metro accessible restaurant w/a bar menu?

[Al_Dente]

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!

You are correct about my devastating charm and drink buying, BUT Dubliner might work, though it's usually packed Friday night. The other Irish joints you mention are far too dark. Tune Inn is a good place for kickin back and reading for a Sat or Sun afternoon. Admittedly, Firefly was not the best for hanging out and reading as a single as Steve Klc expressed some concern about, but it's a great lounge place where I felt very comfortable, relaxed and at home. I was taken care of when I arrinved... it didn't seem like the end of an ass-kickin day after I spent a few minutes there.

Thanks John and Tricia... I had the chilled few moments I needed... luv ya....

Mike

Edited to clarify...

Edited October 25, 2003 by Al_Dente (log)

[rachiesarah]

i truly apprecaite all the suggestions, and i admit that i did pop in to firefly, i can see how it would be a mighty nifty place on a tuesday evening, but the place was packed by 7ish tonight. so i just gave up figuring that all the places in dupont would be the same situation and came home and ordered chinese. sometimes i give up easily because i find myself in new teritory and am shy. i wasn't looking to spend more than $40 with frosty beverages, but i wasn't looking for cosi either, though i do like it there.

Many a moon ago they could have put my name on a plaque on the bar at m&s in bethesda. can't beat their happy hour prices.

i think i am looking for someplace that isn't necessarily a seen and be seen, but cozy, where they pour my drink before i even sit down. i suppose moving back to the area recently, and then moving from the 'burbs to dc forces you to look for new places that won't break the bank, which will only be found in due time.

fwiw, i live in glover park, so its a quick bus ride to dupont. i will have to make it a point to get back over there when it isn't prime times, since it will be cold soon and it did feel cozy in there.

[Mark Sommelier]

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.

Steve,

How could you mention going out to VA on the orange line and leaving Hope Key out? The Lobster XO there rocks.

[Mark Sommelier]

A little known secret is that the bar menu at Citronelle offers the downstairs fixed price menu items a la carte. Plus the lobster burgers. It is not a scene place. The bar at Marcel's is the same deal. Nectar bar is cool for singles. although, with 6 stools, it might be full. The bar at David Greggory has become my favorite for eating at. Good menu, nice ambiance, kitchen open till 12 on weekend nights. Then there is always Bistrot du Coin. Cool place, lots of action. Bright lighting is good for reading, plus, Timberlake's is next door.

[specialteach]

A little known secret is that the bar menu at Citronelle offers the downstairs fixed price menu items a la carte. Plus the lobster burgers. It is not a scene place.

Marc, It's been too long since I had the pleasure of dining at your restaurant and have no idea what is on the a la carte menu. This sounds like a way to get a taste of Citronelle at a price I that is closer to my budget than the main restaurant. What do they offer? The lobster burger sounds amazing. I could use a great meal right about now.

[Mark Sommelier]

A little known secret is that the bar menu at Citronelle offers the downstairs fixed price menu items a la carte. Plus the lobster burgers. It is not a scene place.

Marc, It's been too long since I had the pleasure of dining at your restaurant and have no idea what is on the a la carte menu. This sounds like a way to get a taste of Citronelle at a price I that is closer to my budget than the main restaurant. What do they offer? The lobster burger sounds amazing. I could use a great meal right about now.

The lobster burger is made from knuckle meat, the brioche is house made, the accompanying French fries are cooked in clarified butter. Very satisying.

[DonRocks]

A couple thoughts: I was at the Palena front room on Thursday night, and it would not be a good place to linger with a book - the tables were full and the bar itself isn't necessarily the chill-outest place. Also, Harry's Tap Room (in Clarendon) is NOT to be confused with the tavern area at Sam & Harry's in Tyson's Corner. I've eaten at both, and the food (the bar menu) at the one in Tyson's is horrible. The redeeming virtue there is that you can order off the "real" menu and have a steak brought into the bar. The little Beef Wellington thing at Harry's Tap Room in Clarendon is really good; but the slices of tenderloin on the Tyson's Corner bar menu tasted like something you'd get at "Steak Night" in your college cafeteria. The problem with the linger/book/chill thing is that you want to be around a buzz of people, but don't want to feel guilty for hogging a table when they're trying to turn it over. Café Parisien Express in Lee Heights shopping center in Arlington is good for lingering with a book - you can get a surprisingly adequate meal for $10-12 or so if you order the nightly special, but the fries are frozen and it seems like a lot of customers are older people that just walked their dog.

[babka]

perhaps my sense of bar etiquette is skewed in favor of finishing a book, but I end up stopping someplace nice on my way home from a bookstore about once a month.

Personal preferences are:

The bar at TenPenh. Comfy chairs, comfy bar seats, superb bartenders who are quick with a drink when needed, and yet slow to ask questions until a chapter is clearly finished. The back corner is usually fairly empty, even when the restaurant itself is full, so you can linger by the windows until you're done.

The bar at Cafe Atlantico--early in the evening, it's got lots of space, even on a Friday. Kind bartenders who pay attention when needed and ignore you when needed. Also, others at the bar tend to be engrossed in their own conversation groups--not nearly as likely to get hit-on as one is at Zaytina or Jaleo.

Levantes on 19th street in Dupont--most of the food is awful, but the lentil soup is superb and has been nursed, together with a glass of white wine, through the first half of several purchasing expeditions from Olsson's. It's pretty and serene, and usually has more than enough room in the windows area to take up a table without guilt. The servers are kind to readers, and even the bar makes for lengthy-okay-reading. (you just have to growl a couple of times at any overly-friendly neighbors.

).

I don't know if it's open in the evenings, but the upstairs vegetarian Indian place at the far end of Georgetown (Amma's kitchen? Aditi's Kitchen?) is lovely for daytime reading--some wonderful dishes, white tablecloths, bright windows, and they'll leave you alone until you're done.

I wish Palena's could be added to the list--it would make that 45 minute wait for chicken go so much easier!--but it's so formal and full that I would feel uncomfortable without a dining companion. The same, actually, is true of most of the restaurants in Cleveland Park--have tried to find a nice place to sit and read late at night, when I'm on foot and have missed the once-an-hour opportunity for the H-2 Bus across the park, but without luck. It's either chat with strangers in the bar, eat a gelatto while strolling the block, or sit on the curb outside the 7-11 and read by the light of the street-light. (or give up and hike home in the dark. :).

[jparrott]

So does the bar at Citronelle require a jacket?

[Mark Sommelier]

So does the bar at Citronelle require a jacket?

Nope.

[chengb02]

its not traditional bar food, but I really like Cafe Asia's location in the city. Good, cheap pan-Asian food and good happy hour deals. The atmosphere is very young and hip in an industrial sort of setting...I've enjoyed each visit I've made there...A bit of a warning, the bathroom is a bit strange...

[Mark Sommelier]

its not traditional bar food, but I really like Cafe Asia's location in the city. Good, cheap pan-Asian food and good happy hour deals. The atmosphere is very young and hip in an industrial sort of setting...I've enjoyed each visit I've made there...A bit of a warning, the bathroom is a bit strange...

I agree. I have always had a good time at Cafe Asia.