Liam "Hungry Hoser" D.'s Profile

You know, us out-of-towners think of New York City as this massive place where restaurants and bars have to be pretty damn cool just to stay afloat, let alone thrive. Sophie's proves us wrong. This place really is nothing special, but it DOES have every single thing that a good dive bar SHOULD have, but many do not:

-Cheap beer
-Pool table (even if the place really isn't big enough to have one)
-Big Buck Hunter
-Juke box
-Plenty o' seating

A buddy celebrated his 26th here with 30 friends and it was comfortable and we had a bitchin' good time. The jukebox/pool table/big buck hunter combo really is killer. I award Sophie's points for knowing what it is, not giving a damn if you don't like it for what it is, and just existing. It's an unassuming place that I'd never go back to unless friends insisted on it, but then, isn't that what we all say about dive bars?

My buddies and I have a penchant for celebrating birthdays and other special occasions at steak houses and this time around Keen's was it. The place is tucked away and pretty unassuming, but inside it's got a fantastic decor with a very old-school feel to it - dark wood, dim yellow lighting, and thousands of smoking pipes lining the ceiling, which ain't exactly typical, which makes it even more cool.

One thing you're sure to notice is the wait staff. There are some hilarious looking people working at this place. The bartender who poured me my pre-steak martini had hair like Siegfried and Roy - it was huge and looked feathered. He poured a decent martini, but I take away points for no blue-cheese stuffed olives, and measly little olives at that. Our waiter had a jeri-curl and fu-man - picture that....it was hilariously awesome.

Food here was decent, although I'd agree with many of the people on here who pointed out that things were a little bland. The complimentary chilled vegetable plate (celery, carrots, pickles, dip) is a nice touch, but the dinner rolls were nothing to write home about. As an app, some of us split 30 of "Lincoln's Oysters," apparently named because Lincoln used to have oyster parties, or so the waiter said. I ordered the tomato and onion salad, and our waiter candidly steered me away from it because he said the tomatoes were "no good today." I really appreciate it when a waiter is open and honest like this. Unfortunately, the lettuce wedge I ordered instead was rather bland - it was just iceberg lettuce and bleu cheese dressing. I ended up putting some of the vinegar from the oysters on it to give it some zest - that's never a good sign. The waiter put the tomatoes on the side for that and he was right: they sucked. For dinner, 3 buddies and I shared the Porterhouse for 3, which was an enormous piece of beef that was cooked perfectly - medium rare here is on the red side, which is how I like it, and the outside was nice and crispy, like it should be. The beef itself, however, was not all that flavorful and I found myself relying too heavily on the au poivre or red wine sauces they put on the table. Some people say "you eat meat for the taste of meat," but to me, "meat" is tastiest when it's been seasoned to perfection before grilling. Perfect example: Del Friscos porterhouse - it blows the Keen's version out of the water.

Unfortunately none of us ordered dessert so I can't comment on that. The service here, however, is exceptional. Never did our glasses get below half full and there was always someone keeping a watchful eye on us to see if we needed more wine or anything in general. I was very impressed with that.

Prices here are not cheap, and for the money I spent, I would have preferred to walk out a little more fulfilled by the flavors, but the dining experience is good nonetheless. I say Keen's is definitely worth going to so you can make your own call, but this guy is hoping next time we go back to Del Friscos......

Have you ever seen the mocumentary about Spinal Tap? Do you remember the scene where the guitarist is talking about how most amplifiers have 10 levels, but the Spinal Tap amp has 11? Well that's how I'm going to describe Ray's. While most reviews max out at 5 stars, I'm gonna give Ray's the Steaks 6-stars, because the typical 5 just doesn't do it justice.

This Sunday evening I went to Ray's for the first time in 9 years living in the District, and had the best meal I've ever eaten at a steak house. You believe that? I could hardly believe it.....but it was just that. Damn. Great.

For starters, even before the starters, the menu here is really one of the most appetizing I've seen. They have a wide variety of appetizers, all of which look very tempting, salads, soups (apparently the chowder and the crab bisque are phenomenal), and then a list of steak options that just made me drool (more than usual); their signature is a 28 oz. bone-in ribeye, their most flavorful is the oh-so-affordable hanger steak at $19.95, and they have filet mignon, sirloin, and ribeyes. But what's BEST about Ray's is all the options available your steak. I mean, it's literally like a burger joint where they ask what toppings you want - cracked pepper, bleu cheese, mushrooms, onions and more. Then there's "how do you want it? - blackened, cajuned, "diablo'd," pittsburgh. It's amazing! So many options, so little cost!

I finally decided on something: the scallop appetizer I spotted on my way to wash my hands before sitting down. Server asks: "how do you want 'em - blackened or wrapped in bacon?" Naturally, I said "both?" and she laughed but recommended we leave the bacon off because scallops cook a lot faster than bacon, which leaves the bacon a bit fatty and soft. How'd she know I only like bacon if it's crispy!?!?! No one told me that Ray's hires mind-readers to wait tables.....So off with the bacon (won't hear me say that much, if ever) we go. The blackened scallops were cooked to perfection and served up with roasted garlic so tender that you can spread it on bread, which is amazing, and onions.

Next I had an Applewood Smoked Bacon and Bleu Cheese salad that was light, crisp, refreshing, and wicked flavorful. The bacon, really, was fantastic. Glad I left it off the scallops. For dinner I ordered the 16 oz. Sirloin served "New York" style, which meant crusted in pepper (a.k.a. au poivre), and served with aged bleu cheese sauce. It was a huge sirloin, cooked to perfection, and I was in heaven. Then they dropped complimentary mashed potatoes and creamed spinach onto the table....I'm sorry, complimentary? really? Could this meal get any better?

Yes it can, Liam, yes. it. can.

After finishing my fantastic glass of Stix Cabernet and eating some delicious but entirely unnecessary key lime pie, our server dropped off the check, which was a grand total of $158 and change for 3 guys, all of whom ordered appetizers, a main course, dessert, and 3 alcoholic beverages (not each, amongst us). What's that meal cost at Mortons, Ruth's, Smith and Woll's, or any other fancy steakhouse? Easily $300. I couldn't believe my eyes. Home made desserts were only $5.00. Appetizer salads were only $5.95. My 16 oz sirloin was only $28.95. My mashed potatoes and creamed spinach were only FREE!

The last tip of my hat to Ray's is for what is, in my opinion, one of the single most important aspects of a restaurant: the service. Here I am, sitting in a place that isn't getting more than $60/guest for all the food I just mentioned, and the service I received was better than some I've received at all the fancier places. My water glass was never past half empty, despite the fact that I was drinking it like I'd been stranded in a desert for 40 days w/o a drop, and our plates were cleared almost immediately upon completing what was on them. What's more is that we weren't solely waited on by our server - every single person on the staff looked at our table when they walked by to see if they could snag anything. I noticed it every time someone walked by with an empty hand, and even more so by the fact that 3 different servers did, indeed, stop at our table to do something, whether it was clear a plate, fill us up with some H20, or take our check and happily split it three ways. Now THAT is customer service.

On top of my 6-star rating, and this review that probably appears they paid me to write, Ray's has another thing coming to it: a customer for life. I will never waste time at Ruth's, Morton's, Bobby Van's, Smith & Woll's, or any other fancy ass steakhouse again. From here on out, Ray's is the #1 choice for me in the steak department, which is a nice little acquisition on their part, I must say......

Now they just need to open a place in DC proper. After all, you've got a place in Maryland, two in Virginia (Ray's Hell Burger too), all of which crank out serious money.....it's time to show DC some love, Michael Landrum. Lord knows we'll love you back!

I don't get why some Yelpers start a review out with, "Nothing too outstanding" or "nothing special here" and then rate the place a 4/5. Frankly, if any part of the experience is lacking, be it the service or the food, I'm giving the place 3 star. If both suck, then I'm giving it less than that.

Such was the case when I came here w/ 3 buddies for a quick birthday bite before going out on U St. One of my buddies actually knows the GM, and yet, our service still sucked. We were seated upstairs and we ordered some drinks, appetizers, and main courses. The waiter completely forgot to put in the appetizers so our meal came out first. "Oh, uh, jeez, I'll have to check on whether that's the kitchen's fault or my own, but, uh, I think it's mine. Do you still want the apps?"

No genius, we don't want the apps now. We want you to get your head out of your ass.

Meals were decent. I had the steak n' cheese sandwich, which was actual tender pieces of beef with blue cheese and onions. It was tasty but really nothing to write home about. Some A1 sauce or other type of spread would have complimented it nicely. Another buddy got linguine, which looked good and was a hefty portion. Buddy #4 got the turkey burger and was as happy as you can be with a turkey burger.

Genius came over and said
"hey man, can I buy you a dessert on account of my screw up?"
"Nah, i'm not a big dessert guy."
"Oh, well how bout a shot?"
"I guess I could do a shot - I'll have sambuca"
"Okay cool. Just so you know, I can't get a round for the whole table, just for you since it's your birthday. And don't tell my manager."

Really!?!?!? Because not bringing out apps we were all going to crush amongst the 4 of us didn't screw up our meal any, only the one dude celebrating his bday. And "don't tell my manager?" Have some balls buddy - if you mess up a table's order, it's common practice to give 'em something for free. It's called customer service, and it might have prevented reviews like this one from being so scathing.

I'd go back here if I lived on U Street, or at the behest of a friend wanting to celebrate, but barring those two instances, it's unlikely I'll go back here.

I've been living in Shaw now for more than 2 years and I've always been intrigued by Space because of it's downstairs garage door-type glass window. I thought the place must have been a body shop at one point in time because why else would they have it there. Anyways, not until a few months back did I meander over that way to check out "The Space." It was open, but just barely. We got there around 1030ish and the downstairs bar had NOTHING going on - literally just a bar tender who wasn't "open yet" and balloons all over. We headed upstairs where we noticed a group of maybe 10-20 people, all of whom looked at us as if, "who are THESE dudes?" I thought it might have been because we were the only white dudes in the place, but benefit of the doubt, it probably had to do with the fact that this was a private party and no one recognized us. Still, the bartender didn't inform us it was a private party, we figured it out by talking to someone out on the patio who said it was his sister's birthday and that's why everyone was there. Cool, and awkward.

I will say that the patio is nice, and we got some cigars to smoke. They have nice furniture there and a few heat lamps to keep people warm on a chilly night. A few more groups of people came in who didn't seem to be with the party, who by now was downstairs celebrating a birthday. The bartender was a chill guy who was relatively attentive, and poured a stiff drink. Prices aren't ludicrous, but for a place as empty as space, I wouldn't mind a discount.........but then, if a place is only open 4 hours/day for "private parties," they can't very well be giving drinks away for cheap, now can they?

If this place was cool at one time, it is no longer, that's for sure. Don't waste your time, especially considering the fact that there aren't many other options in this area and it's not really the kind of place you want to chillin' in after dark sometimes anyhow (says the guy who lives there.....lol)

I've only been here once and it was on a Capital City Bunny Hop, which means that most everyone in the place was young 20-something, gettin' their drink on in mid afternoon, and wearing rabbit ears. Frankly, that's a beautiful picture. I like big open bars like this one, and will pretty much go anywhere that is "Irish" themed. They have a relatively spacious bar area, although on Bunny Hop day it is jam packed. The restaurant portion of the bar seems pretty spacious as well, with quite a few tables and booths spread out. I'd be down to try some of their food one day, but only if I had to - why waste time eating at pubs? They are not known for food!!!! Eat like an irishman: 6 guinness and a plate of fried potaters.

Adam's Mill is probably one of the more perfectly placed bars in Adams Morgan simply because it sits at the corner of the start of the strip and has plenty of room out front for people to sit outside on picnic benches and people watch. Plenty of beer on tap and in bottles, two pretty spacious floors with everal flip cup tables tell you about the crowd here - WAKA, WAKA, WAKA, that's Kickball to those who are unfamiliar with the sport.

Drinks are cheap enough and although it gets pretty packed here, the place is big enough that it's never too crowded and you can generally find a spot to chill comfortably with some friends. I'm rarely here, but when I am, it's usually a decently good time. One thing I can say is that people tend to be in a pretty good mood here, which isn't a characteristic i notice at a lot of bars - people just seem to have a really good time when they are here, which kinda rubs off, I suppose.

My recommendation would be to start your night here with a pitcher or cocktail on the patio and then meander down the drunken road that is 18th st. Don't stop till you're either on the roof at Roxanne, singing karaoke down below it, or smokin' some hookah at the very end of the road.

At the behest of a friend of mine, who is "too busy" to create his own Yelp! account, I am posting a review he wrote in an e-mail to me, requesting that I share it with the Yelp! masses so that you don't get tricked by deceptive marketing tricks at this Greene Turtle. Here it goes:

"If you're a hockey fan you know of the Turtle's "unbeatable deal": $20 for 1 appetizer, 2 sides and 2 entrees.  Craig Laughlin is sure to mention the promo every Caps game, it's the first thing you see walking in the door / on the web, and every menu has it's promo sleeve, all hours of the day.

One catch.

Just when does the Verizon Center location offer this deal? Wait for it...:  12pm to 3pm, Monday through Wednesday. For realz, Greene Turtle? Out of the 98 hours a week you're open, you offer that deal a grand total of 9 crappy hours?  That's 95% of your advertising efforts for 9% of your operating hours. Well done.

Who exactly does this "promotion" help? No one, that's who. Random tourists who are lost in Chinatown at lunchtime and the day staff at the Shakespeare theater. Awesome.

It also helps to trick people into coming.  A firsthand account: after a few opening beers (they advertise them as "special" at $5.50 per Bud bottle), the waitress let us know the $20 promo's hours were well over when we tried to order at 8pm.  She complained that she always had to tell people that.  I wonder why.  The only thing on the ad is "date and time of offer may vary by location." (Date and time also seem to vary by level of managerial savvy.) To add insult to financial injury, this was during the hockey playoffs and they didn't even have any of the games on, despite the presence of 20+ televisions.  We had to ask for Verses. Seriously? GREENE TURTLE FAIL.

Suggestion: Chinatown is bumping with great places to eat and drink, they're a lot cheaper, more happenin and less "liar-ey" (bordering on grossly fraudulent) about their deals."

So there you have it. Make up your own mind. Personally, I never eat at the place anyways so I could care less about deals.

I don't know why, but I really like the name of this place. It's a good name for a bar. And this is a good bar with a good name. I like the fact that you can go in there and you've got several options for places to hang, including a few rooms downstairs and a big upstairs room that frequently hosts beer pong games, which is a nice little college throwback (if only I wasn't so rusty). The bar tenders and staff here are all pretty much just laid back, cool people who are there to help you have a good time and enjoy yourself. There's no pretention, there aren't any meatheads, really, just beer, booze, sports, and good times. If I lived on the hill, I'd prob go here more often. I love that they serve tater tots, and they don't rip people off for beer. It's a much better place than neighbor "My Brother's Place."

First it was Rock n' Roll Hotel. Now it's Black Cat. Yet another place that makes me question my conviction of "hipster bars" in general. They are grimy and dirty, and I'm not a huge fan of the music playing, but they always tend to have pretty great beer selection, lots of space to hang out in, and some type of juke box/pin ball machine/cool shit that you don't find at other more trendy hangouts. Went here for the first time with a few friends and just laid low playing pin ball and shootin' the shit with buddies. The crowd was a mix of hipster/eccentric types and regular joe's. Could def see myself going back here again anytime.