Today, Mayor Bowser’s administration announced $100 million in funding via the “Bridge Fund” (the logo is clearly inspired by the new Douglass Bridge across the Anacostia). The fund closely tracks the Business Support Grant Program passed by DC Council and signed by the Mayor in July; DC had said in August that it didn’t have sufficient funding at that point, but they’ve found funds now.

The Bridge Fund will consist of 4 programs: 1) hotels 2) restaurants 3) entertainment and 4) retail. The original program passed in summer also included $5 million for child care facilities, but that was already announced September 21st. $80 million of the funds will come from DC’s funds, while $20 million come from CARES Act funding and must be spent by end of 2020.

The Fund’s programs will provide the following (parentheses shows what was included in the program passed in summer)

• Hotels: $30 million ($28 million)
  • Up to 140 grants of $10,000 – $270,750
  • 80% will have to goto payroll
  • Application goes live Mon. 11/23. Since $20 million of the $30 million allocated comes the CARES Act funding, funds will need to be disbursed quickly.
  • Hotels/lodges/B&Bs with 10+ rooms. Allocated strictly on number of rooms, up to 250 rooms
• Restaurants: $35 million ($38 million, though $4 million already provided as part of streatery winter grant program)
  • Up to 700 grants of $10k-$50k
  • Application goes live Mon. 12/7
  • TBA stipulations about payroll
• Entertainment: $20 million ($14.5 million)
  • Up to 400 grants of $4k-100k
  • Application goes live Mon 12/21
  • includes entertainment venues and event planners
• Retail: $15 million ($14.5 million, though original program only would have supported hospitality-related retail).
  • Up to 575 grants of $5k-$25k
  • Application goes live Tues 12/15

Similar to the original program, at least 15% of the $100 million must goto businesses owned by DC residents that are people of color or women. The original program included requirements to show revenue loss in order to get funds. Unclear whether this will be part of these funds

[11/19 Update: After nearly 9 days in the hospital, all 3 of us are home after Mrs. Barred was discharged Wednesday afternoon. She had sent me and the baby home the day before so we could all get some rest. We have close family members helping out for next few weeks. Thanks again for all your messages of outrage, sympathy, and support since last Friday.]

[Edited 11/14 to add a note at bottom]
Mrs. Barred and I welcomed this baby girl pictured above in our life on Tuesday, in what is likely quite a development to you. Lil’ Miss Barred (Iris) is awesome and beautiful and we’re so happy for her to be part of this world.  I had, of course, in my mind planned some “hilarious” and “clever” introduction to the world on Twitter, and the fact that I was honored to be featured in the City Paper the same week was a stunning coincidence that really would made this a banner week. But instead of being home as scheduled Friday or Saturday,  we are sleeping in separate rooms in the hospital from the baby and who knows when we will be there after Mrs. Barred had a second surgery on top of a painful and infuriating experience.

Mrs. Barred’s lifelong health issues (mixed connective tissue syndrome, an autoimmune disorder without a name), which has resulted in frequent (including several life threatening) hospitalizations at GW since she moved to DC back in mid 2000s-resulted in one doctor saying that she couldn’t get pregnant and others saying she shouldn’t give birth. So her doing so, and keeping our baby healthy in a global pandemic is one reason why she’s my superhero.

For all of her history at GW, she thought going here for delivery (not a common choice for most people we know in DC for births) would make any complications go more smoothly or even avoided if possible. That has not happened. After the c-section, her complaints about excruciating pain were not taken seriously by anyone, even as she repeatedly said “Help Me!” for 5 hours, as they gave her only typical pain meds but refused to call her pain management doctor or just as easily review her chart to see her history tolerating pain meds without issue. Finally when we moved into our overnight room, a special pain management team agreed and quelled her concerns, saying they’d approve specific additional relief. But 5 hours later nothing had happened until we finally asked the nurse and attending docs about it. There was an outright refusal to implement it at first and reluctance turned into incompetence to put in the relief. At least a few of the medical professionals were openly skeptical in front of her that she could be in that amount of pain. In the end it took about 11 hours for her to get any relief to even be able to touch her baby after she gave birth.

Finally on Wednesday, her pain was closer to what would be expected the day after a c section and we spent a lovely day with the baby, seemingly back on track. But she noted to a nurse that her stomach was distended more than it was the day before. The nurse flippantly responded “I didn’t see you yesterday, so I wouldn’t know.” Later that night she started feeling some shoulder pain but chalked it up to how she was sleeping. But at 4a Wednesday morning, she woke up feeling it more acutely as well as some chest pain. Because of her pulmonary embolism history (which they did pay attention to because of relevance to surgery), within 15 minutes maybe 10 nurses and doctors were in the room to assess what was going on. I was ushered out to the hallway with Lil’ Miss Barred. Soon they noticed the distended belly and used ultrasound on her torso to discover there was internal bleeding and the decision was made to operate. But even in that discussion the resident misstated her medical history and missed other details clearly on her chart. Mrs. Barred stopped them and had to present her medical self and history to the team in a dire situation because this was life and death. She then told a room of White doctors and nurses “I know It’s not an exaggeration – the statistics are clear about Black mothers. I don’t want to be in the news about another Black mother in DC who never came home with their child. Please don’t let me die.” They assured her that it wouldn’t happen. As she was rolled out of the room and past me and Iris in the hall, we both told each other she loved me and she told me “to take care of my baby.” The whole situation was shattering (I can’t but weep each time I think about it) as we truly didn’t know whether we’d see each other again.

Thankfully she returned a couple hours later (in the meantime while I waiting I saw my profile in the City Paper People Issue, which couldn’t be the biggest dichotomy ever-a massive high and a massive low-that’s what I used as a Twitter distraction for the day.)  They sent Lil’ Miss Barred to the nursery since I had a tough time emotionally then and it was necessary to keep Jo and her rested while the medical team took more look at her. Once again the pain management orders were unnecessarily delayed and she suffered in more pain.

There was discussion of moving her to the ICU since post partum medical team weren’t really suited for task but they figured out it was better to put her in the larger labor and delivery rooms (where mothers usually give birth naturally) which  have a better nurse coverage. At this point her pain has improved somewhat but she also has breathing issues (possible pneumonia from surgery/anesthesia), possible blood clots, and her blood measurements are still not out of the woods. She has continued to advocate for herself forcefully-she repeatedly is told here thats she’s such a strong woman, but she doesn’t want to have to be a strong woman, she wants medical science to do that job. Instead of a loving few days in the hospital, it’s been pretty traumatic.

The seeming inability for nurses and medical staff to initially believe her has been such a disappointment to say the least. It’s hard to believe there isn’t unconscious/implicit bias at work here against Black and/or younger looking patients like her – https://www.aamc.org/news-insights/how-we-fail-black-patients-pain. Magically when she was able to speak and use medical terminology, or mention her academic or work background, everyone then actually seems to believe her. This isn’t new-this has happened to her for her life, but it’s been especially tragic here.

But I end we are all hopeful that things will be cleared up in due time and we will all get to go home together as a family soon. We were able to spend 4 hours with us today in the suite which helped our mood though is still mostly in nursery. Please keep us (particularly Mrs. Barred, Jo) in your thoughts/prayers/good vibes.

[edited to add 11/14: We’re grateful for the heartening response we’ve received from real life and Internet friends and family,  as well as stories I’ve gotten from other women (not just people of color) who’ve had similar harrowing stories of pain relief neglect or childbirth. Just a few things to add: this post was really based on what Mrs. Barred said to 5 or 6 doctors, nurses and a social worker Thursday and Friday. I had planned to post something when we were discharged but she told me that it made most sense to post now. Because of those conversations she had, (and my backup as needed) her standard of care currently appears (fingers crossed) to be closer to what he had wished and expected-her needs are being seemingly addressed and there is a clear shared desire to get her out of here healthy and discharged with the baby and me. There still were a couple doctors yesterday who didn’t get that pain is manifested quite differently by people who suffer chronic pain than others, but they were schooled quickly by us. She still is on some oxygen and has an upsetting number of tubes sticking out of her (a IV tower alongside each side of bed), but again in stable, slowly improving condition. She’s aware of the patient advocate (she asked for her at one point; she’s used it many times before when needed) and the GW patient bill of rights (Mrs Barred actually helped write them a decade or so ago and had to say “this is my right” multiple times this week to get them to do something they should have done anyway ).

This account is our perspective and perception of what has occurred. The medical staff, sometimes in the moment, but usually after the fact, have provided mostly unsatisfactory-in-the-end rationales and explanations about why they did what they did (often pointing to concerns about respiration). But this does not change the fact that there was seemingly little to address her concerns at the time and significantly, little to acknowledge/use her extensive pain management and medical history at GW to address these issues. Coordination of care was seemingly lackluster in execution, which resulted in miscommunication to both us and other members of the team and unnecessary delays. We’re both hoping the team here takes long term lessons that can make sure this doesn’t happen again. And to be clear there have been a few docs and nurses who have been incredible and we will never forget their kindness in their actions and words.]

[11/15 Update: Yesterday an anesthesiologist came by our room and said to her “You probably don’t remember me, but I was the anesthesiologist down in the operating room at 5:25a on Thursday. And I just wanted to say how impressed how calm you were in what must have been a scary situation. You’ll be such a great mother how you advocated for yourself.” My wife told me that she had looked around at every person in the operating room and said calmly “Please don’t kill another Black mother. I want to go home with my baby.”]

The Big Stick (Oct 2017 photo)

[Author’s Note: One of the owners of The Big Stick reached out and we had a 15 minute conversation Wednesday addressing some factual issues in this article. I had drafted a summary of that conversation that I was going to add to the end and sent it to them to make sure it was accurate and didn’t reveal off-the-record info (the latter at their request). After review, they decided they no longer wanted to make a statement, though they once again indicated that this article contained false information re the bar. Since the first conversation was still on the record, I decided that, instead of adding the two paragraphs, to revise/edit throughout to incorporate information from the on-the record conversation. ] 

The Big Stick, the low(ish)-key Navy Yard neighborhood favorite since it opened in December 2014, reopens for business Tuesday, November 3rd. The spot has been closed for all service, even takeout, since March 15th, with near radio silence on social media since. However, instead of joy, the news has met with anger in my DMs and on social media from several staff members and regulars.

I tried to get some clarity about what is going on. This is based on discussions with some of of The Big Stick’s staff as well as statements made by The Big Stick (including an on-record conversation with one of the owners):

• Few of the front of house staffers were rehired for reopening. There are only a handful of tables at the reopened Big Stick
• There are approximately 7-8 staffers on the payroll now. There is a new GM, but many (the Big Stick says the “majority”) of the staff working now came from the pre-pandemic staff. Note this does not mean that a majority of the previous staff was re-hired.
• All the staffers who weren’t hired for reopening learned of the reopening the same way the public did, from the social media post on Monday. One of the owners told me that they had been focusing on communicating with those they were able to bring back.
• The staff were informed in early June that The Big Stick applied for and received a CARES Act Small Business Administration (SBA) Payroll Protection Program (PPP) loan and they would be reopening soon, but have not heard anything since. One of the owners said they are in compliance with the PPP requirements.
• The impression the staffers had gotten when the announcement was made was that they all had been replaced by the new GM. One of the owners denies this was the case.
• The Big Stick’s former bar manager was asked by The Big Stick  management/ownership to help prepare the bar for re-opening by helping purchase liquor and supplies. There is an allegation from at least one former staffer that essentially this was a bait and switch-that he was induced to leave one job to help them when they in fact did not hire him to be bar manager for reopening. From ownership’s perspective, they emphatically deny they “blindsinded” him into quitting his new job to come back. They understood that he already had another job and thought there were no hard feelings.

Here are some more details to flesh this out:

The Big Stick indeed, according to SBA data, received a PPP loan of somewhere between $150,000-$350,000. The loan was approved on May 12th, and according to SBA data (which has reportedly had some accuracy issues), the bar noted that it had 28 employees before the pandemic.

On June 5th, one of the owners sent an email to the “Big Stick Team” that read in part (bold is mine):

We wanted to provide a positive update that we have applied for and received a [SBA PPP loan] that will help us re-open. …

The current plan is to re-open over the next month or so, with a special focus on outdoor sales …The initial operation will be smaller but we will hopefully expand operations to where they were before COVID-19 as soon as it is possible to so, both financially and according to the DC regulations.,,,

We will keep you all posted on a weekly or bi-weekly basis as we progress towards a re-opning, or sooner if there is major news. To ensure that we are all prepared, please reply to or directly call any of the ownership/management team if you have any questions or to indicate your availability to work as we re-open.

….

On Monday, following the announcement of reopening a staff member posted this on a neighborhood Facebook group

…I want you to all know that you won’t be seeing any of the faces behind the bar that you’re used to. The owners decided that bringing back the legacy bar staff wasn’t a good idea after hiring a new GM. Despite emailing the staff months ago telling us they were opening soon and leading us to believe we’d be working there again soon; and going so far as to have [the former bar manager] help set everything  … up for the current “Grand Re-Opening” they decided a new GM and a new staff was better for them.

Do with this inormation what you will, but know that many of us still don’t have jobs because we were waiting for our owners/management to bring us back with the PPP loan they received.

Soon after this was posted to Facebook, the bar finally sent an email to their staff:

As many of you have seen on social media, we are opening the big stick tomorrow with limited operations and staff. We sincerely apologize for not communicating to everyone earlier. We should have done a better job of keeping everyone informed. …

We will reach out to folks if the business can support more positions or please feel free to stop by when we are open to talk to us.

Alternatively, please keep in mind there is a real possibility that we are forced to close our doors again in a month or two (or less) depending on the ongoing public health situation. One thing we wanted to avoid was hiring and then having to cut a bunch of staff which would impact folks’ income / access to unemployment benefits.

Again, we regret not informing you all earlier. ….

Another staffer told me:

…Them posting on social media that they’re reopening is the only communication I have heard from them in months. This is apparently how I am finding out that I do not have a job anymore….

Tuesday morning, The BIg Stick posted this statement on social media channels:

We are excited to reopen The BIg Stick today. The last 7 months have been extremely challenging and we’ve been navigating the process as best as we can. We want to reopen to serve our neighborhood which we have loved being a part of for the last 5 years. While the majority of our team includes our former staff, we are unfortunatey unable to bring back our full team given capacity restrictions and slower consumer traffic in the neighborhood We hope to bring back more staff down the road and we understand some disappointment that we’re unable to do so at this time. With so many places closing their doors for good, it’s our goal to endure and get through this to serve our community welll into the future. For now, we’ve excited to open our doors and welcome our customers once again.

Here’s the upshot of everything from my perspective: The lack of communication with the staff, after giving them an impression in June that they could be rehired soon, was devastating to the staffers who saw that social media post yesterday, and their apology was certainly warranted. I don’t think it’s unreasonable at all for The Big Stick to only have a skeleton staff, particularly during the winter, but the fact that they took a PPP loan unfortunately gave the staff the impression that would help them get their jobs back. The allegation about the former bar manager being blindsided seems to be more murky and lack a lot of details.

It should be noted, PPP loans could be used for payroll, benefits, mortgage, rent, utility, and some other interest payments. To obtain full loan foregiveness, the business must use at least 60% of it for payroll costs in either an 2 or 6 month period. Otherwise, the loan carries a 1% interest rate though payments are deferred for 10 months after the end of  the period. There’s no requirement to rehire the same workers. As noted, the owner I spoke to believes they are in full compliance with PPP requireemnts.

To help you distinguish spots that have permanently closed , here’s are two lists 1) spots that reopened but since have announced winter/indefinite closures including takeout (Still hoping to come back) and 2) spots that have not reopened but haven’t announced permanent closures.

Last Updated: Nov 1, 2020

Winter/Indefinite Closures

Dates in () are announced dates of last day of opening for foreseeable future

1. DIo (6/14)
2. Magnolia (7/10)
3. Echo Park (closed in Julyish)
4. H Street Country Club (early August)
5. Breadline (8/21 – possibly permanently. No booze sales but whatever
6. District Chophouse (closed in Summer or fall)
7. Willie’s (closed for renovation in mid September)
8. BBQ Bus (9/7)
9. Som Tam Union Market (9/13)
10. The Partisan/Red Apron Butcher PQ (9/28)
11. Ristorante Tosca (10/10, will reopen in spring)
12. Muzette (10/11 closing til Phase 3)
13. Coconut Club/Subbie’s (10/18)
14. Declaration (10/28ish)
15. American Ice Co. (10/31)
16. The Brixton (10/31)
17. The Gibson (10/31, will be surprised if it reopens)
18. Room 11 (10/31 but lunch to-go cafe still open)
19. Roy Boys Navy Yard (10/31, possibly permanently
20. Hazel (10/31. was only open 10/1-31)
21. Free State (11/7)
22. Boundary Stone (11/25)

Has Not Reopened Since March 16th Restaurant/Bar Shutdown (incomplete)

1. Velvet Lounge (reportedly for sale)
2. Dodge City (reportedly locks changed on building)
3. Quara (possibly permanently)
4. Astro Beer Hall
5. Marvin
6. Player’s Club
7. The Pug (Peregrine coffee during morning/early afternoon)
8. China Chilcano
9. Minibar (may reopen soon)
10. Dan’s Cafe
11. The Big Hunt
12. Bravo Bar
13. Bier Baron (hosting streaming comedy shows)
14. Bedrock Billairds
15. 9:30 Club
16. Black Cat
17. Echostage
18. Jackpot
19. Rocket Bar
20. Denson Liquor Bar (but may be reopening soon)
21. The Boardwalk
22. Bravo Bravo
23. Living Room
24. Opera Ultra Lougne
25. L8
26. Spin
27. 1831
28. Heist
29. St. Arnold’s on Jefferson
30. Pure Lounge
31. Tropicalia
32. The Dabney Cellar
33. Club Timehri
34. The Tombs
35. JImmy Valentine’s
36. Madam’s Organ
37. The Anthem
38. Truth 78
39. 12Twelve/KyssKyss
40. Nomad (currently used by Queen Vic outdoor seating)
41. Russia House
42. Northside Tavern
43. Ozio (2.0)
44. Edgar Bar & Kitchen
45. Mari Vanna (may be reopening soon)
46. Rosebar
47. Saint Yves
48. Hawthorne
49. New Vegas Lounge
50. Lost Society
51. b burger bar
52. Ultrabar
53. Circa Chinatown
54. Sichuan Pavillion (may be permanently closed)
55. Union Trust

Garden District with heaters from 2014 (photo by Barred in DC)

Colder weather is on its way. In normal years, that means spending more indoors in bars, but obviously due to COVID-19, many people would rather stay home. Enter heaters on patios. I’ve gotten several queries about this so I will start an incomplete list until DC announces the 666ish awardees of $6,000 Streatery Winter Ready Grants. [11/5 UPDATE: Found here] You will need to check youserlf for details whether the spot is enclosed (seems potentially lelss desirable) or not as that will change throughout the winter. Eventually essentially any place that is open that has an open patio should be on this list but I will have stopped updating the list by then. I used personal observation, social media research, this Washingtonian article, and the PoPville comments on this post. If I know if a spot has covered (a single table umbrella doesn’t really count for cold purposes) seating, I’ve indicated that but most of these probably do.

Last Updated: Nov 1, 2020

• H Street/NoMa
  • Little Stable (closes 11/7 wknd)
  • Pursuit (covered)
  • DC Harvest
  • Wunder Garten (firepits?)
  • Masseria
  • Red Bear Brewing
  • Cusbah (closes 11/15)
  • Oku
  • St Anselm’s
• Columbia Heights/Park View/Petworth
  • Lou’s City Bar (Covered)
  • Homestead
  • REd Derby
  • The Midlands
  • Hook Hall (will be a Viking Village w/ fire pits and heated cabanas starting Thur 11/5)
• 14th/Logan/U/Shaw/Bloomingdale
  • Cork
  • Lulu’s Winegarden
  • El Rey
  • Exiile’s
  • Barcelona
  • Commissary (covered)
  • Logan Tavern (covered)
  • Chi Cha Lounge (covered)
• Shaw/Bloomingdale
  • La Jambe
  • Electric Cool-Aid (covered)
  • Dacha
  • El Techo (may be closed roof)
  • Espita
  • Calico
  • The Pub and the People (Fire pits)
  • Ivy and Coney (open roof)
• Dupont/Adams Morgan
  • Iron Gate (fire pits)
  • Floriana
  • Annie’s
  • Heurich House garden Bar (Wed/Thurs evening) (fire pits and heaters)
• Penn Quarter/Chinatown/Downtown
  • Cuba Libre
  • Taberna del Alabardero (covered)
• Georgetown/Glover Park/Foggy Bottom/West End
  • Victura Park
  • Bourbon Steak
  • Circa
• Cleveland Park/AU/Tenleytown/Woodley Park
  • Medium Rare
  • Chef Geoff’s
  • Trattoria Al Volo (covered)
  • Macintyre’s
• Capitol Hill/Eastern Market/Barracks Row
  • Trusty’s
  • Barrel (covered)
  • Beuchert’s Saloon/Fight Club (covered)
  • Shelter/The Roost
  • Union Pub (covered)
  • The Brig (partially covered)
• Navy Yard/The Wharf
  • Dacha Navy Yard (mostly covered)
  • Salt Line (covered)
  • H Bar
  • Kaliwa
  • Sandlot Southeast

I am often amazed at which spots share ownership or are outright owned by the same group. Since I just got the second question of the last couple months asking for more details, here’s a list of spots that belong to named ownership groups as well as spots that at least share some ownership or partners but may not be a full-on restaurant group. I will 100% get an email or DM from a bar owner who will tell me this list is wrong so I will correct but I also want you to tell me what spots are missing. Including DC spots only, many of these places own other spots outside DC.

email barredindc@gmail.com or @barredindc on Twitter to complain or fix.

Last Updated: Oct 27, 2020

H2 Collective (Hilton Brothers)

American Ice Co
The Brixton
Echo Park
El Rey
Marvin
The Gibson
Players Club
The Brighton
Chez Billy Sud
Victura Park (operate)
Crimson Whiskey (operate)

Neighborhood Restaurant Group

Birch & Barley
Churchkey
Red Apron
The Partisan
Iron Gate
Bluejacket
Hazel
The Roost
The Sovereign

Knightsbridge Restaurant Group

Olivia
Modena
Bombay Club
Bindaas
Oval Room
Rasika / Rasika West End
Sababa
Annabelle

The DC Restaurant Gruop

The Bottom Line
Shaw’s Tavern
Prost
Madhatter
801
Cedar
Northside Tavern

Hill Restaurant Group

Hawk n Dove
Lola’s
Ophelia’s
Tortuga
Willie’s

Clyde’s Restaurant Group

Clyde’s Gallery Place / Georgetown
The Hamilton
Old Ebbitt Grill
The Tombs
1789

Georgetown Events Group

Jettie’s
Surfside
The Bullpen
Due South
Millie’s
Due South Dockside

Tin Shop

Tallboy
Church Hall
Penn Social
Franklin Hall

Lahlou Restaurant Group

Lupo Verde (14^th and Palisades)
Lupo Marino
Station 4
Tunnicliff’s Tavern

Mission Group

Mission Dupont/ Navy Yard
Hawthorne
The Admiral

KNEAD Hospitality & Design

Mi Vida
The Grill
Mah-ze-dahr
Succotash
The Gatsby (coming)

Rose’s Restaurant Group

Rose’s Luxury
Little Pearl
Pineapple and Pearl’s

Blagden Hositality Group

Tiger Fork
Calico
Fainting Goat

Better Hospitality Group

Takoda
Cortez
The Boardwalk

Versus

Heist
Casta’s Rum Bar
Morris

RW Restaurant Group

Marcel’s
Brasserie Beck

Starr Restaurant Group

St. Anselm
Le Diplomate

Shared Ownership (no company name), Not always the same team at each place. But Commonalities

Daikaya
Bantam King
Haikan
Hatoba
Tonari

Truxton Inn
Union Pub
Barrel
The Eastern
McClellan’s Retreat
(one of the owners of a couple of the spots also owns Trustys)

Red Hen and Boundary Stone are  owned separately but they together own:
All Purpose

Pub and the People
Walter’s
Present Company

The Pug and Solly’s are owned separately but they together own:
Brookland’s Finest
Union Trust

Timber Pizza
Call Your Mother
Mercy Me

Last Call
Suburbia
Buffalo & Bergen

Free State
Lost and Found

Royal
Lulu’s Wine Garden
(which partnered with Blagden Hospitality to operate Hi-Lawn on Union Market)

JImmy Valentine’s
Little Miss Whiskey’s

Copycat
Astoria

The Blaguard
Homestead

Lyman’s Tavern
Raven Grill

Brookland Pint
Smoke & Barrel

Jack Rose
The Imperial

Dew Drop Inn
The Wonderland
Looking Glass

The Queen Vic
Granville Moore’s
Chupacabra

Dodge City
Velvet Lounge

Showtime Lounge
Neptune Lounge

Nick’s Riverside Grill
Tony and Joe’s
Ivy City Smokehouse

Abigail
Kitsuen
Saint Yves

Duke’s Grocery Dupont/Foggy Bottom
Duke’s Counter
Gogi Yogi

Russia House
Biergarten Haus
Brine

Most mentions – Baan Siam – Credit-their IG https://www.instagram.com/p/CALxEMDh7TK/

Next in the series of Barred in DC food guides is where to find the best Thai food  in DC. Like almost all of these guides, this is generated from an open Twitter thread. They are based on what my Twitter followers believe is the best Thai food in the District of Columbia proper rather than my personal experience, as I’ve not had all them. [Update: I switched up the ordering  a bit

Last Updated: Oct 24, 2020

Mentioned Most

• Baan Siam (Mt Vernon Square)
  • Order online/Toast or call.
  • In-House Delivery
  • Indoor/Outdoor dining (reserve via Tock)
  • Closed Monday’s
• Beau Thai (2 Locations: Shaw, Mt. Pleasant)
  • Order via Caviar or call
  •  in-house delivery (possibly Shaw only) for dinner hours.
  • Caviar for pickup/delivery for wider area
  • Indoor/outdoor dining

Mentioned Multiple Times – Worth a Trip

• Little Serow (Dupont)
  • Order online
  • Currently Carry Out only
  • Classic dinner for 2: $110 (7 dishes, plus dessert). Beef ribs for 2: $100. A la carte options are  around $19-20 mostly
  • Dinner only. Closed Sun-Mon
  • from Komi owners)
• BKK Cookshop (Shaw)
  • Caviar (pickup/online)
  • From Beau Thai people (“noodle bowls, rice dishes, street food & cocktails”)
  • Outdoor dining
• Thai X-ing (Shaw)
  • Order online for pickup/delivery via DC To-GoGo
  • Also via Grubhub and Caviar
  • Dine-in available?
  • Takeout/delivery a la carte
  • Normally 5-7 course prix fixe. $40/pp F-Sat. $30/pp (Sun-vegetarian; Tue-Vegetarian/Pescetarian). $10 surcharge pp for groups of 5 or more

Others Mentioned Multiple Times – Neighborhood Favorites

• Regent Thai (Dupont/Adams Morgan border)
  • Call to order (possibly online)
  • Grubhub, UberEats
  • In-House delivery appears available for dinner (min order of $18 or $20). 
  • no lunch Sunday
• Thai Orchid’s Kitchen (EOTR-Fairlawn)
  • Order online/BeyondMenu
  • In-House delivery ($20 min)
  • Also Grubhub
  • Dine-in?
  • Dinner only. Closed Mon
• Talay Thai (Capitol Hill)
  • Order Grubhub or Call for pickup
  • In-house Delivery dinner
  • No lunch on Sunday
• Sanphan Thai (Capitol Hill/Eastern Market)
  • Order online
  • In-house delivery ($25 min)
  • UberEats, DoorDash, Grubhub also 
  • Dine-in available?
• Siam House (Cleveland Park)
  • Order online/Chownow 
  • In-House delivery during dinner ($18 min w/in 2 miles)
  • Outdoor dining

Others Mentioned

Kruba, Aroi Thai, Bua Thai, Pantry, Teak Wood, Sabydee, Sala Thai Minneosta Ave, Imm on H

Thanksgiving Turkey (https://www.pinterest.com/pin/427067977149542454/ credit)

Given that many more people will be sticking around town for Thanksgiving (a recent Twitter poll shows that only roughly half of people who usually leave town for Thankgiving (November 26th) will do so, and one in 7 still haven’t decided), there will certainly be more spots offering Thanksgiving dinners, both to go and dine in, than previous years. Here’s a running of list of to-go only, which is simply a shameless grab for hits until Eater DC and Washingtonian put up their superior lists at which point I will link to them.

Updated:November 5th (LAST UPDATE only to add new links to other stories)

Read These for new spots

• Washingtonian 
• Eater
• Washington Post

I haved added restaurants noted in the link, but will likely not update going forward.

From least expensive to most (roughly, per person)

• Moreland’s Tavern
  • $80 (for 4) The Works
  • 12-14 pound turkey, Moreland’s brining mix, stuffing for 4, mashed potatoes for 4, roasted brussels sprouts for 4, gravy for 4, 8 Lyon bakery dinner rolls.
  • Ham, chicken and sides (including pecan pie) available
  • Pickup Wed 4-8p
  • Order by 11/1 (extended now longer)
• Unconventional Diner
  • $60 (for 2), $110 (for 4), $160 (for 6)
  • Chestnut Velouté; Roasted Turkey w/ garlic, orange, & rosemary; Gravy; Cranberry Relish; Cornbread Muffins
    Mushroom-Sage Stuffing; Cast Iron Brussels Sprouts;
    Red Skin Mashed Potatoes; Pumpkin Pie & Whipped Mascarpone
  • Pickup all day Thanksgiving
• Eatwell Restaurant Group (Commissary/Logan Tavern/Grillfish/The Pig) for pickup at Commissary)
  • $60 (for 2), $120 (for 4), $189 (6-8)
  • Pickup Wed 4-7p. Thanksgiving 9a-11a
• Pop’s Sea Bar
  • $32/person
  • 1.25 lb lobster, ear of corn, German potato salad, drawn butter.
  • Preorder by 11/23.  Call 202-534-3933. Pickup Thanksgiving Noon-2p
• Old Ebbitt Grill / Clyde’s GP / Clyde’s Georgetown
  • $33 (turkey dinner) or $25 (ham dinner) for one
  • Larger portion Serves 6-8: $240 (turkey), $180 (ham)
  • Turkey: Sliced White and Dark Meat, Sausage-Sage Stuffing, Mashed Potatoes, Glazed Sweet Potatoes, Green Beans, Turkey Gravy and Cranberry Sauce. Choice of whole Apple Pie, Pecan Pie or Pumpkin Pie; Ham: Glazed Spiral ham with Potato Gratin, Green Beans and a Brown Sugar-Rum Raisin Glaze. Choice of whole Apple Pie, Pecan Pie or Pumpkin Pie
  • Pickup 8a-1p Thanksgiving
• Federalist Pig
  • $225 (10-12 people), $140 (4-6 people)
• Farmers & Distillers / Farmers Fishers Bakers
  • Complete Dinner for 4: $150-turkey or ham, $175-cedar plank salmon $210 – herb-crusted prime rib
  • a la carte available
  • A complete dinner with your choice of entree, bread, (skillet cornbread or brioche rolls), starters (salad or soup), included sides (green beans, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, cornbread stuffing, rosted autumn veggies, cranberry relish, and dessert (apple/pumpkin/pecan pie or pumpkin cheesecake).
  • Pickup Wed
• Teddy & Bully Bar
  • $75 (for 2), $150 (for 4), $210 (for 6)…
• Et Voila
  • $300 (for 8) or $145 (for 4)
  • Pick up Thanksgiving
• Tabard Inn
  • $110 for 2 , $190 for 4, $535 for 12
  • Pick Up Wednesday
• Hank’s Oyster Bar Dupont
  • $120 (2-3); $240 (for 6)
  • Smoky Citrus and Herb Brined Turkey; Peppercorn Gravy; Cranberry Sauce; Soft Dinner Rolls Plus 4 of following: Chesapeake Oyster Stuffing;
    Sage Cornbread Stuffing
    Mac and cheesy
    Vegan Collard Greens with balsamic reduction
    Pecorino Parmesan Potato Gratin
    Maple Glazed Brussel Sprouts with Virginia peanuts
    Caramelized Sweet Potato Casserole
    Pumpkin Streusel Pie
  • Pickup 4-7p Wednesday
• RPM Italian
  • $185 (for 4)
  • – Fall Harvest Salad, Honeycrisp Apple, Lolla Rossa, Gorgonzola Dolce
    – Aged Parmesan Risotto, Acquerello Rice
    – Slagel Family Farms Turkey, Roasted Breast, Fried Thigh, Garlic-Sage Gravy
    – Garlic Whipped Potatoes, Delicata Squash, Dried Fruit Stuffing
    – Pumpkin Cheesecake
  • Pickup Wed or Thurs noon-6p
• Jackie – American Bistro
  • $285 for 6-8
  • Joyce Farms Brined Turkey, sage butter
    Brandied Giblet Gravy
    Cranberry Compote, fennel seed
    Mushroom Stuffing, herbs
    Braised Green Beans, crispy shallots
    Roast Cauliflower, salsa verde
    Anasazi Beans Ragu, duck confit, butternut squash
    Delicata Squash Salad, figs, sherry vinaigrette
    Blue Corn Bread, jalapeño honey butter
    Sweet Potato Pie, vanilla whip
  • Pickup Wed 1-4p
• Neighborhood Provisions
  •  $95-$100 for 2
  • Delivery available Mon-Wed
• Roses’s Luxury  / Little Pearl
  • Feast: $240 (2-4 ppl; 1/2 turkey), $480 (4-8 ppl; whole turkey)
  • All Natural Lemon-Pepper Brined & Roasted Turkey & Gravy
    Charred Brussel Sprout Caesar Salad
    Mashed Yukon Gold Potatoes
    Mushroom Stuffing
    Roasted Fall Veggies with Sherry Vinaigrette & Pomegranate
    Classic Can of Ocean Spray Cranberry Sauce
    Kings Hawaiian Rolls
    & a donation to the DC Food Project!
  • A La Carte (everything except turkey): $96 sides package for 2 (all the sides). Other items
  • Pickup for later reheat 5:30p-7p Tue/Wed 11/24-25
• Bakers Daughter/Gravitas
  • Classic: $204 (4-6); Baller: $375 (4-10)
  • Classic:
    •  Choose 2 of either Salad or Soup (Fall Apple & Goat Cheese Salad; Roasted Beet & Blue Cheese Salad; Mixed Green Salad; Butternut Squash Soup; Italian Ribolitta Soup; Chicken Noodle Soup); Whole Roasted Turkey; 2 Sides (Pommes Puree; Creamed Spinach with Crispy Shallots; Roasted Baby Carrots; Herb Roasted Root Vegetables; Sauteed Green Beans with Garlic & Onions; Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Maple Glazed Pecans; Creamy Mac & Cheese with Toasted Panko; Savory Brioche Bread Pudding (stuffing)); Sauce ( Red Wine Sauce; Classic Gravy; Cranberry Sauce); 1 Bread (Corn Bread; Foccacia; Parkerhouse Rolls)
  • Baller
    • Choose 3 of either Salad or Soup (Fall Apple & Goat Cheese Salad; Roasted Beet & Blue Cheese Salad; Mixed Green Salad; Butternut Squash Soup; Italian Ribolitta Soup; Chicken Noodle Soup); 2 entrees (Whole Roasted Turkey, Glazed Ham, Braised Beef Short Ribs); 4 sides (Pommes Puree; Creamed Spinach with Crispy Shallots; Roasted Baby Carrots; Herb Roasted Root Vegetables; Sauteed Green Beans with Garlic & Onions; Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Maple Glazed Pecans; Creamy Mac & Cheese with Toasted Panko; Savory Brioche Bread Pudding (stuffing)); 2 Sauce ( Red Wine Sauce; Classic Gravy; Cranberry Sauce);  2 Bread  (Corn Bread; Foccacia; Parkerhouse Rolls)
• Xiquet by Danny Lledó
  • $220 (for 4), $440 (for 8). Roast amish chicken meal available. Also spit roasted sucking pig.
  • $440 deal: Whole Heritage Turkey (12-14 lbs)
    – Turkey jus gravy
    – Corn bread & herbs stuffing
    – Sweet potato casserole, burnt meringue
    – Cranberry & ginger compote
    – Buttermilk saffron biscuits w/ honey butter
    – Runner & lima beans
    – Apple streusel pie
    – Pumpkin & xocolate pie
  • $220 deal: 1/2 heritage turkeu (6-7 lbs)
    – Turkey jus gravy
    – Corn bread & herbs stuffing
    – Sweet potato casserole, burnt meringue
    – Cranberry & ginger compote
    – Buttermilk saffron biscuits w/ honey butter
    – Runner & lima beans
    – Apple streusel pie or Pumpkin & Xocolate pie
• Bresca
  • $225 (for 4)
  • – Heritage Turkey – turkey jus – gravy – maple & fine herbs
    – Brioche Stuffing – sage – carrot – allium – celery
    – Winter Greens – candied walnuts – blow horn cheese – beets – brown butter
    – Sweet Potato Casserole – black garlic marshmallow – brown sugar
    – Cranberry Jam – port wine – orange
    – Milk Bread Loaves – whipped honey butter
    – Green Bean Casserole – crispy shallots – shiitake mushrooms
    Apple Galette – cinnamon – double cream
  • Pickup Wed or Thurs
• Convivial
  • $58/person
  • Choice of 1st course (caesar salad, onion soup grantinee, roasted cauliflower, leeks dijonnaise, terrine de campagne, smoke pumpkin Soup),
    entree (turkey or ham dinner: yam gratin, roasted brussel sprouts, mashed potato, chestnut & mushroom stuffing, classic gravy, cranberry sauce; fall vegetable & quinoa porridge: scrambled egg white, butternut squash mousseline, hen of the woods mushrooms, brussel sprouts sunflower seeds, aged apple cider vinegar; bistro salmon: French lentils, dijon mustard)
    
    dessert apple/pecan/key lime pie, or pumpkin/white chocolate cheesecake
  • Pickup all day Thanskgiving
• The Smith (both locations)
  • $120 (for 2), $240 (for 4), $480 (for 8)
  • Pickup Wed or Thanksgiving
• Joe’s Seafood, Prime Steak, & Stone Crab
  • $250 for 4
  • +Greens Salad with creamy vinaigrette
    +Roasted Turkey Breast with Leg and Thigh Confit served with pan gravy
    +Jennie’s Mashed Potatoes
    +Baked Butternut Squash
    +Classic Stuffing with Sausage
    +Martha’s Cranberry Relish
    +Pumpkin Chiffon Pie
  • Pickup Wed
• Masseria
  • $130 (for 2)
  • 4 course meal
  • Pickup and Delivery on Thanksgiving early/mid afternoon
• Equinox
  • $75 for one
  • 3 course meal
  • Available pickup Thanksgiving
• 1789
  • $75 for one
  • $300 for 4

  • turkey chestnut stuffing, mashed potatoes, haricots verts, roasted baby carrots, glazed sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce and turkey gravy. Choice of baby kale salad or roasted honeynut squash soup. Choice of dessert: Apple Pie, Miniature Chocolate-Pecan Pie, Pumpkin Cheesecake

  • Pickup 8a-1p Thanksgiving

• Blue Duck Tavern
  • $445 (for 6-8)
  • one 12-14 lb Turkey, two freshly baked breads, four sides; Green Bean-Mushroom Casserole, Butter-Whipped Potatoes, Candied Yams with walnut crumble, Cornbread-Sausage Stuffing, condiments; Cranberry-Fig Relish and Turkey Gravy. For dessert two pies, Apple & Pumpkin.
  • Pickup 11a-3 Wed/Thanksgiving
• Seven Reasons
  • $480 (for 6)
  • + Choice of Roasted Turkey, Roasted Prime Rib or Stuffed & Roast Calabaza
    + Truffle Mashed Potatoes
    + Artichokes and Green Bean Salad
    + Mango-Cranberry Sauce
    + Mac n’ Cheese and Pastrami
    + Tonka Bean Pumpkin Pie
    + Vanilla Apple Pie
  • Pickup 2-4p Thanksgiving
• Sfoglina Van Ness
  • $180 (for 2)
  • Arugula & Bibb Salad, Honeycrisp Apples, Yogurt
    Roman Stracciatella Egg Drop Soup
    Einkorn Pappardelle, Bolognese Ragu, Roasted Tomatoes
    Roasted Beaver Creek Farm Heritage Turkey (light & dark meat), Bread Stuffing, Brussels Sprouts, Sweet Potato Puree, Cranberry Relish, Gravy
    Tuscan Rolls
    ½ gallon of Earth N Eats Farm Honeycrisp Apple Cider
  • Pickup Wednesday
• Del Mar
  • $650 (for 6-8)
  • ½ gallon cold pressed honey crisp apple cider
    APPETIZERS
    Premium Cheeses & Artisan Cured Meats
    Signature Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail
    Honey Nut Squash Soup
    Autumn Salad, Pears, Toasted Walnuts & Sherry Vinaigrette
    ENTRÉE & SIDES
    Whole 16 lb. Apple Cider Brined and Herb-Butter Roasted Turkey ( premium heritage bird from Virginia’s Beaver Creek Farms)
    Rosemary Gravy
    Chestnut & Turkey Sausage Stuffing
    Cranberry-Orange Compote
    Whipped Mashed Potatoes
    Herb Roasted Sweet Potato Gratin
    Charred Green Beans, Mushrooms & Caramelized Onion Cream
    DESSERT
    Pumpkin & Pecan Pie
    Chocolate Chunk & Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
  • Pickup Tues-Wed Noon-7p
• Fiola
  • $240 (for 2)
  • pickup Wed 2-7p

All A LA Carte

• Tail Up Goat
  • Picfkup at Wed 10a-4p

No  Turkey

• Breadfurst
  • $145 (for 4-6 people), doesn’t include turkey but does include other ingredients to prepare the bird
  • Dinner rolls (6), mushroom-barley soup, mixed fall salad, cranberry sauce, turkey gravy, mashed potatoes, stuffing, roasted brussel sprouts & Fingerling potatoes, green bean casserole. Comes with traditional Mirepoix, Turkey stock & herbed butter. Pie (apple/pumpkin/bourbon pecan)
  • Pickup Thanksgiving morning