Little Miss Whiskey’s, Red Palace, H Street Country Club – H Street Bar Crawl 1

So as I may or may not have discussed in writing, exploring H Street is one of my goals for the summer.  Why H Street?  Yes, people seem to get a little nervous when the street address stops ending in NW.  Yes, it’s one of those “gentrifying” neighborhoods (ashamed of myself for using this DC-centric word).  Yes, it may be a “hipster” hangout.  Despite these attributes, I remain intrigued with H Street – what makes this neighborhood tick and exactly what it is that draws me so strongly to explore here.

Starting the night at a friends’ apartment near Union Station, we made the REASONABLE walk (I’m tired of people complaining that it’s a long walk) over the main stretch of bars on H Street.  Our first stop was Little Miss Whiskey’s.  Not knowing what it looked like, we walked completely by this place initially.  From the outside, as you can see from the picture above, this place looks fairly sketchy.  The bouncer gave all of our IDs a discerning inspection and my initial thought was, ‘What did we get ourselves into here?’  Proceeding up the short staircase to the ground floor, once we entered that thought didn’t waiver just yet.  As one person put it, “It’s quite ornate.”  It may not be the most welcoming entry bar, but we toured around a bit and found some amazing features.  Walking through this floor, Little Miss Whiskey’s offers a back patio space.  This space is dark, only aglow with light overflowing from inside and some garden lights.  There was a staircase outside, but unfortunately this led to a dead end.  The top level was blocked off – it appeared as if there was some sort of structural damage up there.  Venturing back inside, we made our way up to the second floor where we quickly realized THIS is the reason people rave about this place.  On the second floor there was an awesome DJ (honestly one of the most coherent general bar sets I’ve heard in a while), a modest dance floor (with a mini stage for people to dance on), and of course another bar.  Despite being fairly early, just after 10pm, there was already a decent crowd here mingling and dancing.  To be clear though, it was not stuffy or overcrowded.  The drinks here were cheap – $5 vodka tonic than came equipped with a glow-in-the-dark straw!  Really, the only drawback that I could think of here was that it’s a cash-only bar.  They do have an ATM, but still, I was lucky that a friend had a few dollars to lend me in this credit card/debit card dominated city. Another important aspect of Little Miss Whiskeys – the clientele.  The people here definitely added more energy.  We ran into a birthday scavenger hunt and a few bachelorette parties.  I felt very privileged to assist in the scavenger hunt – because really when do I not feel comfortable making a silly fool of myself? Overall, my Little Miss Whiskey’s experience was extremely positive and I will definitely be coming back with cash in hand.

The next stop on the mini bar crawl was Red Palace.  This place is quirky.  I honestly can’t think of any other way to describe the decorations.  The entering point/bar to Red Palace is quite ordinary- small, cozy, dim, but as you make your way through this establishment, you find its more unique qualities.  There is a back patio, which is quite lit and we found tables of people eating food (which, by the way, smelled delicious).  Then there is another long bar with more lighting and interesting decorations – definitely conversation pieces.  Prices here are also pretty cheap – $5 vodka tonic and $7 for Jack Daniels.  We didn’t stay here very long.  It was fairly crowded and had limited seating for our group of six.  Please do take note of the picture though and the great happy hour prices!  Also important to note, that Red Palace from my understanding used to be called the Palace of Wonders, which would explain the decorations.  Now, they offer concerts and burlesque shows in their upstairs space for a cover fee – something that’s on my to-do list.

Our next and final stop of the evening was H Street Country Club.  Within 5 minutes of entering, we were at the bar to do tequila shots. Sign of a great night?  I think so.  If you’re not familiar with this place, it is a great activity spot.  If you can’t find something to entertain you here, you are a severely dull person.  The upstairs indoor mini golf course is what most people know H Street Country Club for – $7 per person.  The course itself is quite entertaining and something that every young DC resident should check out at least once.  Also on this level, there is a bar so patrons do not have to worry about running dry while playing their game.  Downstairs offers skeeball, shuffleboard, and GIANT jenga.  Prior to last week, I had never played giant jenga, but I am now convinced that it could be a second calling for me, ha.  Teaming up with a friend, we took on our first match and were victorious with minimal effort.  Our next match proved to be an epic battle of sorts.  It was quite fun, but at my level of sobriety (or lack there of) my competitive streak was flaming, definitely said ‘Come at me, bro’ a few too many times, ended up losing the match for my team, and had to buy two drinks for the douchey FBI guys we were playing ($5 vodka drinks – the shot earlier was $6).  H Street Country Club can be quite the outing and is great if you want to come with a decent size group or to meet people.  Overall it was a great (albeit quite drunken) night on H Street.  People seemed a bit friendlier/easier to engage with (on average), prices were cheaper, and the various offerings can match whatever you are looking for in a bar/night out.

The Melting Pot

It’s a twister, a twister!!  A little tornado warning certainly didn’t stop last Friday’s happy hour.  We were going to venture outside of the Ballston bubble (to Clarendon – not far I know, ha), but given the weather we decided instead to just make a quick run across the street to The Melting Pot.  Arriving right around 5pm, it was empty in the first bar (didn’t venture around the restaurant too much, but the hostess mentioned a second bar).  We grabbed the largest table and started to weigh our options for drinks and food.  Being very adult, one of my coworkers ordered a bottle of white wine for the table (that amazingly filled 6 glasses).  It was tasty and priced at $28.  Don’t worry; there were cheaper wine prices.

The next challenge- picking fondue.  Opting for the cheddar cheese and jalapeño selections, our group was very pleased.  With no real rail drink happy hour special, I opted to splurge on a martini for my last drink…but not just any martini, a s’mores martini!  I don’t normally go for these specialty drinks, but this was a wise selection.  Certainly didn’t need any chocolate fondue with a drink like this.  The oreo-covered marshmallows were a perfect topping.  As our happy hour group grew to a total of 9 people, we decided to get two more selections of fondue – the spinach-artichoke mixture and the season special.  During happy hour, the fondue is half-priced.  Now normally all of this still would have been fairly expensive, but luckily one friend had a Groupon that she was generous enough to share :-).  It also probably didn’t hurt that we were fairly engaging with our waitress.  All together we each tossed in about $10.

Does Melting Pot have a great bar scene for mixing with strangers? No, haha.  It was a great place to come with a group of friends though.  While I assume the normal demeanor is fairly reserved, our group was a little on the rambunctious side and lived up the establishment.  I wouldn’t come here all the time for happy hour due to the prices, but I will definitely be back to indulge in some comfort food and quality drink :-).

Russia House & Bourbon

I know, I know! I’m running about a week and a half behind on my reviews/catching everyone up on my seemingly exciting (not really) life, haha.  Last Saturday, I was invited out with some friends to Russia House.  Prior to this time, I had only been there once and that was for an after party to a friend’s company party.  Me and my gentleman guest showed up to the gathering slightly late to find my friend gathered on the third floor (the piano bar floor).  To review the general aesthetic and floor plans of Russia House, you proceed up an outside staircase at this north Dupont location and enter a very dimly lit foyer.  Upon a quick inspection of the place, you can see that there are many nooks and crannies to gather with friends or get a bit cozier.  There are four floors in Russia House, each offering a slightly different feeling (although I’m not quite certain I feel comfortable speaking as to all the levels).  My time at Russia House has been spent predominantly on the third floor.  This floor is the piano bar level. It has a more open feeling and seems more about mingling than the other levels.  The other levels contain more table space and appear to be more about seated gatherings. Approaching the bar, I had to order a vodka drink.  Going for my typical vodka tonic, it did taste much smoother than other locations (caveat – I have no clue what type of vodka they used nor the corresponding price thanks to the gentleman accompanying me).  I would assume that a location called Russia House though would limit the types of crappy vodka it carries, haha.

The length of time we spent at Russia House was limited.  High drinks prices discouraged my friends.  We left after one drinking and some socializing.  I was slightly surprised that there weren’t more people there given it was a Saturday night, even if it was slightly early (11pm).  Russia House is definitely a classy location.  It can accommodate large groups of people – actually would be my preference for attending.  All references I have heard to Russia House is typically in a swanky connotation and would tend to agree, but not overtly snobby.  If I haven’t made it clear, I love locations with multiple floors and places to get lost/explore.  Russia House does fit that mold very well.  You could think of it almost as a more sophisticated (read expensive) and low-key Local 16.

After Russia House, we trekked over to Adams Morgan to attend Bourbon.  The heels might have been a poor decision, haha.  I had never been to this location of Bourbon before.  Almost a year ago I went on a date at the location in Glover Park.  At the time (seemingly eons before starting this blog), the food was delicious and my custom cocktail was a little bit too adventurous (super herby….like drinking a garden – very fresh).  I now am more acquainted with my personal preferences.  This most recent visitation of Bourbon was quite the different experience.  We entered the Adams Morgan location to find a wait to get upstairs for dancing.  In the meantime, decided to grab a drink on the first level.  Sorry, that gentleman insisted on buying this drink too so I am uncertain of the price, but I would guess average price for this neighborhood (not more than $8 for the vodka tonic with rail liquor).

Yes, Bourbon may be located in Adams Morgan, but this is not the stereotypical AdMo bar.  The upstairs and first floor had very different atmospheres. The first level was relaxed, but still upbeat – definitely a good balance.  After a short wait and some amusing banter with the bouncer to get upstairs, we were finally able to get our dance on ;-).  Upstairs was crowded, but not obnoxious.  I was definitely much appreciative that they did take such care in counting people upstairs.  There was also a bar upstairs, but it was definitely much easier to get served downstairs.  The DJ mixed top 40s while IFC was projected onto the wall…at the time it was somewhere between soft and hard-core porn showing #notcomplaining.  Overall, Bourbon was a pretty awesome place that I definitely look forward to coming back to because of the amazing balance of space (chill and dancing in one venue).  It worked well for my small-medium group of friends, but could also see this being an interesting place to meet people.

Things to look forward to readers:  This weekend marks my one year drink anniversary.  Oh look at all we can learn about ourselves in just a year.  Thank you for your votes on my poll; it looks like I’ll be strolling around U Street on Saturday :-).  Still uncertain of the exact lineup of bars, but I’m hoping to start early (around dinner time) and working my way around the neighborhood – making sure to hit some standard/favorite locations of mine, but also trying some new along the way.  Promise to do my best to keep coherent memories and take pictures for the post-celebration review!