Category: drinkingdc

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Drinking D.C.: A Rake’s Progress at the Line Hotel

Editor’s note: Unfortunately, the fabulous Rake’s Progress closed in June 2020, another local business that fell victim to the COVID-19 business disruption. We’re maintaining the review for posterity’s sake.

Readers of this blog know I enjoyed my initial visit to the Line Hotel, when I stopped in at Brothers and Sisters on the first floor.  The thing that I was totally blown away by was the space:  a sprawling lounge inside an old church under a soaring ceiling.  Recently I was able to return and check out A Rake’s Progress – another restaurant in the same space but on the second floor.  Incredibly, the space at Rake’s is even more awe-inspiring.  You see, on my last visit, I forgot that this old church probably had windows:

Golden hour window at A Rake's Progress

That’s one of two such windows on the second floor, caught here at the golden hour, which incidentally is probably the only time you’ll be able to find a reservation here.  But book it anyway and dine in the late afternoon so you can witness the wonderful effect this creates in the bar area.  Also the chandelier:

I thought this was amazing and very much wanted to try to swing from it.  A friend disagreed, pronouncing it ugly.  Love it or hate it, subtle it is not, and you should definitely go see this space for yourself.

Oh, and they also serve drinks and food.  And these are also quite good.  I  I had a chance to sample three cocktails on my visit here.  The first was the Good Luck Road:

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Drinking D.C.: Ana at District Winery

I guess I’m kind of obsessed with D.C.’s new waterfront areas, but it’s hard not to be with all of the new spots that have opened in the last year.  I’ve covered Del Mar and Requin at the Wharf.  Last weekend I visited Ana at District Winery, the winery/restaurant at the Navy Yard.

Like the original Brooklyn Winery that preceded it, District Winery has wine-making facilities on site.  There is a dedicated tasting room and winery-focused tours.  The site also boasts a large space pitched as an “ideal wedding venue” and, indeed, there was a wedding party in progress when we arrived on a busy Saturday evening.

But there is also a restaurant – Ana.  It faces the Anacostia River, which provides a spectacular view through a wall of glass windows.  Looking back into the restaurant, there is a wall covered with portraits of Presidents in order from first to forty-fifth.  These are painted in various styles and are pretty much certain to generate conversation (don’t worry, not about politics).

And in addition to wine, there are cocktails.  The drink menu:

Ana at District Winery menu

Thanks to some indulgent dining companions, I had a chance to sample several of these cocktails.  The first – the cocktail I actually ordered for myself – was the Smoky Pisco Sour.  This was, as its name suggests, a smoky variation on the pisco sour.  But there was also a subtle spiciness (see “chipotle” in the ingredient list), which played well with the foam head provided by the egg white.  The chipotle (presumably) also imparted a lovely hue on the drink:

Smoked Pisco Sour at Ana at District Winery

Next I tried the Figment of Your Imagination.  Not surprisingly, fig was a featured ingredient here.  The drink’s ingredients include fig syrup, and a torched fig provides the garnish.  But fig was not the most prominent flavor.  Instead, the drink came off as something of a spice market in the mouth.  I mean that in a good way, but I can’t attribute the flavors to the ingredients listed on the menu.  As with the Smokey Pisco Sour, this drink was nice to look at, thanks to the hefty fig garnish (which was delicious, by the way):

Figment of Your Imagination at Ana at District Winery

Although I don’t have photos, I was also able to try three other cocktails here.  The first was the Sin of Manhattan.  This drink is made from your traditional Manhattan ingredients plus cardamom and maple flavors.  The result is a slightly sweeter drink with an additional spicy complexity provided by the cardamom.  It’s a perfect winter cocktail.

Next I sipped the grapefruit basil rickey.  This is a variation on the gin rickey, with grapefruit added to or perhaps replacing the traditional citrus ingredient.  I liked the concept, but I thought there was a bit too much soda in this iteration.

Finally, I also tried the Sounds Like an Apology, made from elderflower, sparkling wine, and sugar, with a rosemary garnish.  This drink also seemed conceptually sound, but the sweetness was a bit heavy, overshadowing the rosemary and elderflower flavors.  Considering ordering this one and asking for just half the bitter sugar cube.

All in all there are some good cocktails to be had at Ana at District Winery.  I’m looking forward to seeing how the menu changes.  There is a great outdoor space next to the river here that would be an ideal spot for sipping some great summer drinks!

Reservations available on OpenTable.  

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Drinking D.C.: Maydan

I had dinner at the newly opened Maydan near U Street recently.   Following a growing trend of new D.C. restaurants opening in alleys, Maydan is at the end of an alley off of Florida Avenue.  Its markings are subtle, making it somewhat difficult to spot on a recent very cold evening in D.C.  But we were immediately rewarded upon entry with a very large fire pit, conveniently located next to the bar.  And what a very nice looking bar it is:

Bar at Maydan

Despite the cold weather and the somewhat early hour of 7 p.m. there was a thick crowd at the bar.  Nevertheless, we were able to find a spot and obtain a menu in short order.

The restaurant explains that its “food tells the story of our own travels, from Tangier to Tehran and Batumi to Beirut.”  Its cocktails do the same, incorporating ingredients with roots in the same parts of the world:

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Drinking D.C.: Brothers and Sisters at the Line Hotel

In between martini reviews and recipes, I want to tell you about my recent visit to Brothers and Sisters at the Line Hotel.  This is the latest outpost of Erik Bruner-Yang of Maketto and is currently “in preview.”  The venue is unique in D.C. – a hotel lobby located inside of a grand old church in Adams Morgan.  In fact, the setting is sufficiently unusual that in my approach up the steps I had to check my bearings to assure myself I was in the right place; and I noticed a few other incoming guests do the same.

But what a venue it is.  Once inside, I walked a short distance to the main lounge area, passing a radio studio (?!) on my left.  The lounge is an enormous room, where comfy sofas sit under a soaring ceiling.  To the left and right of this central seating area are high top tables and two bars.  These areas feature spare decorations fusing collegiate-style crests and banners with vaguely Asian-inspired symbols.

I found my way to one of the bars and took a look at the extensive cocktail menu.  On the first page – which is actually the last page (the menus progress from back to front) – is a list of “classic hotel bar cocktails,” including the Bloody Mary, Bellini, and Mary Pickford.  Next is a list of “classic American cocktails,” like the Mint Julep, Manhattan, and Martinez.  Finally, the menu offers ten original cocktails, “inspired by life, love, music, and friends.”  Here’s a sample from the list:

Brothers and Sisters Menu Page 1

Most of the cocktails sport at least one Asian-influenced ingredient, consistent with the thrust of the food menu.  I asked for a recommendation.  The bartender suggested the Ivy Started It as a “more tangy” option that would not be too sweet.  The description was apt, though the tanginess was subtler than I was expecting.  It was not the type of strong sour taste that comes from citrus.  I appreciated the presentation, a gold-rimmed glass and a large, clear ice cube:

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Drinking D.C.: Martini Service at Requin

I returned to the Wharf recently to visit the newly opened D.C. outpost of Requin, the Mike Isabella restaurant (the original is in Fairfax).  I had visited Del Mar de Fabio Trabocchi not long before and loved the cocktails, especially the gin and tonic for two, as I reported here.  That was my first visit to the Wharf; I wanted to see what else was on offer in the way of cocktails in D.C.’s newest hotspot.

Requin bills itself as a “French Mediterranean” restaurant, and I wasn’t sure what that would mean in the way of cocktails.  Champagne-based drinks?  Cocktails of various European digestifs and aperitifs?

But no.  Well, maybe, but I didn’t look that far down the menu.  Instead I stopped at the headline – the restaurant’s “Martini Service.”  I should mention at this stage that I am a big martini fan – it’s as classic a cocktail as there is.  But it’s also a crowded field.  So while I make them at home a lot I don’t often order them out.  Here though a restaurant not only had a menu of martinis, but it was also the featured portion of the cocktail menu.  So I had to try it out.

The menu offers a selection of four different recipes, from the “classique,” which consists of the familiar gin, dry vermouth, and orange bitters, to the “evoo,” which is made from olive oil washed armagnac blanche, calvados, americano bianco, and dry vermouth.

I skipped past these, as well as the gibson (gin, pineau blanche, and pickle brine) and chose the 50/50:  half gin, half blanc vermouth.  (Plus lemon bitters – yes, so not technically half each of the preceding ingredients.  But you get the idea.)  I was drawn to this option because I’m usually pretty light on the vermouth in my martinis and wanted to mix it up.  And the gin is a house blend, which made the choice all the more intriguing.

The presentation of the drink is somewhat elaborate.  You receive not just the martini in the glass, but a refill on the side, sitting in ice.  Some assembly is also required in that garnishes (lemon peel and olive) are served on the side so you can pick which you prefer (or both, as I did):

Martini Service at Requin

I liked this martini a lot.   The flavors were very smooth.  I attributed this to the use of blanc rather than dry vermouth (but perhaps it was the mysterious house gin?).  The other benefit of this approach is that it doesn’t pack quite the punch of a gin-heavier martini.  At the same time, the refill probably offset that benefit; by ounces, this is really two martinis (or at least nearly).  As a result, I didn’t try the others on the menu.  But I plan to get back to try them out.

I should add that Requin is a beautiful space as well.  Like many of the new buildings at the Wharf, Requin’s has large windows that face the river.  On nice days you can enjoy the sights of a D.C. sunset, boats passing, or the buzz of pedestrian activity.  (As I write this, it’s 12 degrees outside, so it probably would’t be like that now, but spring is coming!)  And it’s a great stop before going on to a show at the Anthem, which is exactly what we did.  (Saw the Shins, who were fantastic!)

I will be back to explore the other martini and cocktail options at Requin and recommend you do the same.  And if you’re a martini lover like I am, stay tuned for the next few posts.  I have a couple of recipes I think you’ll enjoy!

Reservations available on OpenTable.  

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Drinking D.C.: Traditional Chinese Medicine Cocktails at Tiger Fork

I finally got over to Tiger Fork last week, when I met up with some friends there for dinner.  I had read about Tiger Fork’s novel Traditional Chinese Medicine (“TCM”) cocktails in the Post’s Going Out Guide, and I was excited to try them out myself.

Reservations are recommended here, but for what it’s worth there was ample room for walk-ins at 6 p.m. on a Thursday, the time of our reservation.  (It was more crowded when we left a few hours later.  I realize no one dines at 6 – I’m old – but it is a reasonable cocktail hour, so if that’s your focus you probably can walk in.)  Tiger Fork’s interior has great vibe – cozy with warm lighting, like many of its Blagden Alley neighbors.

There is no question that the TCM cocktails are the feature here.  The menu hits you with them first off:

Tiger Fork drink menu

I immediately noticed two things.  First, Tiger Fork’s drinks are listed not merely by name but also by intended medicinal effect.  The 8 O’clock Light Show, for example, addresses fatigue.  Nathan Road aids – perhaps counter-intuitively, for a cocktail – detox.  (At last, vindication that alcohol is the cure-all I always knew it was.  Also, this statement is not remotely FDA-approved; uh, always consult your physician.)

Second, in a warning almost certainly calculated to get you to order at least three of these cocktails, the menu advises that because of the holistic “nature of the recipes we recommend no more than 2 of these cocktails per visit.”

But I’m a rule-follower so this Jedi mind-trick does not work on me, and I order just two.  The first was the Bird Market (immune system):

The 'Bird Market' TCM cocktail at Tiger Fork

This one ended up being my favorite of the two.  It had a pleasant citrus and earthy flavor combination (the TCM ingredients definitely have an impact here).  The second was the Peruvian Chef in a Chinese Kitchen (anxiety):

The 'Peruvian Chef in a Chinese Kitchen' TCM cocktail at Tiger Fork

This one was harder to peg flavor-wise.  As with the first drink there were herbal and earthy flavors that I didn’t recognize and presumably were attributable to the TCM ingredients.  For what it’s worth, I did feel the stress of the work day lifting about halfway through this drink.  But I acknowledge confounding factors (second cocktail, more time since the end of the work day) potentially were at play.

I will certainly be back to try the two I missed.  And if you haven’t been already, you should go too.  No one else is making cocktails like these in D.C., and the novel ingredients should entice you if nothing else does.  And in fact something else does (or should), in that you will also be rewarded with very good food if you decide to stay for dinner!

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Repeal Day 2017

Happy Repeal Day!  On December 5, 1933, the 21st Amendment became effective when Utah became the 36th state to ratify it.  As a result, Prohibition, made possible by the 18th amendment, became a dead letter.  Celebration ensued:

It seems only natural that many bars and cocktail enthusiasts now celebrate Repeal Day with happy hours, special cocktails, or even full-on black-tie affairs.  (See my recent post on December cocktail events in D.C. for coverage of the Repeal Day bash at Jack Rose and the 10th annual gala put on by the D.C. Craft Bartenders Guild, for example.)

But wait!  The bars did not reopen on December 5, 1933, at least not everywhere.  Of particular interest to my D.C.-area history buffs, they did not reopen immediately in the District or Virginia.  As reported by the Washington Evening Star, Maryland “was busily engaged in arranging to go wet” pursuant to legislation that “went through its final steps in the Legislature in Annapolis” on December 4 and was presented to the governor for his signature the morning of Repeal Day.

But things were different in the District.  It remained subject to the Volstead Act, the legislation that gave force to Prohibition under the 18th Amendment:

The ending of the eighteenth amendment today finds Washington legally dry under the Volstead law, awaiting the assembling of Congress next month to consider liquor control legislation for the National Capital.

. . . .

The Volstead law continues in force in Washington under a recent ruling of Attorney General Cummings, who held that the national prohibition act will continue to be operative in the District and in the Territories until some action is taken by Congress.

It was Prohibition without Representation!  Nevertheless, District residents were not entirely without recourse.  The Evening Star went on to report that there was “reason to believe . . . that prosecuting officials will take the liberal attitude toward the matter and that residents bringing liquor into the District for their own personal use will not be in danger of any criminal prosecution.”

Thus, it seems reasonable to speculate that a least a few Repeal Day parties were held in the District that night, even if, as the Evening Star reported the next day, “the festivities [nationwide] seemed to lack the fervor some had forecast.”  (Perhaps the reporters weren’t invited to the right parties.)  And in any event, it seems more than fair to mark the occasion today.  Have fun out there!

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Drinking D.C.: Speakeasies in the Washington Post

In its Going Out Guide last week, the Washington Post (digital subscriptions available here) covered several D.C.-area speakeasies in D.C.’s Hidden Bars, Ranked from Easiest to Hardest to Get into.  In the article, the Post’s Holley Simmons (@holleyunedited) tells us how to get seats at Chicken + Whiskey on 14th Street, Nocturne and Backroom Bar in Shaw, Captain Gregory’s in Alexandria, Le Cafe Descartes at the French Embassy, Sidecar downtown, and Bar 3100 at the British Embassy. Consider it a roadmap to your next bar crawl in D.C.

Simmons also tantalizes us with tales of an Ernest Hemingway-themed bar at the Cuban Embassy, to which she was unable to gain access, but the existence of which was confirmed by another Post reporter in 2015. Bonus points to the reader who makes it in and reports back to us!

Update:  Some Instagram sleuthing suggests that the Cuban Embassy’s Hemingway bar indeed exists!  Check it out:

The Ernest Hemingway bar inside Cuba’s embassy 🍹

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“Hemmingway’s”

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Someone tell us how its drinks are already!

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Drinking D.C.: Del Mar de Fabio Trabocchi

In case you hadn’t heard, there’s a lot happening down at the Wharf, the District’s latest development, a long-overdue overhaul of D.C.’s southwest waterfront.  It’s everything you would expect from a fancy new D.C. development, including shopping, restaurants, and even a new concert venue in the Anthem, and, most relevant to cocktail connoisseurs such as yourself, great drinks.

I had to check it out for myself, so I made it down there on a recent Friday evening.  It was a fantastic fall day weather-wise, which I mention because one of the selling points of a waterfront is being outside; indeed, several spots on the Wharf offer outdoor seating, including the latest outpost of Hank’s Oyster Bar.

But our party was headed to the Del Mar, the new spot by Fabio Trabocchi, he of Fiola, Casa Luca, Fiola Mara, and Sfoglina fame.  I’ve enjoyed a number of cocktails at these other establishments, but Del Mar takes it up a notch.  Consider, for example, this gin and tonic for two:

This cocktail – the Habla de ti Gin Tonic – is presented like no other I’ve seen in the District.  And it is a triumph in substance as well as form.  It combines Gin Mare, a house made tonic, lime, cava, brine foam and bay leaf for a complex, tangy gin and tonic that doesn’t last long (especially if you are sharing).  I would love to have the recipe for that house made tonic!

The gin and tonic was a show-stopper, but the cocktail menu isn’t a one-hit wonder.  I also had the chance to sample the Sangre de Toro, a cocktail featuring blood orange and rose infused vodka, spiced syrup, and pomegranate, a sweet and spicy drink with flavors somewhat reminiscent of Hot Tamales candies (but in a good way).  And I couldn’t resist trying the other gin and tonic on the menu (the Estrellas Gin Tonic:  Tanqueray No. 10, ginger, lime, tonic water, star anise, and cardamom) for comparison’s sake.  This one was more of a traditional gin and tonic in terms of flavor, but the garnishes of star anise and cardamom added a unique aroma.

There are others on the menu (pictured below) I would like to try – all of them basically, except Tal Vez (pumpkin isn’t really my flavor when it comes to drinks) – but, in the interests of moderation, put off until next time:

Del Mar's cocktail menu

The dinner was also fantastic.  As the name Del Mar would suggest, the menu has substantial raw bar and seafood offerings, a number of which we enjoyed as appetizers.  But for me the best plate of the night was one of the shared paellas, with duck breast, grilled artichokes, and Malllorcan-style spreadable joked pimentón sausage.  Simply delicious.

In short, if Del Mar isn’t on your list of new places to try, it should be!