The Ella Grace re-opening on H Street (pic from short-lived SOTW location)
The Ella Grace, the cocktail bar which popped up on the second-floor of the non-defunct Sign of the Whale for less than a month back in March, is taking over the recently-relocated The Pursuit Wine Bar at 1421 H St. NE. The spot plans to open in September. Folks with experience at Harold Black, 600t, Gravitas, and Del Mar will be running things.
[At the request of the folks running the bar, I took down the description the provided that was hilarious and misguided.]
The Eastern, 360 7th St. SE (b/t C & Penn SE), open at 4p daily, HH 4-7p M-F, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. The Eastern, an eagerly awaited wine bar around 450 feet from the Eastern Market Metro station, opens Tuesday, July 30th in the 700 Penn development. The cozy yet bright spot, which can fit around 50 inside and 20 outside, comes from Matt Weiss and Mike Schuster, who also co-own the whiskey/Southern food spot Barrel 800 feet away.
The Eastern will feature 35-40 wines by the glass (median price seems to be around $12-13); menu is smartly divided into categories based on popular types of wines. Several of the wines will be on draft, as will a couple beers (you can get a 750ml champagne bottle of High Life for $10). A small list of cocktails include a great wine cocktails like the Kalimotxo from Basque country in Spain (red wine and coke) and the refreshing Port and Tonic (popular in north Portugal). Lots of whiskeys too-so if you’re someone like me who can go without wine, this will still be a great place to check out. There will be a HH 4-7p M-F (opening HH included $7 house wines, an $8 riff on an Aperol spritz, $6 beer, and several food options). A firmly-tongue-in-cheek $10 “champagne” service of a 750ml bottle of Miller High Life, the champagne of beers, will be offered (you can get a standard $4 12 oz. option if you life).
Despite only packing seating for 45 or so, there will be multiple servers and sommeliers at all times, and the owners and GM Robert Morin told me that they expect to make good service a hallmark at the outset. Food comes from the executive chef at Barrel (Walfer Hernandez) and it will be not extensive but very good: bar nibbles, dips, charcuterie/cheese, and other tasty medium plates.
Random tidbit, Weiss also owns Capitol Hill watering hole Union Pub and private event space The State Room (formerly The 201 Bar), as well as cocktail bars Truxton Inn and McClellan’s Retreat. Schuster co-owns popular foodie spots Maydan and Compass Rose as well as the neighborhood bar Trusty’s (one of these three is not like the others-he also was a partner in the recently departed The Star & Shamrock).
Opening Night Menu (subject to change)Opening night menu (subject to change)Logo at front doorBeautiful bathroom wallpaperBar at The EasternGreat artworkSome of the higher bar-height seatingOpening Happy Hour Menu (4-7p weekdays) Subject to Change
View of Cincy from the Carew Tower to the North, including the OTR district
Inspired by its placement on the NYT’s 52 Places to Visit in 2018, as well as Mrs. Barred in DC’s last minute trip to Europe with her sisters, I decided to make my first-ever solo trip (including work trips), to Cincinnati, Ohio over the July 4th weekend. After nearly 48 hours of bars, bites, breweries, bridges, and (sort of) baseball (alliteration much) by myself, I had a tremendous time and expect to come back soon.
Expect to spend a lot of time in the Over-the-Rhine district just north of the business district downtown. OTR, as it’s known, has blown up last few years and contains a grid of wonderful historic buildings with narrow streets and tons of spots to eat and drink. If you stay downtown (where several hotels are), you can walk about 20-30 minutes or take the Cincinnati Streetcar (free with ticket stub or $1 with purchase at each station). Friendly people all over.
Spots I went which I all recommend (OTR unless otherwise mentioned)
Bars
Blind Pig/O’Malley’s in the Alley (Downtown) – Gets a lot of Reds fans post and pre-game. Big roof deck with view of bridges and Kentucky
Lackman Bar – chill corner bar with great cocktails
Homemaker’s Bar – new women-owned spot with a Spritz Hour every day
Panino – new spot with paninos but with very cheap HH that I checked out
Pin’s Mechanical – very fun spot with duckpin bowling, a roof deck, and other games
Hofbrauhaus Newport (Newport, Kentucky) – an outpost of the original Munich beer garden across the river in Kentucky. Airey bright inside and massive beer garden
Didn’t make it to, but recommended: Taft’s Ale House, Mecca OTR, Sundry and Vice, 16-Bit Bar+Arcade, Arnold’s Bar & Grill (Downtown), Blind Lemon (Mt. Adams), Incline Public House (not sure where), The Video Archive (not sure where0
Breweries
Rhinegeist – Massive warehouse spot with roof deck. Great beer.
Christian Moerlin – old school spot in a catacomby sort of spot at edge of RTR
Also try Madtree, Streetside, Urban Artifact (breweries are not close to downtown)
Restaurants
Sotto – (Downtown) amazing pasta
The Eagle – mini Midwest chain. Amazing fried chicken and tons of vibe.
Sleepy Bee Cafe – great spot for breakfast/brunch
Didn’t make it to but recommended: Pleasantry, Abigail Street, Salazar, Nada (Downtown), Skyline Chili. Also didn’t get Graeter’s Ice Cream and Holtman’s Donut
Things to Do/Sights
National Underground Railroad Freedom Center ($15)
Carew Tower ($5, free if staying in attached Hilton – 49th-floor observatory deck)
Hilton Netherland Plaza
Washington Park
Purple People Bridge – pedestrian bridge to Kentucky
Murals all over OTR and downtown
Smale Riverfront Park
Weston Art Gallery
21c Museum Hotel
Great American Ball Park (they love the Reds in Cincy)
Stuff I didn’t see/do but recommended: Findlay Market, Queen City Underground Tour ($25), Contemporary Arts Center, American Sign Museum ($15, 10 min Uber away), Taft Historic Site (20 min bus)
Flights from DC are often less than $200 roudtrip-there’s about 14 non-stop flights daily on the big 3 airlines, with half of them from DCA. Once you arrive at CVG, 99% of travelers drive or take Uber/Lyft to/from airport, but there’s a $2 bus (the 2X) that takes 30 minutes downtown (runs mostly every 30 min on weekdays but much less frequent on Sat-Sun). Otherwise an Uber/Lyft is about $20-25. Hotel-wise, check out Hotwire or Priceline for their hidden hotel booking. I stayed at (which is its impressive sight on its own) the Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza, an Art Deco masterpiece from 1930 for about $110/night.
Bunch of photos below
Ballroom in Hilton NetherlandOutdoor space at Rosedale OTRGreat brewing-themed mural outside the Christian Moerlin breweryRhinegeist BreweryHofbrauhaus across Ohio River in NewportView of Cincy from the Purple People BridgeThis Reds dude was all across town. The Hilton Netherland, where I stayed in the backgroundGreat crowds on July 4th in Washington Park for fireworksOne of the amazing murals
The Bar at Island Time Bar & Grill at Columbia Island off GW Parkway, in DC.
Yes, the headline is true. Legally speaking, islands in the Potomac River between DC and Arlington/Alexandria are part of the District of Columbia. This includes Columbia Island, where’ll you find the traffic circle opposite the Lincoln Memorial at the end of Memorial Bridge, and about 1.3 miles of George Washington Parkway towards I-395.
Also on this island is the LBJ Memorial Grove as well as the Columbia Island Marina overlooking the Pentagon Lagoon. Part of this marina is one of the more chill and somewhat unknown bars in DC, Island Time Bar and Grill. This seasonal outdoor spot is open from mid-April to late September and, during the Memorial Day – Labor Day period, Noon-7p Wednesday-Sunday (closed Mon-Tuesday). An outdoor bar with a friendly bartender is covered, as is a large patio. Live music is played every week (usually Saturday late afternoons). Drinks include $8 crushes (my Grapefruit Crush was made with Deep Eddy Ruby Red vodka and fresh squeezed fruit) and cocktails, several beers (including a few on draft), and $7 wines. Food is pretty standard fare; I hear the $16 crabcake sandwich is solid. Clientele is a mix of younger couples, cyclists taking a break, and older folks about to get on their boats.
Island Time Bar & Grill overlooks Pentagon Lagoon
The bar can be reached by car via GW Parkway Southbound or by bike/foot/scooter by taking the Mt Vernon Trail north from I-395 and taking an underpass under GW Parkway after crossing a short bridge.
One reason the spot hasn’t been on my radar: like other spots on National Park Service or Smithsonian properties in DC, no ABRA liquor license is required.
