Apartment Showcase Blog

Whiskey business: An extensive liquor selection is one of the highlights of this tony tavern. (Danny Nicholson via Flickr)

Do you like barbecue? How about craft beer? What about Kentucky whiskey?

If you answer yes to any of the above, pat yourself on the back … then get over yourself.

Now, get up from your computer, mosey on down to the Smoke and Barrel in Adams Morgan in Northwest and have yourself a blast. (Well, after you finish reading this post.)

Here’s what the site says: “Smoke and Barrel strives to offer a creative take on barbeque [sic], a global look at food-friendly craft beer, and a Kentucky bias for our list of over 50 fine whiskeys.”

That’s right; you read correctly. Fifty fine whiskeys.

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I’m not a whiskey drinker (makes my throat burn hot just thinking about a shot going down), but I’m assuming plenty of you out there are, so that big number alone should be enough to make you want to venture out to Smoke and Barrel and have at it.

Whiskey is only part of the attraction, though.

The menu features “Chef Vinni Waide’s unique interpretation of country cooking.” Like alluded to earlier, there is plenty of barbecue and meat on the menu, with entrées including espresso rubbed brisket, half slab of ribs and smoked half chicken. Their signature sauce is called Chipotle Honey Butter, and they say it’s “unlike anything you have ever tasted.”

There are also quite a few vegan offerings at the Smoke and Barrel. In fact, on their menu I counted five such-named items, including vegan wings and vegan breakfast tacos. Here’s the brunch menu, which is served on Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

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Let’s get back to the whiskeys. Just seeing them all listed on their site is enough to make George Thorogood get the shakes. (Hopefully the blues rocker will find that job. I know how he feels.)

Names, you want names. Now I understand. Basil Hayden’s, Buffalo Trace, Maker’s Mark and Wild Turkey Kentucky Spirit are just four of the brands on the list.

Drinking whiskey is pretty expensive, as prices start off at $8 and rise all the way to $20 a snort (for one particular brand, anyway). Hey, it’s your money.

The craft beer selection is similarly high-end expensive and thorough, with names like 21st Amendment Brewery Bitter American, Flying Dog Barrel-Aged Gonzo Imperial Porter and Mönchshof Schwarzbier. Again, these beers don’t come cheap, but nothing good in life usually does, metaphorically at least.

There’s an active events page at the Smoke and Barrel, and be sure to check out the weekly specials.

The Smoke and Barrel was made for the Adams Morgan renter who fancies themselves a whiskey, craft beer or barbecue aficionado. If you’re not already comfortably ensconced in Adams Morgan, just jump on the Metro’s Red Line and take it to the Woodley Park-Zoo/Adams Morgan stop. From there, it’s a short walk across the Duke Ellington Memorial Bridge.

Your cheatin' heart: There's absolutely no truth to the rumor that Tryst is golfer Tiger Woods' favorite D.C. haunt. (Daquella manera via Flickr)

We here at ApartmentShowcase.com aren’t averse to the sensual pleasures in life, and yes, many of us here have even experienced them. I know it’s shocking and scandalous, but it’s true.

Lucky for us – and you – there’s a den of sin in Adams Morgan that specializes in salacious assignations: Tryst Coffeehouse – Bar – Lounge.

Not your everyday venue, Tryst not only serves up the espresso and alcohol, but they also provide tables, chairs and even – I don’t know if I should be writing this – couches! Yes, all the better for dimly-lit canoodling.

Back in Tryst’s infancy, I wrote a small piece on the place and have visited several times since. I can safely say it’s still unique. Those who are on the up-and-up and not into betrayal can take advantage of the free Wi-Fi.

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Speaking of free, they even have free live jazz on Mondays through Wednesdays from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m., in case you and your lover, er, friend, good friend, work associate you had to meet for drinks or you’d lose your job…

OK, let’s try that again: There’s live jazz in case you and your colleague need music to get into the mood, er, to work on business deals or pore over expenditure sheets.

The place pushes the anti-corporate stance, saying, “Tryst stands in stark contrast to the suburban culture and coffee chains that proliferate the country.” In fact, the joint is proud that their silverware doesn’t always match (neither do my socks, not all the time they don’t), and they’re also proud they don’t serve “75 different kinds of trademarked, pre-made caramel-nilla-frapp-a-ccino-supremas.”

No, obnoxiousness just isn’t sexy.

On the other hand, Tryst does offer “excellent made to order food and drink, and a commitment to serving the community.” Check out the menu, and see for yourself.

At Tryst, you can have a beer, a latte and maybe a Rodney (curried chicken salad sandwich). I don’t know if a $3 happy hour (3 p.m.-5:30 p.m., Sunday-Friday) counts as serving the community, but showcasing a different artist on their walls each month does.

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Tryst opens at 6:30 a.m. every day except Sunday, when they sleep in a whole half hour later and let you in at 7 a.m., the slackers. From Sunday to Wednesday, the coffeehouse/bar shuts its doors at midnight; on Thursday, they generally call it a night at 2 a.m.; and on Friday and Saturday, they won’t throw you out on the street until 3 a.m.

So come early and stay late when you, um, well, you know. And really, aren’t you ashamed? Even a little? Oh, you!

Tryst has two sister establishments in the area: The Diner, which is right down the street on 18th, and Open City, another eatery in Woodley Park.

So, those of you lucky enough to rent an apartment in Adams Morgan have quite the little hangout … particularly if you feel the need to be furtive.

It’s a good walk from the Woodley Park-Zoo/Adams Morgan Metro station, but everyone seems to like to throw around the word “walkable” these days, so get those tootsies moving across the Duke Ellington Memorial Bridge … or get a room!

Show of hands: Ethiopian dishes often come with injera, a pancake-like flatbread with a spongy texture that acts as both a plate and eating utensil. Diners tear off a piece of the injera to scoop the various stews and salads that make up the entree.

Before moving to the District almost a decade ago (I’ve since moved out again), I’d never had Ethiopian food. In fact, I don’t know if I’d ever heard the term mentioned before.

But once I was introduced to it, I couldn’t believe how good it was. Beef, lamb, ground chickpeas, eggs, exotic spices and sauces, and of course the cuisine’s most distinctive feature: spongy injera bread. It’s all quite tasty.

The great thing about Ethiopian food is, depending on the restaurant, it can be a communal experience, as a whole slew of people can share the food, dining on a huge injera bread layout. It’s an odd, foreign and fun experience.

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To be honest, before moving to the capital, I’d never had many exotic ethnic foods (everyone eats Chinese, Mexican and Italian; they don’t count). Along with Ethiopian cuisine, Adams Morgan (and more broadly, the capital itself) features about as diverse a dinner menu as you’ll find on the East Coast outside of New York City: Latin American, Middle Eastern, Asian, soul food, American, seafood, vegetarian.

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What we’re going to do here is focus on three diverse restaurants, leading off with what I was babbling about in the beginning.

Meskerem Ethiopian Restaurant

2434 18th St., N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20009
Cuisine: Ethiopian

Meskerem Ethiopian Restaurant has loads of accolades and has been written up in everything from The Washingtonian, The Washington Post, The Denver Post and on Frommer’s website, with the most succinct line of praise coming from Washington City Paper: “We said it before, we’ll say it again. Meskerem is the best.”

A click on their website is a colorful experience, showing off their food and the color yellow. (One warning, I couldn’t get the annoying music to stop, but that’s why we have volume control on our computers. It’s colorful at first, but gets grating fast.)

There is a broad range of beef, chicken, lamb and seafood dishes here, and vegetarians aren’t left in the cold either. Entrees are very reasonably priced, in the $10-$13 range, with the vegetarian dishes a little less. A good meal at Meskerem will have you playing the krar like Eddie Van Halen on a 10-day sake and Schlitz bender.

Mama Ayesha’s

1967 Calvert St., N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20009
Cuisine: Middle Eastern

You can go far and wide and not see any mural more interesting than the one that graces the wall of Mama Ayesha’s. It’s a portrait of the matriarch herself surrounded by presidents from Dwight Eisenhower to Barack Obama, all in a row. Whatever you think of our government, it doesn’t matter. Kitsch, high-art, whatever. It’s one cool-looking mural. Mama Ayesha left this earth in 1993, but her legacy lives on through her family business.

Inside this very classy joint – and the décor is visually striking – diners will take advantage of the Middle Eastern cuisine. I don’t know what you’d consider pricey, but with most entrées under $20, that’s not too bad.

The menu is lamb heavy, but they also serve up vegetarian plates as well. There’s also plentiful rice, spices, chicken and onions to be had. Mama Ayesha’s has a very impressive wine list as well (that’s where they get you!). And really, who doesn’t want a shish kebob every now and again?

Habana Village Restaurant and Bar

1834 Columbia Rd., N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20009
Cuisine: Cuban

The Habana Village Restaurant and Bar in Adams Morgan is one of the only places I know of where you can not only dine on exotic ethnic food but also learn to dance. Part dance club and part restaurant, Habana Village seems like a fun place to work off the calories you just ingested.

Habana Village sports Cuban cuisine with a price range (as listed on their Facebook page) between $10-$30, so I guess you could call that moderately expensive. As always, it’s the drinks that boost the bill. And Habana being a dance club of sorts, you know that a little libation will help you work up the gumption to put on those dancing shoes.

Salsa lessons are 10 bucks a shot, and the club offers both beginner and advanced lessons. Best of all, you don’t need a partner. While we don’t expect you to become a Latin-fused version of John Travolta circa “Saturday Night Fever” or even the “Pulp Fiction” version (nor do we expect you to take up a very speculative religious practice), for all you cut-a-rug types, learning the salsa will be fun. To all of you guys out there, many women really do go to dance clubs to dance, so actually knowing how to dance, particularly the salsa in a Latin-themed club, can only help you in those ventures. This way when they turn you down, you can say, “Hey, I’m here to dance!” and actually mean it. Kinda.

As expected, Habana Village is open very late on weekends.

Woman at large: Madam's Organ's colorful "Madam," a 35-foot tall painting that adorns the side of the building and overlooks 18th street, is tough to miss. (Photo: Google)

Adams Morgan is known as a capital hot spot for drinking, carousing and basically just losing yourself in a night of wanton revelry. Yes, it really is all that and more.

Among the many bars and clubs in the neighborhood, I’ve decided to focus on one local house of ill repute that serves up blues licks, soul food, free pool and the dirtiest mural that Northwest, D.C., has to offer: Madam’s Organ Blues Bar and Soul Food Restaurant. If you’re looking for an apartment in Adams Morgan, you’ll be staring at the mural more than once, maybe more than twice, and you’re probably going to go in there at some point, particularly after a few drinks. So, let’s get better acquainted with this edifice of sin.

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If you’ve read a certain Washington Post article posted on the bar’s website (which, honestly, needs an update like Snooki needs a ghostwriter for that new novel she’s “writing”), you’ll know about the downright convoluted – and harrowing – history of the place. Founded in the early ’90s, owner Bill Duggan had all types of problems with the previous owners, and allegedly was even the target of a proposed murder plot!

Thankfully, with much consternation, that all worked itself out (though Blanca Fortiz, the owner who wanted him dead, was still at large at the time of the article’s publication and may still be for all I know). And it’s great it did, because now Duggan only has to deal with irate bureaucrats over his gigantic, iconic mural of “Madam,” the bar’s redheaded mascot. Work of art or merely crass advertising? That is the continuing question. Despite the controversy and distractions, this famous haunt has been entertaining patrons for nearly two decades now with live music seven days a week. Most of it is blues-based, but there are some other flavors played here as well.

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Among the great features of Madam’s Organ are “Drunkeoke” – their version of karaoke (there’s a two-drink minimum to participate) – on Sundays and Thursdays, open mic night every Wednesday, and the mere fact that you can shoot pool for free on the second level. Everyone likes something for free, except the IRS … well, they like your money for free, but we’ll get off that touchy subject until Ron Paul runs for president again.

Another curious feature about Madam’s Organ is that, at least according to its website, “Redheads forever drink 1/2 price Rolling Rocks!” I don’t know if having strawberry blond hair counts, or if a ridiculous fuchsia dye job works either. The food selection is both typical bar grub (burgers, fries, quesadillas) and soul food (fried chicken, barbecue, ribs, catfish). There are even vegetarian nachos. In fact, the menu’s pretty expansive and reasonably priced. This is just a wild guess, but I’m assuming they have plenty of liquor, too.

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Madam’s Organ has been featured in Playboy and Stuff, and was even touted by fakea … uh, faketail Brooke Burke on E!’s “Wild On…” a few moons ago. You owe it to yourself to check out this place the next time you’re running around with your friends and generally up to no good.