Bobby Lew's Saloon

Martin Corboy is involved in Angry Inch Saloon and McFadden's -- two places known for young, boisterous crowds that drink lots of Miller Lite, dance to '80s hits and occasionally get into trouble. So for his newest project, Bobby Lew's Saloon, he decided to go in a different direction entirely.

Corboy and his partner -- the eponymous Bobby Lewis -- have taken the old Staccato, added saloon-style lights, and cleaned and polished until it feels -- well, not new, but more like a neighborhood tavern than the dark hole-in-the-wall that Staccato was. For a place open less than a week, Bobby Lew's feels surprisingly lived in, but the decor is more comfortable than kitsch. The giant bull and buffalo heads mounted on the wall are refugees from places like Sign of the Whale and Blackie's. Stools with leopard-print backs line the bar, while a banquette fills the large bay window. Southern rock and country blast from the sound system -- more J. Giles Band than J.T.

There's no room to dance -- unlike the Angry Inch or McFadden's -- and I expect the secluded upstairs mezzanine, with its open floor plan, will become a new gathering spot for groups who'd rather chat cocktail style than sit at tables.

I was pleased to see Andy Miscuk -- ANC Commissioner, former shadow senator candidate, sometime bartender and unofficial Mayor of Adams Morgan -- pouring drinks and greeting everyone who walked through the door. He'll be here Tuesdays and Wednesdays, so Bobby Lew's should become a new midweek destination for neighbors.

The kitchen is tiny, so Corboy's worked out a catering deal with Capital Q, Chinatown's best Texas barbecue joint. It will be supplying pulled pork, chicken, sauce and sides for Bobby Lew's to sell, and even though it won't be prepped on the spot, I'm looking forward to stopping in for barbecue and coleslaw as part of a night of barhopping.

A friend of mine says she enjoyed the place because it doesn't have a jukebox or any overwrought theme. It's just a bar, and that's something Adams Morgan can use more of.

-- Fritz Hahn (January 2007)