The Barhopper

[nacho]

Well... I should do a thread about favorite bars and new bars...or...whatever. For the once a quarter when I actually go out.

What's sort of nagging at me right now is the hideously named Truorleans, opening up on H St and about 10 minutes from my office. So not only an afternoon beer place, but they also claim that they'll be open at 7am. Finally! My morning beer dream will come true!

During my lunchtime walks, I pass by it every day...and I really don't see how they're going to make the "end of May" opening date. But...maybe when I get back from my NOLA trip, I'll be able to belly up and enjoy some sweet $7 bottles of Abita served by a waitress who's forced to talk with an accent inspired by episodes of Treme.

With new development coming to H Street NE, the addition of TruOrleans Restaurant and Gallery will add an authentic Cajon Creole experience with a twist. Set to open the end of May, TruOrleans will feature family recipes from Lake Charles, LA as well as art work straight from the French Quarter.

Located on the corner of H and 4th NE, the restaurant will be open Monday thru Sunday from 7:00 am to 12:00 am on weekdays and 7:00 am to 2:00 am on weekends. The split level restaurant will offer an upscale experience featuring many Cajun Creole favorites like Po Boys, Gumbo, Jambalaya and Beignets as well as New Orleans drink favorites like the traditional Hurricane, Louisiana specialty beers and a spectacular wine list. The restaurant will offer bars on both levels as well as an outdoor sidewalk café.
For more information, visit our website at www.truorleans.com.

[nacho]

Been trying to unearth true dive bars near my office. There's Lil Pub, on PA Ave, which is "Dc's last working class bar" and "just like Cheers." I'm not sure those two descriptions go together, but okay. It's on my list to try some day.

Near the Lil Pub is the Tune Inn, which is one of those dive bars that is a dive bar on purpose. Designer dive bars!

Of course, I love the reviews!  "What a dive! And Sierra Nevada on tap for just $6!"

I'll always be haunted by Cass's indignation at being served a $5 Sierra Nevada. There's really no getting away from yuppieville in DC, is there?

Still standing by for the opening of the hideous Truorleans, which should be any day now. Pictures show a completed restaurant, and wait staff going through training.

[nacho]

Well, Truorleans opens tomorrow. The menu is up on their facebook page -- all NOLA inspired, and with $6 Abitas.

I'm going to spin by it today at lunch and see if they're open early. Otherwise, I'll hit it around lunchtime tomorrow and get a feel for it.

I don't know why I'm bothering. DC's bar culture is all one, terrible horror show of expensive beer, bad service, and patrons who make you want to go on a shooting spree.

But... It's New Orleans themed! I have to try it. And $6 Abita is cheaper than Abita at Union Station!

[nacho]

Not open today... But it sure looks nice. And it's a huge bar, with a second bar up on the balcony, and sidewalk seating. Lots of promise to this place... Glassware and booze were being delivered today, so that's a good sign for lunch tomorrow.

[nacho]

Truorleans has updated their website:

http://www.truorleans.com/

Check out the drinks menu and the hurricanes measured by category.

Maybe they can measure the strength of their other drinks based on body count?

[Cassander]

What's with all the English Muffins?  Bleah.  Looks like they're trying, but some of those prices are outrageous.  I guess that's DC for you, eh?  But why would you spend $22 on shrimp and grits when $2 more will get who a whole delmonico steak?  On the plus side they do offer Lynchburg lemonade, a punch I try to make every summer with little success. 

[nacho]

Yeah, those prices are pretty mid-range.

That's why I was so shocked at the Commander's Palace bill. I expected that to approach $400.

[Cassander]

I was shocked by our Commander's bill.  But I blame that on all the damn mineral water. 

[nacho]

Oh...sad...

The Hawk ‘n Dove is located at 329 Pennsylvania Avenue SE. It’s Web site says:

“The Hawk ‘n’ Dove has proudly catered to Washingtonians, tourists, and Hill workers since 1967. It is a historic part of Capitol Hill and nearly everyone who has ever spent time in the Nation’s Capital has a story about a night spent at the Hawk. Despite the changing decades, the Hawk ‘n’ Dove remains steadfast on Pennsylvania Ave and the interior is virtually unchanged from when the doors opened on Christmas Eve over 40 years ago.”

No longer:

“The new face of the Hawk is Xavier Cervera, another impresario of Capitol Hill eateries, The Hawk will join the Chesapeake Room, Senart’s Oyster and Chop House, Molly Malone’s, Lola’s and a host of other in-the-works establishments in Cervera’s portfolio. He waxes enthusiastic about his plans (closing in October and re-opening in about six months), and has not only purchased the name, but a good deal of the memorabilia (including the clock, some wall sconces and photographs) which will be returned to the walls. But he adds that it will be a “100% renovation.” He will open three heretofore hidden fireplaces, and plans to panel the walls and bar with the 30,000 pounds of dark mahogany he has already purchased.

The most radical change—but the one probably least unexpected—will be the replacement of the many small rooms, both upstairs and down, with what Cervera describes as a welcoming, open space overlooked by a mezzanine, and featuring a 50-foot exhibition bar, dispensing 25 beers on tap and 16 wines by the glass.”

[nacho]

Truorleans has updated their website:

http://www.truorleans.com/

Check out the drinks menu and the hurricanes measured by category.

Maybe they can measure the strength of their other drinks based on body count?

Finally got to Truorleans!

I feel like I've done some sort of deep damage to my soul and, forever more, will be spiritually damaged.

The gallery was closed, so I sat outside. After 10 minutes, my waitress came up, looking as if she just climbed out of a car crash, and took my order. I asked for a Restoration Ale and a fried shrimp Po' Boy. 20 minutes later, beer and sandwich arrived.

Figuring that it would be that kind of service, I asked her for another beer as soon as everything arrived. She seemed confused, but jotted down the note.

On the menu, next to the Po' Boy heading, it says "7-inch subs" in parenthesis. At the bottom of the menu, it bleats on about how authentic they are about New Orleans food.  The Po' Boy, though, is exactly what the parenthesis says. Fried shrimp on a hoagie. So...authentic on Earth 72, maybe, where New Orleans is a suburb of Philly.

For a sub, it wasn't so bad. And Abita's always nice. It took 30 minutes for my second beer to arrive, so I had plenty of time to contemplate the professionalism of waitresses.

But...she was cute, for a crash victim, and I tipped her well.

Glad to get the place out of my system, though. Now I can return to my soulless Capitol Hill bars and know that I'm not missing anything.

[Cassander]

ah....your texts lent a much more hideous tone.  Maybe if you'd been seated at the bar and ordered a real entree things wouldn't have been so bad.

But I've been on the receiving end of a "long outside wait" here as well.  And for a real po-boy!  So maybe not too much to squabble there.  But, yes, fried shrimp on a hoagie?  That's a yankee sandwich.  But if the shrimp were fried nicely, maybe its worth a second trip at night.  Try to get a sazerac with an amber back, then shovel headfirst into those $13 red beans.

[nacho]

I've finally decided to condemn Silver Spring's historic Quarry House... It hit me this weekend that I can't remain loyal to the memory of the old Quarry House in the face of  the new , hipper Quarry House.

So that bar review will go up on 10/26. Meanwhile, for the historical record, here's a Post article concerning the 2005 transition:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/gog/bars-clubs/quarry-house-tavern,797175/critic-review.html#reviewNum1

[RottingCorpse]

Finally took Nacho to DC's speakeasy last night. Reservations only. No Beer. No Food. Just insane cocktails.

http://www.thegibsondc.com/

[nacho]

What's great about it is that whole speakeasy vibe. It's a shuttered rowhouse front with a crowded bike rack in front of it. You open what looks like a very private residential door and there's a guy sitting in the stairwell who, with a very serious sort of attitude, checks your reservation and ID. Then he takes you into a dimly lit, hushed back room. The insane drink menu is only a starting off point -- the wait staff are trained well enough to figure out what you want by description -- fruity, sour, boozy, whatever.

A real haven of mixology. A really cool experience.

[nacho]

And...a larger realization: I need to explore the bars of U Street. Because I liked that Molly's place where we ended up. That was very NOLA. And I saw several others with that vibe.