LGBTQ activists and allies will tonight hold a rally to replace a rainbow flag that was vandalized at an Adams Morgan bar last weekend.
Someone set fire to a rainbow flag outside of Bourbon (2321 18th St. NW) on Sunday, owner James Patrick Woods told the Washington Blade yesterday. The flag-burning occurred on the same day that someone spray painted the words “down with the gay agenda” on a sidewalk in Dupont.
Locals Morgan Tepper — who also goes by DJ Lisa Frank — and Legba Carrefour will hold a “gay-in” at the bar and replace the flag at 8 p.m. tonight. During the event, queer activists and allies will present Woods with a new rainbow flag in an act of solidarity and support.
“The main goal of this is to be make people feel OK and not be scared,” Tepper said. “When you get scared, it’s very detrimental to a community.”
Attendees are encouraged to “be a little more affectionate than usual” during the event, Tepper said, in order to make their presence known.
“You can burn down a flag… but it doesn’t mean the gay community is going to go away,” Tepper said. “We’re not going to be afraid of you.” She added that “thoughts and prayers are not enough. We need physical action.”
Following the event, Tepper and other DJs will spin tunes inside the bar.
Photo via Facebook / Bourbon Adams Morgan
The “rare bourbon” bar planned to open in Dupont Circle now has a name.
A public hearing notice posting from last week shows the bar, which seeks to open in the former Bertucci’s Restaurant space at 1220 Connecticut Avenue NW, will be called “Saint Yves.”
The space will be shared with a Cava Grill, reported Washington City Paper yesterday. Workers could be seen renovating the space earlier this morning.
ANC 2B’s commissioners discussed the forthcoming bar and its application for a tavern liquor license during a monthly meeting on Wednesday.
According to that application, the bar would serve “light fare” alongside “rare bourbons” in a space with seating for 30 and a total occupancy of 250. The bar would also host occasional events with DJs and bands.
“It’s going to be an open space,” said 2B-05 Commissioner Abigail Nichols, who met with the owners of the bar earlier this month. “It’s really not designed for eating at all. They’re planning to have food but a very simple, more hors d’oeuvres-style menu.”
In a procedure most often used to reach a settlement agreement, the ANC voted 6-0-0 to protest the bar’s liquor license application on the basis of peace, order and quiet.
(Updated at 1:39 p.m.) A bar centered around “rare bourbons” may open in Dupont Circle.
A public hearing notice for a liquor license application posted recently on the ABRA website shows that the proprietors behind a new bar identified under the trade name “DVL” seek to set up shop at 1220 Connecticut Avenue NW.
According to the application, the bar would serve “light fare” alongside “rare bourbons” in a space with seating for 30 and a total occupancy of 250. The bar would also host occasional events with DJs and bands.
The bar’s owners seek to serve alcohol until 2 a.m. Sunday through Thursday and 3 a.m. on Friday and Saturday.
The bar’s listed contact, David Chung, was not immediately available to comment.
Bourbon, the whiskey-soaked Adams Morgan hangout, wants patrons to bring their kids along for happy hour.
Each Friday from 5 to 8 p.m., the bar opens its upstairs space to grown-ups and kids alike during “kiddy happy hours.” The idea is simple: Drinks for the adults, cartoons, music and coloring for the kids.
Jessica Dallesasse, Bourbon’s general manager, says the bar started its kid-friendly happy hours about six months ago when a patron complained they had nowhere to take her kids during happy hour.
Now, Dallesasse says the event attracts up to 20 parents each week, and even more during the school year.
“Parents don’t often get to go out to eat or drink with their friends,” says Dallesasse. “So they just all bring their kids to a bar. The kids don’t get bored and the parents don’t get bored.”
While parents buy drinks and food at happy hour prices, kids can munch on chicken nuggets, french fries and mac and cheese from the bar’s kitchen.
And even though kids can roam the upstairs bar freely, they’re always within view of their parents, Dallesasse says. “It’s not like they just drop them off and walk away,” she adds.
Are the kids well-behaved? Dallesasse says, mostly. “There’s never been any temper tantrums or anything,” she says. “The only thing that can get loud is all the kids running around.”
Photo courtesy of Bourbon
Come out and enjoy the Bourbon Bash this Saturday. (Luis Gomez Photos)
If you enjoyed The Whiskey Walk and the Margarita March you should be a part of the first annual Bourbon Bash. It will happening this Saturday June 22. So get ready to enjoy the popular Kentucky spirit as it will be found at eight local bars. A portion of ticket sales will benefit Lead The Way Fund, a non-profit organization that supports active duty, disabled and deceased U.S. Army Rangers and their families.
Tickets are $55 a person and can be bought online. Participating in this event are local favorites Board Room, Buffallo Billiards, Front Page, Maddy’s Bar & Grille, James Hoban’s, MadHatter and Science Club.
The Bourbon Bash gets participants into a Kentucky spirit with a bluegrass band and specials on beers, food pairings and the featured bourbons; the bourbon tasting notes can be found here. The crowd will begin their day by checking in from noon to 3 pm at James Hoban’s or Buffalo Billiards, and then proceed in whatever order they choose during this unique all-day tasting tour. The guests can enjoy their bourbons neat, on the rocks or with a soda mixer.
Participants are also entitled to special prices on (a) the bourbon each bar is featuring, (b) a beer pairing at $3 to $4, and (c) a food pairing at $4 to $7 hand-selected by each venue’s executive chef.
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From Rachel Nania. Check out her blog, Sear, Simmer & Stir. Follow Nania on Twitter @rnania, email her at rachel[AT]borderstan.com.
Since I can’t go back to Charleston anytime soon, I’m bringing Charleston to me. (Rachel Nania)
Despite a tropical storm aiming straight for the southern part of the East Coast this weekend, I braved my way down I-95 and took a road trip to Charleston, S.C.
Yes, ma’am — I had plans for sun, paired with Southern cuisine and a side of Seersucker.
Boy, was I disappointed.
What I always remembered as a traditional, southern little city did not live up to my “leave your pinkie out while you sip your tea” and “remember to tie your bow” expectations.
In fact, it was quite the opposite. Charleston has transformed into the capital of cool.
Sure, the Seersucker, manners and bows are still around — and will always be preserved — but on top of all that is a top-notch local food movement, a booming boutique business, a cocktail scene like no other, skateboarders, and, oh yeah, beaches.
The whole trip home I was wanting to turn around and just head right back to Charleston. But since I can’t get back there for a few more months, I’m going to do my best to find a bit of Charleston in DC.
That’s right, I am on a mission to get southern in Borderstan.
Bourbon: One thing they take very seriously in Charleston is bourbon. And thankfully, so does Bourbon on 18th Street. Not only does this place have lots of — well, bourbon — it also serves bowls of tots, fish and chips and grilled BBQ salmon. 14th Street’s Back Whiskey also has you covered in terms of beverage selections and locally sourced small plates.
Locally-Sourced Southern Food: Shrimp and grits, crab cakes, fried green tomatoes, hush puppies — I could keep going. But I’ll stop. Thankfully, there are several places in the area that serve up some great southern food. Next time you have a hankering, try the cornmeal fried oysters and Spoonbread at The Pig.
Still hungry? Eatonville has Hushpuppies, po boys and catfish and grits. And we absolutely can’t leave off Oohs and Aahs on U Street. The fried chicken will make you say more than “ooh.”
Chic Boutiques and Local Businesses: Finding chic designs isn’t too difficult in Charleston — and it’s pretty easy to find the same in Borderstan. Classy outfits? Check out Ginger Root Design. Something a little more edgy? Redeem. Home decor? Good Wood.
Greenery and Gardens: One of my favorite parts of Charleston is the courtyard gardens, visible from the streets in downtown Charleston. While the gardens in DC. are not as popular as the ones in Charleston, you can catch some great greenery up and down the side residential streets in Dupont Circle or at Meridian Hill Park.
Surfers: Sorry. Charleston still wins on this one.
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Jack Rose at 2007 18th Street NW. (Luis Gomez Photos)
From Jane Alonso. Her passion for food and spirits leads her on frequent excursions into Borderstan’s land of bars and restaurants. Email her at jane[AT]borderstan.com
Mark Twain once said: “Too much of anything is bad, but too much of good whiskey is barely enough.” That phrase could aptly describe the prolific selection of whiskey and bourbon at Jack Rose Dining Saloon in Adams Morgan – a temple to the malted barley spirits.
The walls of Jack Rose are stocked with more than 1,500 bottles of liquid gold, some of which reportedly come from the private collection of co-owner Bill Thomas (who also owns the two Bourbon bars in DC). One look up at the tall ladders that the bartenders use to reach the bottles on the highest shelves, and I knew I was in love with this bar. The décor alone is proof that Jack Rose gives whiskey its proper place to shine at the top of the drinking universe.
If you aren’t familiar with scotch, this is a good place to begin the journey. Jack Rose’s menu lists hundreds of options, grouped by the main regions of Scotland — Campletown, Islay, Islands, Highlands, Lowlands, and Speyside. Well-known brands like Macallan, Laphroig, Glenfiddich and Glenlivet are right there alongside less common ones such as Kilchoman (the newest distillery on the island of Islay) or Clynelish (a distillery on the southern northeast coast of Scotland between Inverness and Wick).
Even among the recognizable brands, you will find offering that are less familiar. You can order almost anything on the menu in a half-ounce, one ounce, or two-ounce pours, priced accordingly. This means you don’t have to break the bank to try some truly interesting scotches, all without committing to a full glass of something you may not like.
One disappointment, however, is that the menu isn’t completely reflective of what is in stock – of the five whiskies I requested one night, only two were available. Bummer, as I became excited about my initial choices as I culled them from the long menu. This was a frustrating problem I encountered all the time at the old Brickskeller (for those of you who are old enough to remember that Dupont Circle beer institution, it had a menu about as long as a textbook).
So instead of wasting too much time looking through the Jack Rose menu, I recommend engaging one of the knowledgeable bartenders right away for recommendations to determine what is truly available, as well as what may fit your particular mood that night. That approach yielded some fabulous finds, such as a BenRiach aged in a cask used to make Tokai desert wine in Hungary. The whiskey has a deliciously sweet finish that was totally unique.
I love scotch, and yet I didn’t even know a Tokai-aged whiskey existed before a night at Jack Rose. Even with its stocking issues, this bar can still teach a seasoned whiskey dog some new tricks.
Jack Rose: The Details
- Where Am I Going: 2007 18th Street NW.
- When Am I Going: Sunday to Thursday 5 pm to 2 am; Friday to Saturday 5 pm to 3 am.
- Paycheck Pain: Scotch and bourbon prices vary depending on the market price and the amount of the pour.
- Say What? It’s loud and boisterous in this bar, no way around it.
- What You’ll Be Eating and Drinking: Hopefully –scotch and bourbon, but Jack Rose also has a full beer and cocktail list, and a bar and dinner menu to help sop up all that alcohol.
