian Pint, too.

I forgot that I went to a newish (I think) place in Georgetown a couple of months ago called The Berliner. It's way the hell up there (pretty much under the Key Bridge), and it's pseudo-beer hall-y. Taplist was solid, prices were fine (for Georgetown), and they have a ping-pong table. Not a bad little place, but not somewhere I would make the trek to Georgetown for, as opposed to the Sovereign.
 
Beerontwowheels said:
Ugh. First time I won’t be able to make it. Headed to NY for Easter/family time.
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Churchkey is my current favorite place on Earth. Great draft list, had some tasty beverages. Highlights were that Czech pilsner that HF is importing and Schlenkerla.
 
Will be in town for a few days in early May, does Aslin still have that pop up ramen kitchen? Anywhere else I should check out, aside from the usual suspects (Sovereign, Church Key, Meridian, Smoke and Barrel, Jack Rose, etc.)?
 
ScottJWing said:
Will be in town for a few days in early May, does Aslin still have that pop up ramen kitchen? Anywhere else I should check out, aside from the usual suspects (Sovereign, Church Key, Meridian, Smoke and Barrel, Jack Rose, etc.)?
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Meridian Pint closed, sadly. Well, actually, it moved to VA, which is even worse.

I don't think that Aslin is doing its popup anymore.

I don't think there's anything really new and poppin in DC, beer-wise. If you haven't made it to Right Proper (either brewpub or production brewery), that's a good play. Three Stars makes some decent beer, too, but they're much more old school, brewery with some tables in it type of place.
 
franch said:
churchkey is still the best beer bar in the country.
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It is if you can go at opening on a weekday. After 6pm, it's usually too full with pretty lame people - either downtown bros or neckbeard cicerones.

At this point, I think the Sovereign is generally more interesting and more fun. But if you get Churchkey all to yourself...that's the dream.
 
bramsdell said:
Meridian Pint closed, sadly. Well, actually, it moved to VA, which is even worse.
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Huh, I was just there 4 days before that happened apparently. It was ok, had a couple of mediocre beers on tap and left.

Bluejacket has an incredible space, beers were hit or miss though. The cask beers were tasty and the lagers were pretty solid. Red Bear was cool but the beer was lacking. After hitting a few spots around town I just said **** it and ended up back at Churchkey instead.
 
I've been trying to piece together something from this thread, but it's a little tough (for me anyway) to get a good idea on how to come up with an itinerary for a day of grub and beer starting around noon and ending when my friend and I are done.

I know I would like to hit churchkey as I haven't been since 2011 IIRC. And I was last in DC 2 years ago, but didn't really have time to just get out and hit some breweries and bars. Seems like Adams Morgan and Dupont are decent areas to start, but I'm not sure.

Any advice or guidance on how to arrange the day? I would like to start with lunch and beer - ideally in an area that walking to a couple/few spots after would be feasible. I have no objection to taking transit/uber to a different area of town, maybe a couple times if you folks say it's worth it.

Beer wise, I drink everything and love just about everything. I'm always on the lookout for a good selection or production of lagers these days too.

Food wise, I have no dietary restrictions, but especially dig really authentic grub from anywhere from the Asian continent (including Russia). I have a fondness for noodle dishes, but also really love Indian.

My buddy and I plan to get into DC proper around lunchtime on 6/3 (Monday Funday), and if anybody would like to meet for a beer that day that'd be great - my treat.

Thanks!
 
harrymel said:
I've been trying to piece together something from this thread, but it's a little tough (for me anyway) to get a good idea on how to come up with an itinerary for a day of grub and beer starting around noon and ending when my friend and I are done.

I know I would like to hit churchkey as I haven't been since 2011 IIRC. And I was last in DC 2 years ago, but didn't really have time to just get out and hit some breweries and bars. Seems like Adams Morgan and Dupont are decent areas to start, but I'm not sure.

Any advice or guidance on how to arrange the day? I would like to start with lunch and beer - ideally in an area that walking to a couple/few spots after would be feasible. I have no objection to taking transit/uber to a different area of town, maybe a couple times if you folks say it's worth it.

Beer wise, I drink everything and love just about everything. I'm always on the lookout for a good selection or production of lagers these days too.

Food wise, I have no dietary restrictions, but especially dig really authentic grub from anywhere from the Asian continent (including Russia). I have a fondness for noodle dishes, but also really love Indian.

My buddy and I plan to get into DC proper around lunchtime on 6/3 (Monday Funday), and if anybody would like to meet for a beer that day that'd be great - my treat.

Thanks!
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I'll be out of town, but enjoy! Happy to answer any questions.

Do you like Ethiopian food? It's kind of DC proper's ethnic food of fame. I am far from an Ethiopian expert, so others should definitely jump in, but if so, then I would probably get lunch at a place in Shaw (Chercher or Queen of Sheba) and hit Right Proper's pub in Shaw. Hang there for a bit and then make your way to Churchkey. Most places with good beer lists aren't open before 4, but Right Proper might be.
 
bramsdell said:
I'll be out of town, but enjoy! Happy to answer any questions.

Do you like Ethiopian food? It's kind of DC proper's ethnic food of fame. I am far from an Ethiopian expert, so others should definitely jump in, but if so, then I would probably get lunch at a place in Shaw (Chercher or Queen of Sheba) and hit Right Proper's pub in Shaw. Hang there for a bit and then make your way to Churchkey. Most places with good beer lists aren't open before 4, but Right Proper might be.
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Right Proper opens at 4 on weekdays.
 
Shakedwnst said:
May have to consider something like pizzeria paradiso but not sure if they still have good beer. I’ve been gone for 5 years now.
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Good suggestion. Pizzia Pardiso usually has a small, but high quality, selection on draft and then a decent (though sometimes random) bottle selection. If you go to the one in Dupont, you're still pretty central for Adams Morgan and downtown. If you go to the one in Georgetown, go to the Sovereign (Belgian bar owned by the same people as Churchkey).
 
I was looking at Blue Jacket as a starting point since they're actually open around lunchtime and are a decent distance from dupont/downtown/adams morgan - any rec's in the industrial area after lunch and beers at blue jacket?

I have paradiso as a potential starting point as well in dupont, as well as city tap house.

As an aside, how does such a large metro not drink beer before 4pm?! Is that an east coast standard? While I haven't spent time in the Bay area, i've otherwise never had trouble coming up with a daytime route for beers on the west cost.
 
harrymel said:
I was looking at Blue Jacket as a starting point since they're actually open around lunchtime and are a decent distance from dupont/downtown/adams morgan - any rec's in the industrial area after lunch and beers at blue jacket?

I have paradiso as a potential starting point as well in dupont, as well as city tap house.

As an aside, how does such a large metro not drink beer before 4pm?! Is that an east coast standard? While I haven't spent time in the Bay area, i've otherwise never had trouble coming up with a daytime route for beers on the west cost.
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DC kinda sucks before 4pm. There are some places, but nothing beer-centric.

Blue Jacket is solid - I was there on Saturday night. Both the food and the beer there are pretty good, but I never go there because I don't think they're worth the trek from where I live. However, if you have time to kill and don't mind grabbing a Lyft/taxi/public transit (the Metro suuuuucks), it's a good place for weekday daytime. Worth it if you're coming in from out of town.
 
bramsdell said:
DC kinda sucks before 4pm. There are some places, but nothing beer-centric.

Blue Jacket is solid - I was there on Saturday night. Both the food and the beer there are pretty good, but I never go there because I don't think they're worth the trek from where I live. However, if you have time to kill and don't mind grabbing a Lyft/taxi/public transit (the Metro suuuuucks), it's a good place for weekday daytime. Worth it if you're coming in from out of town.
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I will be staying out in North Beach, MD, so it's actually a pretty decent drop off point for our driver. Sweet, then that might seal the starting point and then we can work our way NW.
 
harrymel said:
I was looking at Blue Jacket as a starting point since they're actually open around lunchtime and are a decent distance from dupont/downtown/adams morgan - any rec's in the industrial area after lunch and beers at blue jacket?

I have paradiso as a potential starting point as well in dupont, as well as city tap house.

As an aside, how does such a large metro not drink beer before 4pm?! Is that an east coast standard? While I haven't spent time in the Bay area, i've otherwise never had trouble coming up with a daytime route for beers on the west cost.
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The Partisan - yet another NRG spot - is open for lunch during the week, and although it doesn't have a huge tap/bottle list like Churchkey or the Sovereign, there's usually a few good options on tap (Florence is on tap now). You could Uber/Lyft from Bluejacket north to the Partisan, then walk to City Tap (about 10 minutes), then walk to Churchkey from City Tap (about 20 minutes).
 
RC46Interceptor said:
Also, if you like Indian, Rasika is like a half block away from the Partisan and is excellent (but fancy).
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Rasika is amazing and although it’s Indian food is on a completely different level (I think it was on the James Beard nominee lists this year). It was nearly impossible to get in to when we lived there. Go have the palak chaat and thank me later.
 
Shakedwnst said:
Rasika is amazing and although it’s Indian food is on a completely different level (I think it was on the James Beard nominee lists this year). It was nearly impossible to get in to when we lived there. Go have the palak chaat and thank me later.
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My wife and I (her family is Indian) have never loved Rasika. It’s really good, but I don’t think it lives up to the hype. I prefer Bombay Club for more traditional (if pretty tame) fare or Bindaas for the price to quality.

Don’t listen to me though - everyone ****ing loves Rasika and if you can get a table, it’s worth it’ll try.
 
I dunno what Rasika's availability is for lunch since I've only been there for dinner, and yeah, it's tough to get a table for dinner at least. harrymel, if you like Asian food and are willing to head further north, try Thip Khao in Columbia Heights. Unfortunately, the beer options around there kinda suck, now that Meridian Pint closed/moved to VA, but Thip Khao is really good! And if you like cocktails, it's a short trip over to Reliable Tavern, which is probably my favorite place to get a drink in DC. The beer list is lacking, but you can't get better cocktails in the city for the price, IMO.
 
I can imagine if you have access to homemade Indian food Rasika isn’t that exciting.

We lived in Columbia Heights and D’Vines right on 14th was always pretty good albeit overpriced. Quick check now tells me maybe that’s not the case anymore. Either way, in Columbia Heights you aren’t too far from AdMo/DuPont.

Heard good things about Thip Khao but it opened after we left.
 
I still go to D'Vines once or twice a month. These days, it's fine if you need a four/six pack of local beer and don't mind paying a little more for the convenience.

A decent route could be to go to Bluejacket first then -> Partisan -> Churchkey -> to Columbia Heights for dinner at Thip Khao -> to AdMo to hit Smoke and Barrel OR to Shaw to hit Right Proper -> to Sovereign if you went to Smoke and Barrel OR back to Churchkey if you went to Right Proper.
 
RC46Interceptor said:
I dunno what Rasika's availability is for lunch since I've only been there for dinner, and yeah, it's tough to get a table for dinner at least. harrymel, if you like Asian food and are willing to head further north, try Thip Khao in Columbia Heights. Unfortunately, the beer options around there kinda suck, now that Meridian Pint closed/moved to VA, but Thip Khao is really good! And if you like cocktails, it's a short trip over to Reliable Tavern, which is probably my favorite place to get a drink in DC. The beer list is lacking, but you can't get better cocktails in the city for the price, IMO.
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Just looked at Thip Khao’s menu. Hhhhnng!

I will actually plan that for after we hit the zoo as a family with friends so I can dictate more dishes get to the table. That place looks really awesome.

Thanks for pointing that one out!
 
bramsdell said:
My wife and I (her family is Indian) have never loved Rasika. It’s really good, but I don’t think it lives up to the hype. I prefer Bombay Club for more traditional (if pretty tame) fare or Bindaas for the price to quality.

Don’t listen to me though - everyone ****ing loves Rasika and if you can get a table, it’s worth it’ll try.
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I struggle with this same problem a bit. I really don’t know **** about Indian food, except that I’ve never been disappointed. That said I have a couple colleagues from India and their wives cook up a spread a few times a year that no restaurant I’ve been to can compete with. I think it has to do with both the fact that these families source their spice from people traveling back from India/Pakistan so it’s exactly what they want and as fresh as possible combined with the reality that often well cooked home meals are infrequently surpassed by venue meals.

Rasika has a yummy menu, but given it’s a drink outing, I’m reluctant to dedicate to reservations.

I was considering buying a fat stack of cured meats from red apron and just gobbling that along the walks. Although tho Da Hong Pao joint has dim sum on weekdays and I seldom get to hit dim sum outside of Seattle that’s worth my time.

Current roughed out route:

Blue jacket -> walk or uber yo Partisan in Penn -> +/- red apron to go grub -> city tap house -> Churchkey-> right proper -> shrugging guy.

Haven’t really planned out dinner yet. I’m not especially inspired by any of the entrees at the drinking joints, plenty of fun apps, but who knows. By the time I’m 5-6 beers in I will prolly just roll up to the bar and order a juicy burger and then be all like, “yeah, that Oil of Aphrodite seems like a good idea now that I’ve lubed up my gullet...plus I’m beer smart and it’ll pair well with the burger with egg and extra jalapeños on it” :rolleyes:
 
Maydan is not far from Right Proper and it's one of the greatest meals I've ever had in DC. Hard to get a table though.
 
Anyone want my Zenne box? Bought them to share at a wedding but plans fell through and didn’t end up drinking them. Just looking for cost—210 all in with taxes and shipping fees. I’m in H street for pick up
 
tbub18 said:
Anyone want my Zenne box? Bought them to share at a wedding but plans fell through and didn’t end up drinking them. Just looking for cost—210 all in with taxes and shipping fees. I’m in H street for pick up
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dangit, was just there for work 2-3 weeks ago and would’ve been a HARD yes.

wait, that emphasis didn’t work out exactly like I wanted it to, but you get the idea.
 

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