metro accessible restaurant w/a bar menu?

[rachiesarah]

shhh...i posted this on "the other site" too...

Where would anyone suggest a good metro accessible casual attire restaurant w/a bar menu, for a mid-twenty year old to have dinner with a good book this evening?

[Al_Dente]

shhh...i posted this on "the other site" too...

Where would anyone suggest a good metro accessible casual attire restaurant w/a bar menu, for a mid-twenty year old to have dinner with a good book this evening?

I think I'm heading to Firefly to read the Post, drink wine, have an excellent bite, and say "hi" to one of the friendliest chefs in town. Go to Dupont, and walk down New Hampshire to the Hotel Madera-- right there. I'll be the stunningly handsome guy in the lounge wearing a blue shirt and khakis.

[=Mark]

The Dubliner across from Union Station with Powerscourt upstairs?

[bilrus]

Nectar is a very good recommedation from the oh, so modest Al_Dente.

Another good spot for the next time you want to do that would be the bar menu at Palena - not even a block North of the Cleveland Park Metro. I haven't tried it, but it is on my short list and most say very good things about it.

[Al_Dente]

Nectar is a very good recommedation from the oh, so modest Al_Dente.

Another good spot for the next time you want to do that would be the bar menu at Palena - not even a block North of the Cleveland Park Metro.  I haven't tried it, but it is on my short list and most say very good things about it.

Actually I said Firefly, but I hear Nectar is good too-- I haven't made it over there yet. Yes, I'm stunningly modest too

[Busboy]

Nectar is a very good recommedation from the oh, so modest Al_Dente.

Another good spot for the next time you want to do that would be the bar menu at Palena - not even a block North of the Cleveland Park Metro.  I haven't tried it, but it is on my short list and most say very good things about it.

That whole block near Cleveland Park on the Red Line has some great places that serve good food at the bar. In addition to Palena, Indique has gotten good notices on this board for its Indian food, Yanyu has excellent Asian and both Ardeo and Bardeo serve decent "new American. Even if you're unfamiliar with the neighborhood, you can't miss the restaurants when you come up the subway escalators.

One stop down, at Dupont Circle, Bistro du Coin (North -- uphill -- on Connectut Avenue 2 blocks) has good food and a fun atmosphere, but probably too crowded unless you go early or late.

Near the Dupont South exit...Shoot me, but I like the Palm and used to eat at the bar there when I lived out of town for a while. Great if you like martinis and beef and oysters. Just across 19th St. between M and N, Sam and Harry's has the same food as the Palm, only better. But James Carville never drops by and they don't shoot scenes from "K Street" there.

And on P street, between 20th and 21st, look for Pesce or Jonny's Half Shell for seafood, or Sala Thai, for Thai. Not positive that Pesce has a bar, but the seafood is as good as Jonny's and the crowds are smaller. Sala Thai also has a branch up in Woodley Park, in the strip mall, but I don't think the food is as good. Try the Nam Sod if you go to the P Street location.

19th, P St.and Connecticut all intersect the circle and are easy to find.

Must be getting old - I spend as much time eating at bars as drinking at them.

EDIT: PS Second the Nectar nomination and probaly the best spot I know to drink a wide variety of moderately-priced wines by the glass (and talk to the sommelier about them, if he isn't to busy in his other jobs as Host and co-owner). It's on the New Hampshire Avenue, a couple of blocks from the Blue Line towards the Kennedy Center. And probably the best bar food in town (with due respect to Palens), if you don't mind dropping a little more change, is French-Belgian Marcel's on 25th and Pennsylvania. Penn and New Hampshire both intersect Washington Circle, if you need to get your bearings.

Edited October 24, 2003 by Busboy (log)

[bilrus]

Nectar is a very good recommedation from the oh, so modest Al_Dente.

Another good spot for the next time you want to do that would be the bar menu at Palena - not even a block North of the Cleveland Park Metro.  I haven't tried it, but it is on my short list and most say very good things about it.

Actually I said Firefly, but I hear Nectar is good too-- I haven't made it over there yet. Yes, I'm stunningly modest too

Why Nectar came out of my fingers when I read Firefly and was thinking about Firefly I have no idea. I must have restaurant dyslexia. (Sorry John W).

Repeat after me - Firefly, Firefly, Firefly...

[vengroff]

How about some mini burgers at Matchbox? It's near the Chinatown and Metro Center stops, so you can get to it easily no matter where you are coming from.

[morela]

I think I'm heading to Firefly to read the Post, drink wine, have an excellent bite, and say "hi" to one of the friendliest chefs in town. Go to Dupont, and walk down New Hampshire to the Hotel Madera-- right there. I'll be the stunningly handsome guy in the lounge wearing a blue shirt and khakis.

Al:

When you read the Post, checkout WORLD'S FARE section. It's a trial run. Deep inside the paper where ads are. Curious what you think...

rachiesarah:

I agree about Firefly and Nectar. Say 'hi' to Reed if you pick Nectar. Splendid batrtender. Do you have budget cap, btw?

[Al_Dente]

I think I'm heading to Firefly to read the Post, drink wine, have an excellent bite, and say "hi" to one of the friendliest chefs in town. Go to Dupont, and walk down New Hampshire to the Hotel Madera-- right there. I'll be the stunningly handsome guy in the lounge wearing a blue shirt and khakis.

Al:

When you read the Post, checkout WORLD'S FARE section. It's a trial run. Deep inside the paper where ads are. Curious what you think...

rachiesarah:

I agree about Firefly and Nectar. Say 'hi' to Reed if you pick Nectar. Splendid batrtender. Do you have budget cap, btw?

That section is sitting in my briefcase waiting to be read-- I look forward to checking it out.

[morela]

Chefs with briefcases are cool. Not a Roberta Donna purse, though, right?

[Al_Dente]

Chefs with briefcases are cool.  Not a Roberta Donna purse, though, right?

While I often fantasize about it, I'm not a chef. Just an office drone mgmt type. A stunningly handsome office drone mgmt type, I mean.

[morela]

'office drone mgmt type'

what industry?

[Al_Dente]

'office drone mgmt type'

what industry?

Didn't want to bore everyone on the site, so I PMed ya...

[Steve Klc]

The thing I'm concerned about is this--where would the best place be to go for a single person to sit, eat and read a book on a really busy Friday night, to not feel uncomfortable and to have enough light to read? I don't think that is that easy a question to answer. Depending on your definition of casual you are definitely going to be under-dressed at many of the places mentioned so far, merely sitting in the bar is not that great an option to read a book, it's too loud and there's too much going on around you, anyone waiting for a table or a reservation will be bumping into you on a happening Friday night scene, so the "scene" places are out, especially since the after work crowd gets there early anway, a nice lounge with comfy chairs like Firefly off from the bar is too dark to read, etc. You almost need a place which wouldn't mind you taking up a space by yourself and lingering to read a bit--and how likely is that to happen on a Friday? I'm intrigued by how this eventually plays out.

[Tweaked]

Then perhaps a place like Teaism...or dare I say Cosi...ummm that cosi bread.

[Steve Klc]

That's kind of what I'm getting at because this is a more complicated request than where can a single female foodie in her mid-twenties go to eat--that's easy. Add a busy Friday night--that's still pretty easy--though that probably rules out the busiest, most stylish places.

But add that reading a book aspect and you have to think what place might not be so good that it will of course be jammed, what place might have a quiet well-lit bar scene where a single woman is not going to get hassled on the one hand--or might not mind giving over a booth or table to just one person to kind of linger. And I wonder if that request--single, read a book, Friday night, casual--might not be at odds with the food aspect in this town--and leave you with places like a Teaism which I don't think many people associate with dinner. Good call tweaked--any idea how comfortable the chairs are in Teaism, though? If Breadline were open at night that might be a better casual book-reading hassle-free "food" option, but alas it is not.

Rachiesarah--where you taking the metro from?

[morela]

Maybe thumbing through a mag in the dark is the best option.

[Busboy]

I'm travelling and just stumbled up from the bar at the Pentelikon hotel in Athens, where I read the paper and chatted intermittently with the bartender, so I claim high credibility on this topic and, at the same time, admit that I may be less than articulate on it.

Steve's Klc's points are valid, but having spent many nights in rachiesarah's shoes, I'd like to respond to a couple of his points.

First, I've never been a woman, so the "getting hit on" point is at the same time a real concern and one I can't comment on.

Second, the Friday night crowd problem can be a problem. I think this leads one to lean towards the more "formal", places -- Marcel's, Palena, Yanyu, Nectar Sam and Harry's -- places where the bars tend to attract single diners, locals and people waiting for a table. They're not "scenes" so even if there's not a seat immediately available, one will appear soon. And, if a gentleman expresses interest, it's more likely to be subtle and avoidable without hassle, as opposed to a persistent drunk frat boy. I confess that I have not been to the places Steve works, all of which are on my "to do" list. But, my impression is that they are all very hip, in addition to offering excellent food, so they get a different crowd than, say, the pre-concert Kennedy Center-goers at Nectar.

Third, "casual" is pretty broad. I've been to almost all of the places mentioned in jeans, but with leather shoes and a decent shirt. I'm not sure what the women's equivalent is, but throw a blue blazer over a button-down and jeans and you can pretty much do the bar anywhere. All the Cleveland Park places consider themselves "neighborhood" joints at some level, and they're pretty tolerant of informal dress. I felt guilty when I wore jeans to Marcel's, but we asked the maitre d' and he had no problem. I would not have eaten in the dining room, though.

Fourth, light. Bar candles are your best friend although eyes younger than mine might not even need those. Once your eyes adjust, it's not as dark as you might think.

Finally, Teasim (and such). A fine place. But part of the fun of reading at the bar on a solo dining experience is settling into the long haul. Flipping pages and having a couple of courses brought to you over an hour-and-a-half while you sip wine and read the world. Maybe the bartender has a half-bottle of wine left over from a previous customer he wants you to taste. Maybe you'll strike up a conversation with a stranger. I had a great dinner once with a table of folks who were intrigued by the way I kept guffawing at David Sedaris (Bistro Francais, walkable from Foggy Bottom -- no bars, but single diners tolerated) Maybe you'll just get a long read in with no phone calls or pages. Cosi just doesn't cut it on these terms.

Anyway, I hope rachiesarah has a great night, and I hope to eat at one of steve's places soon.

Edited October 24, 2003 by Busboy (log)

[specialteach]

--any idea how comfortable the chairs are in Teaism, though?

The seating at Teasim is the only thing I do not like about the one in Dupont. Downstairs there is a long table/bar that looks out onto the street and upstairs there are three tables on either side of the room that seat two with two larger tables that seat 4-6 in the middle. The chairs are all wood and comfortable is one of the last words I would use to describe them.

I too am in my late twenties and love eating alone while enjoying a good book. I have a tendancy to be on the cautious side of situations and Teasim at night during off hours would make me nervous. Unless you sat downstairs, which isn't very condusive to reading, you would be sitting upstairs in a somewhat isolated room. You cannot hear what is going on from downstairs (loud baby once proved this theory) and the room does not get a lot of traffic during off hours. It just isn't worth the risk in my eyes.

[Steve Klc]

After I posted that, though, I was driving out Wilson Blvd. from where I line in Courthouse and I thought to myself why not places along the Orange line metro, depending on where she's coming from these would qualify as metro accessible--and here's the thing--these restaurants don't get as crowed on a Friday night as early as the downtown-afterwork scene gets crowed. It's probably too late for tonight--but even on a Friday night pretty leisurely single book reading with good food and light and a regular table could be accomplished at, say Singh Thai, Minh's, Boulevard Wood Grill and Sam & Harrys--plenty of booths and tables open right in that Courthouse/Clarendon corridor say 6-7PM. By leaving downtown, leaving the scene, you might get cut more slack--I'm thinking the best ambience for single book reading/dining might be Sam and Harry's, actually, some comfy chairs, fireplaces, stylish decor, etc. And all of these places would be more casual than the others mentioned.

[Gary Tanigawa]

Steve Klc, I think you mean Harry's Tap Room?

Minh's is a good suggestion, although I don't think it has a bar. But there should be enough room that getting a table is not hard. Last time I was there, the service was slow enough to read a novella. But I tend to eat a lot and scan books.

Sushi bars would be good. The lighting is usually good, and you can pace your ordering in relation to your appetite and interest in your reading. But it might be crowded if the book is heavy and you need to use counter space to rest it on.

[Steve Klc]

ooops, yes, Harry's Tap Room! Thanks Gary. I've never actually been to Sam & Harry's! And yes, Minh's would be great because you wouldn't have to sit like an ugly ducking off at a bar--Minh's is not as crowded as it should be, considering it is the best and most interesting Vietnamese restaurant locally, much better than Four Sisters. And they have that nice cushiony banquette with 3 tables and pillows which would be just perfect for a solo-reader. Chi wouldn't mind you reading to your heart's content, even on a Friday.

[Al_Dente]

Well, I went to Firefly and it was outstanding. Had the egg drop soup which had a lovely richness that went beyond just the egg factor. It had a "beefiness" for lack of a better word along with some sweetness that really hit the spot for one of the first chilly nights of the year. The waiter suggested what he described as a Cab/Merlot blend from CA that I doubted would go well, but I took my chances. Given the unexpected depth of the soup, it worked out very well. The gnocchi has been modified for the cold weather to include some tasty spicy sausage similar to kielbasa. I thought to myself that this is one of the heaviest lightest dishes I've had. The potato is airy and tender, yet dense and rich. An enigma texturally speaking, but you can feel the care put into the preparation.

Jeebus, I suck at this... I tried my best.

Anyway, thanks John, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

[mighty quinn]

cleveland park metro- ireland's four p's-especially early

union station-dubliner-anytime

chinatown-fado

eastern market metro-tune inn (after all is said and done)

beware of office grunt wearing blue shirts sitting at the bar at firefly- he is devestatingly charming and will buy you drinks!