DCNightlife Raw

Don Rockwell Members Insert Foot in Mouth: Then Give it 1 ½ Stars

In self-important computer nerd news, certain members of the invitation only Don Rockwell food and dining message board (Yelp talk for overweight balding middle aged "foodies" with a lack of friends who aren't avatars) have tried to pin our recent review of Posh Restaurant & Supper Club on Posh’s Chef, Christopher Willis - who merely posted the review to the website’s thread - in CLEAR violation of the message board’s protocol - the horrors!

Some Don Rockwell contributors went as far as to call the review "a shill" and then try to blame the chef for personally attacking the Washington Post's food critic, Tom Sietesma by calling him "gay"! Actually, our review only references criticism of Mr. Sietesma’s journalistic "value set" expressed in numerous places elsewhere. Maybe the ability to read is not one of the membership requirements?

Keep up the good work guys! Where else can a baker’s dozen of former head gear wearers use their internet savvy to voice opinions that make the average restaurant patron want to drown themselves in a bowl of du Coin's Velouté de volailles? Shouldn't you be at the latest restaurant opening name dropping a website in an attempt to get preferential treatment? Now pause your favorite episode of Good Eats, extract what's left of that second Baked & Wired bear claw from your sweaty paws and run to your computer to discuss in an frothing elitist tizzy! Just be careful not to spill that bottle of Cheerwine on your Dockers… those are going out pants!

DCNR Exclusive: Restaurant K - Closes!

Our sources inside Restaurant K tell us that today will be the last day for Restaurant K - shuttering less than 10 months after opening. We have also been told that Chef Alison Swope will be temporarily working for McCormick & Schmick, the restaurant's parent company, until further arrangements can be made.

Posh Restaurant & Supper Club: Diamond in the Rough

We've seen it happen so many times. A restaurant opens it doors to the public with aspirations to revolutionize the city’s dining scene. Based on a skewed view of public expectation, it peppers its menu with grandeur visions of culinary fine dining. Before it has had time to find its niche, a major market critic capitalizing on the restaurant's novel appeal hastily reviews the new locale and slams it for not meeting his or her antiquated gastronomical standards. The venue subsequently acquires a less than favorable reputation, which - oftentimes - it never overcomes.

Posh Restaurant & Supper Club, could be the poster child for this culinary adage.

In late 2006, Posh emerged on the DC scene as the new "it" trend in dining experiences: a hybrid of the supper club theme then making its way through Los Angeles and New York hot spots and a nightlife destination. To support a fine dining reputation Posh flaunted progressive takes on nouveau riche cuisine with menu items, such as, shrimp cocktail presented in dry ice, Cornish game hen glazed with pomegranate sauce and snails in puff pastry. Less than five months after the Grand Opening, Washington Post restaurant critic Tom Sietesema bashed the restaurant with a 1/2 star review for cuisine not meeting his standards.

Foregoing a debate of Mr. Sietesma’s journalistic merits - which are frequently and heavily criticized for being pretentiously "gay chic", not catering to the general public and containing obscenely low ratings for the sole purpose of grandstanding - one can agree that the restaurant’s Beta release should have avoided a Michelin star approach to dining. Posh, like so many other restaurants before it, fell victim to the classic industry misnomer - that the common diner’s interests are primarily reflected in the often elitist culinary views of the critics that review them.

Is the NFL Players Club Running an Illegal Nightspot in DC?

The emails in two of DC's top promotional models' Myspace inboxes read:

"Hey... Would love for you and some friends to stop thru my place tonight or when your schedule permits, so I can give you a tour of Sanctuary 84... Where in the city are you going to find a night life spot that offers an in-city estate, valued at more than $4.2 million dollars, with:13 Bathrooms, 9 Smoking Balconies and patios, 5 Private Suites for Nightly, Weekly or Monthly rental, with plans for 3 jacuzzis and two outdoor bars for the summer. Will be open from 5pm until 7am begining April 1, 2008. It's a members-only private situation but the cost is only $50 a month... but you are popping bottles at cost... none of that $300 BS for a bottle of goose... Just $39 plus a one time storage fee... Hope to see ya... GC"

The mysterious GC? None other than former Redskins' wide receiver Gary Clark, or someone posing on Myspace as the Pro-Bowler.

Rain Lounge Shutters! Owners Blame City and Zoning Officials!

It's been a rough year for Fairfax's Rain Lounge and Ballroom . The club’s failure to obtain an entertainment permit for their ABC license, multiple healthcode violations, and a well documented spat with the City of Fairfax over an increase in crime in the neighborhood, a severe lack of parking and outstanding fines for operating as a nightclub without a proper license. When the smoke finally cleared, as DCNR predicted, Rain closed to the public weeks ago leaving many of its investors with devastating losses. So who is to blame?

One of Rain’s owners has fired off a Myspace blog blaming the City and specifically zoning official Michelle Coleman for being "racist and unfair" towards Rain and the “ethnisity” [sic] of "the people that go there", "which were only gangsters and drug dealers". These allegations of predisposition and Ms. Coleman’s alleged failure to completely perform her job duties were the subject of an lawsuit allegedly filed against the City by Rain but later withdrawn. Others claiming to be connected with the nightclub or its owners site lawyer Mark Dycio’s making of "promises he could not keep with respect to [Rain’s] ABC license" as the underlying cause.

For now, Rain remains shuttered. However, our sources indicate that Rain’s owners have been shopping the relocation of the club to another part of Virginia or even the District.

A Sweet Escape? Co Co Sala Plants its Reviews?

Co Co Sala , D.C.’s latest exploit on the popularized desert dining trend, bills itself as “a premier coffee, chocolate and cocktail lounge”. But have Co Co Sala’s owners’ or the restaurant’s public relations firm, Heather Freeman Media & PR , run up a tab they can’t afford - by trying to pass off scripted prose on local media, blog and message board websites as fake ordinary patron reviews? The proof is, well, in the pudding.

Co Co Sala officially opened to the public on May 12, 2008. Three days later, a review abundant with praise purportedly from a customer named Jen, hit the Washingtonpost's Going Out Gurus’ Blog previewing the venue:

"When you get to Co Co Sala you'll think...Sex and the City. This restaurant just oozes sexiness. The food and drinks were fabulous and so is the decor. The owners walked around throughout the evening and stopped to everyones table to ensure that they were comfortable and satisfied. One of the owners stopped to the table where I sat with girlfriends and made a few menu suggestions. I was impressed. We tried the menu items that he pointed out and they were ALL superb! This is a great place to go on a date or with your girlfriends. I've even told my co-workers about this venue. It is definitely a place everyone should check out.”

The same day, the exact review was posted to the community site Yelp under the user name Jennifer H., a member who registered their account hours earlier, had no contacts, friends or other prior reviews and has posted no reviews since.

R.I.P. Hot Juicy Burgers

Wendy’s, at 1725 K Street NW, closed its doors on Wednesday in Washington. The restaurant was only 6 years old.

The reported cause was escalating rent and insufficient profits. We believe, however, that it was really due to a franchisee who will potentially plead innocent to 52 counts of nonpayment of wages and larceny by check for allegedly failing to pay the more than 100 employees who were thrown out of work.

The Wendy’s at 1725 K Street NW, was a pillar in the downtown lunchtime community offering daily businesspeople a respite from $14 mass produced salads and the bacterial haven otherwise known as a New York style salad bar. Its closure will force tens of dozens of Frosty lovers to brave the streets of New York Avenue NE (or even worse Arlington) in order get their fix of Milk, Sugar, Cocoa (processed with alkali), Guar Gum, Dextrose, Carrageenan and natural and artificial flavors. One inconsolable bystander was available for comment: “Why, Wendy’s? Why? It was not your time, damit!”

DCNR Review: The Truth Behind Vertias

(of four stars)

On Monday, Veritas Wine Bar the most recent venture of Joe Englert and Adam Manson (The Capitol Lounge, and formerly Sonoma Restaurant) officially opened its doors to the public. The dimly lit 50-seat venue located adjacent to Dupont Circle’s Russia House offers patrons 64 wines by the glass and a sampling of cheeses, charcuterie and related accompaniments.

We admit, we did not want to like Veritas. With the recent opening of Proof and anticipation building for Cork, the last thing that DC needed was another Adamstein and Demetriou inspired wine bar selling mainstream varietals for $12 a glass.

Despite our doubts, we were initially impressed with the minimalist décor featuring exposed brick walls, a black granite and steel mesh bar, and sleek but elegant dark wood tables with accompanying black leather chairs. The compact layout actually aids to the space’s warm and intimate design.

Veritas’s weighty leather bound wine list showcases some interesting and tasty selections including a McKinley Springs Chenin Blanc, a Chehalem Pino Noir, a Flora Springs Trilogy, and a Silver Oak Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. Most unique, however, is over two dozen creatively named wine and accompanying cheese flights, such as “Backpacking in Italy”, “M&M&M’s” (featuring a Traipche “Broquel” Malbec, a Selby Merlot, and a Swason Merlot), and “Three Deadly Zins”.

When it Rains, it Pours!

It’s monsoon season in Fairfax. DCNR has obtained the Fairfax Health District Food Inspection Report from earlier this month for Fairfax’s Rain Nightclub and Lounge.

The “fine dining” establishment was cited for 12 critical violations of Fairfax County Health Code, including; a food employee that failed to wash his hands before food preparation, a soiled to sight and touch meat slicer, a food employee handling ready to eat foods using bare hands, and raw chicken being stored over raw beef in an upright refrigerator. We think we will pass on the Appetizer Dip Sampler.

Note to the City of Fairfax: you may wish to remove this report from your website unless you want to be sued for “putting false facts” and “multiple other issues”.

Bring Back the Kid in You

Life as an adult is stressful. Ten hour work days in cramped office buildings, artery clogging trans-fat in your favorite French fries, and escalating interest on your credit card debt with rent due on Monday. What ever happened to the days when your biggest concerns were whether to get a Chocolate Éclair or a Strawberry Shortcake for desert and how to get over the embarrassment of falling flat on your face in front of Stacey Wilson during study hall? So, take a break from adulthood and engage in one of these favorite childhood pastimes. You just might forget for an afternoon that you co-worker is spreading rumors about you behind your back.

Miniature Golf
Mini-golf (aka “Putt-Putt” for the linguistically challenged) reminds us of better times at the Jersey shore when the Rita’s Water Ice flowed like wine at a Britney Spears Day Care. Without a doubt, the best course in the DC area is “Perils of the Lost Jungle” at Woody’s Golf Range in Herndon, Virginia. Peril’s 18-Hole Indian Jones themed background includes talking Tikis, spitting frogs and the occasional . The entertainment factor alone is well worth the $8.75 admission ticket. If you can’t make the 20-minute drive, another suitable alternative is the course at Hains Point East Potomac Golf Course. It offers amazing views of the Potomac River and easy access to cold beer at the pro shop snack bar.

Hot or Not: Late Night Dining Edition

It’s 2:31am on Saturday, you’ve just finished your fourteenth Red Bull and Vodka, and when the lights come on you realize that the Paris Hilton-esque blonde you just spent four hours talking to more closely resembles Perez Hilton. What do you do? Make like Portis to the rear exit of the club and use that alcohol induced superhuman appetite to slam down more calories in one sitting than Nicole Richie has in the past year. This edition of Hot or Not covers the best and worst of DC’s late night dining.

For Adams Morgan patrons, those in the know skip the line at Pizza Mart (aka “Jumbo Slice”) and head across the street to M’Dawg Haute Dogs. Compliments of Scott and Arianne Bennett, M’Dawg serves up over thirteen different type of dogs, including a Chicago Red Hot, a DC Half-Smoke, and a $20 Kobe Beef Hotdog. Patrons can then choose from complimentary “Downtown” toppings (your standard ketchup, mustard, onions, relish) or can take the dog “Uptown” for a buck extra and get access to an entire bar of condiments featuring chili, cheese, apricot chutney, corn relish, wasabi mayo, and a half-dozen of different coleslaws. If your preferences lean towards a meatless alternative, head across the street to Amsterdam Falafel Shop (also owned by the Bennett’s) for a falafel bar with over twenty five different toppings and arguably DC’s best French fries. Both establishments are open till 4am on weekends.

Rain Might Want to Look Into New Management?

Last week DCNR reported an exclusive story on the potential demise of Fairfax's Rain Nightclub and Lounge. Shortly thereafter we received the following email from Rain's management, in its entirety, emphasis added:

>---------- message ----------
>From: [NAME REMOVED]
>Date: Sep 9, 2007 1:07 AM
>Subject: Please retract your message and post an appology
>To: "DCNightlifeRaw@gmail.com"
>
>Hello,
>
>I am one of the owners of RAIN. YOU HAVE SO MUCH FALSE INFORMATION ABOUT
>RAIN THAT IF IT IS NOT OFF BY MONDAY SEPTEMBER, YOU WILL RECEIVE A LETTER FROM OUR LAWYER.
>
>You are advertising RAIN to being closed and it is not, we did not open in January and
>so on and so on. This has affected our business tremendously by patrons believing that
>we are closed. I have copied your comments that you have been advertising. You are entitled to your opinion about our restaurant but it is illegal to put false facts especially if you want to be sued for loss of revenue, and multiple other issues. Every owner will receive a letter this week as well as the company mailing address and you will have ten days to advertise a retract of what you wrote that was false. WE DO HAVE AN ABC LICENSE, WE ARE NOT CLOSED, AND THERE ARE MANY OTHER ISSUES THAT HAVE BEEN SAID THAT ARE NOT ONLY MISLEADING BUT DEFACED RAIN.
>
>Thank you,
>
>[name removed because we wouldn't want someone to publish something that made us
>look like a dumbass]
>
>
>You can email us at rainlounge@gmail.com

Want to Own a DC Nightclub?

Like most other Washingtonians, DCNR has $250,000 in highly liquid disposable funds just burning a hole in our pocket. And, we figured what better way to spend it than investing in a industry that is subject to underhanded dealing and corruption and has an 85% failure rate within two years. Translation: we want to open a nightclub or bar. Not just any nightclub or bar, though. We want ours to be something different, something unprecedented in DC, and an experience that you just can’t find anywhere else.

The District takes it fair share of nightlife gruff, being lauded as a town of khaki-pant political hangouts and a “poor man’s New York”. But, we’ve seen some improvement in nightlife concepts recently, with the opening of the airplane-themed Fly Lounge, the freakish Palace of Wonders, Alexandria’s PX Speakeasy, and the up and coming “ultra-futuristic luxury yacht motif”, Current. DC, however, still runs amiss of nightlife destinations that offer the visitor an unforgettably unique experience, like Philadelphia’s Jones and El Vez, Hollywood’s Geisha House and London’s Lost Society.

DCNR has compiled a list of some unique ideas. Vote on your favorite or come up with your own. Next week we’ll pitch the top idea to a group of veteran DC hospitality investors. If your idea comes out on top we’ll bring you in on talks as a concept designer.

Naked Sushi in DC... a Bad Taste?

Visitors walking by Adams Morgan’s Saki Restaurant & Lounge on any given Sunday may not realize it but inside a not so well publicized form of dining meets erotic art is allegedly taking place. Models wearing nothing but treated thongs and a few strategically placed flower petals serve as the platter for hundreds of dollars in sashimi, nigiri and Dragon rolls.

Naked Sushi is not a new concept, appearing in mainstream media as early as 1993 in the Sean Connery and Wesley “Back Taxes” Snipes crime thriller Rising Sun. However, international bans of the practice and stringent feminist opposition have forced most of the events to go underground.

Over the past year, Dupont Circle’s Play Lounge in conjunction with LITON Agency has hosted multiple naked sushi events, even basing their New Year’s Eve event on the theme. But rumors of women’s right backlash and questionable food and safety standards have quashed any future plans.

So how has Saki managed to avoid such scrutiny in a town where almost anything can be a cause for protest? Maybe it is the ironically balanced hosting of recent fundraiser events for the Peace Corp’s Scholarship for Young Women? Or, maybe no one has caught on yet?

The "Not" So Secret Truth Behind DC's Bottle Service

Friday night, a long line behind the velvet rope, a bachelorette party, a creepy old man trying to impress a collection of intoxicated co-eds, and a group of newly minted suits with an expense account. What do all these things have in common?  That's right.  Bottle service, the practice of dropping anywhere from $400 to $5,000 for a piece of 4'x4' nightclub real estate accompanied by the liquor bottles of your choice. 

So what is the allure of bottle service?  The ability to look like a giant-swinging whale who is way too important to wait for drinks at the regular bar.  On the other hand, it offers the club owner the ability to substantially inflate the price of alcohol in an attempt to drive net revenue through the roof. But how egregious are the mark-ups on bottle service here in the District? 

According to one of the largest distributors of alcohol in the DC area, the average nightclub pays about $24 for a 750ml bottle of Grey Goose vodka.  While, according to our research, the average price a DC nightclub charges for a bottle of Grey Goose is $297 -- a 1,200% markup.  If the Japanese restaurant proprietors who sold ewers of sake to seated soldiers during World War II knew what they had started, I am sure that they would be proud. 

So who are the worst offenders?

As a public service announcement (and because we didn't know what else to do after we organized the pens in our pocket protector in descending alphabetical order), DCNR has created the following chart showing the table policies and popular bottle prices at some of the most visited clubs in DC.   

Shhhh! DC Nightlife Secrets Exposed!

As a town of high powered politicos, multi-million dollar executives, and the occasional visiting celebrity, DC has its share of secrets. Whether it is prominent Senators paying prostitutes $300 to make them wear diapers, above-the-law non-tax-paying crack-smoking unregistered-vehicle-driving former mayors, or Redskins’ cheerleader cat fights over tight-ends that looks like roid-raging members of the Backstreet Boys, we love to dish on inside information and scandals.

That’s why, as a fun exercise, DCNR has compiled a list of some of our favorite DC nightlife secrets (which we know first-hand to be true) as well as some that we just plain made up. Can you tell the difference?

Did you hear about:

-The restaurant in Chinatown where you can get teapots filled with beer after last call simply by asking for “cold tea”?

-The secret name that all bouncers at Smith Point are instructed to let you in on if you use it, no matter who you are? (Hint: It’s not Jenna Bush)

-The new “House of Secrets” where professional athletes and visiting celebrities party with their underage guests almost every weekend?

Nightclubs Coming to an Office Building Near You

K Street.  Most prominently known as a home to DC’s premiere law firms and high powered lobby shops (what happened to your show, Mr. Too Short to be Playing Basketball at SportsClubLA?), but not necessarily a venerable nightlife destination.   In January and March of 2006, two nightlife venues moved into the 14th & K St NW neighborhood-- previously only home to Archibald’s Gentleman’s Club and the now defunct Club Deadalus.

Since that time, both KStreet Lounge and Lima Restaurant have worked to revolutionize K Street’s nightlife reputation by offering luxury destinations where young professionals and accompanying entourages can spend their discretionary income on $10 martinis and tables adorned with bottles of Grey Goose and Crystal.  Thanks in part to nightly parties hosted by a revolving door of promoters and shamless celebrity promotions, both venues have maintained a somewhat impressive weeknight presence; while lines on weekends often extend far past the self-important black-suited bouncers guarding their respective entrances.

Hoping to capitalize on this exact market, 3 new venues – compliments of two already established DC nightlife veterans – are now attempting to jump on the K Street bandwagon. 

DCNR Exclusive: Rain to Dry up by Fall?

Take a former concert hall and an Indian restaurant in the middle of a suburban shopping center next to George Mason University and spend almost $1 million turning it into a 10,000 square foot ultra-modern lounge, nightclub, restaurant, ballroom and sports bar. What could possibly go wrong?

Well, for starters, Fairfax’s Rain Lounge and Ballroom never seemed to find an identity. A combination of minimalist warehouse décor, long lines, and an overcrowded dance floor earned the club a myriad of unfavorable reviews. Combine that with the unwillingness of many to make the 30 minute drive from the city and you earn yourself dwindling nightlife clientele. All of these issues could have been resolved, though.

What can’t be resolved, however, is the fact that Rain obtained its initial operating license from the city of Fairfax as a “non-residential Restaurant use permit,” a modification that the owners agreed to after their application for a nightclub permit was denied. As a “restaurant” Rain was and is not permitted to offer dancing or entertainment. But with investors money already in hand Rain opened its doors in March and started facing fines for noncompliance.