DCvisitor's Profile

I've been here 2x and enjoyed the food and drinks both nights. This is what I would typify as a true neighborhood bar. The cheap, stuffy couch and oversized-stuffed bear with sun glasses give it a "homey" feel (if you live, say, in a trailer in PA). Despite that it could use a good cleaning, I like the bar staff and they make good drinks. Each time I was there, the person next to me pointed out the owner sitting at the bar who seemed quite drunk, so one gets the feeling he crashes there most days. Drunk, but nice and holding a dog. I'm generally not into having dogs at eye or food level, but somehow it all seemed to fit the bar and by then the good long island had kicked in! I plan to go back.

I am in D.C. for four weeks and thought I'd check out a local neighboor bar. The Fireplace bar, in my opion, is one place not to go. Both times I went, the bartenders barely looked up, and seemed to not care if they had business or not. The last time I went, I asked for a tall Bloody Mary, so the "bartender" poured a small can of tomatoe glass into a small glass of ice, splashed it with vodka, and that was it--nothing tall about it; in fact, not a Bloody Mary at all. AND, if you need to use the ATM it will only give you $50.00, which the machine doesn't even dispense--you have to take a slip up to the "bartender" where they take their cut for the drinks and give you the change from the $50.00. Also, a loud, obnoxious guy was sitting at the bar creaming his face quite heavily with white goop that turned out to be sunblock. It took him at least half an hour to rub it all in. I love weirdness and dive bars, but this isn't just a cool dive kinda place. It reeks of bad bar service and Welfare types who probably start their days there at 1 PM when it opens. Put your money somewhere else, honestly.