75 Bars DC: Old Ebbitt Grill

Every city has a staple. Whether it's a monument, an iconic sign or building or general tourist attraction, they exist in most of our major cities. And like these staples of tourism lure, most cities have an iconic restaurant or bar that lives through the decades. Greensboro had the famous Rhino club. Tampa had the historic Tiny Tap Tavern. Heinhold's First and Last Chance has been serving as a local watering hole on the Oakland waterfront prior to the great quake of 1906. These bars and restaurants are no longer destinations in their respective cities, they are institutions.

DC is not without it's share of iconic buildings and historic bars. One could argue it's "the" city of iconic structures. But there is one restaurant and bar that's been serving residents and tourists of our nations capital longer than any other...Old Ebbitt Grill.

This historic institution was founded in 1856 by William E. Ebbitt and has lived in various forms throughout the downtown DC area. When I moved to DC three years ago, I was told by locals this was "the spot to go to see old school DC." Like previous places I've lived, I embraced the history of DC and wanted to embrace her local institutions of imbibery. I had been several times for dinner, but never did I go to Old Ebbitt just for drinks. So Dan brings forth the 75 Bars idea and off we went. Our first bar in this adventure would be the oldest in DC.

First impressions of Old Ebbitt as someone walking in off the street is chaos. This place is incredibly popular. I'm not sure how many of the people crowding by the door waiting for tables were from DC or visiting tourists, but you can't deny Old Ebbitt is certainly not hurting for business. My gut would immediately tell me to leave by walking into a dining room that crowded and loud. But as DC residents, Dan and I both knew there was another bar to the left of the entrance, so we excused ourselves through the crowds to this less inhabited part of the restaurant. Let me point out, less inhabited doesn't imply no crowds. Anytime between 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. at Old Ebbitt is pretty chaotic because you get the happy hour crowd. The back bar was more inviting to us to order a drink, but it was by no means quiet.

I noted to Dan that every one of the people gathering for drinks had yet to go home. Clearly we were surrounded by DC enjoying their happiest of what had become many hours. This is important to know because the main dining room bar is next to impossible to get a drink at and you'll more than likely be sharing bar space with a plumber from Iowa. (not that there's anything wrong with that)

According to our rules, I ordered two drinks. My first was my drink of choice, a Crown and Coke. My second was based on the house speciality, a Crown and Coke. Why the same drink you ask? I'll tell ya...

Dan figured he'd go for the house speciality with his first drink. He asked our first bartender to recommend something. The bartender looks at Dan with a confused look and says, give me somewhere to start. Clearly the question "what do you recommend?" doesn't get asked very often. So I ask the second bartender about their menu of drinks and which does he suggest. This time I get a more clear picture of what Old Ebbitt specializes in as he tells me to avoid that drink list. According to the bartender, the drink list changes for each season, so right now these drinks are full of creme and designed to appeal to a cold tourist looking for a warm and comforting beverage. What does Old Ebbitt do well though? Whiskey, Bourbon and Vodka.

Like most of DC, fancy schmancy cocktails are saved for the ultra lounges and trendy house music bars of K Street and Chinatown. This venue is a drinkers bar with an emphasis on the quality of the liquor and less on the number of different alcoholic shots you can throw into a glass. Old Ebbitt is designed and built as a bar for the hard-working lawyer, lobbyist and politician of old-school DC.

On top of our drinks, Dan and I both had an appetizer. I enjoyed a cup of the creamy clam chowder, which hit the spot on a cool rainy evening. And about those Crown and Cokes, they were pretty darn good. I can usually tell a big difference in the venue based on how much ice and how flat the coke is. Old Ebbitt hit the mark on delivering me my favorite drink with a well poured hand.

My only complaint with this bar is the mixture of tourism and local flavor. Any time you take a bar or restaurant that's become a fixture in a scene and infuse it with hundreds of tourists each day, you lose some of the local connection and flavor. Old Ebbitt is beautiful and makes good drinks, but I can't see myself going there on a random night because I don't get the sense I would be remembered. A good bar that's billed as a local institution should bring you a sense of home and welcome you in like you've just sat down for a drink in your own living room. With thousands of tourists coming and going each night, I doubt Old Ebbitt will ever exude that type of charm.

Labels: 75 Bars, Clubs, Entertainment, Music, Nightlife

posted by DVS @ 2:23 PM