Sunday, April 9, 2006; M01
Few institutions are as beloved as the local dive bar. To some, a dive means a scary hole-in-the-wall, but we like to think of them as easygoing joints where you feel as comfortable as you do in your living room (though you have to wear more than just boxers -- usually). A few weeks ago, we asked readers to write in about their favorite dives and were deluged with responses. Here is a sampling of the contributions:
My favorite dive bar has to be Dietle's Tavern (11010 Rockville Pike, Rockville, 301-881-8711). We go inside, walk up to the bar and the bartender asks what we want. One of the women in our group inquires about the wine selection. The bartender, dressed in a tank top undershirt and unshaven, replies: "White or rose" (like the flower) as he leans against the bar. We order beer. We shoot pool and case the place up and down. Everything is old and disheveled. We love it.
-- Bruce DarConte, Rockville
My friends and I began frequenting El Migueleño, (1721 Columbia Rd. NW, 202-328-6190) in Adams Morgan in fall 2001, because its happy hour begins when we got off work. It offers very inexpensive beer (the details get fuzzy after a few, but it's somewhere in the neighborhood of $1.50 domestics and $2.50 imports). The decor and ambiance of Migui's, as we endearingly call it, are nothing to write home about, but the sincerity of the staff is definitely worth noting. Here's my favorite anecdote: My friend Liz, a frequent Migui's guest, became pregnant a few months before the whole Washington lead pipes scare. So by the time the public was quite scared, she was obviously showing. Unbeknownst to the Migui's staff, Liz had gotten the "okay" from her doctor to have one beer every once in a while. During our regular happy hour, Liz had her one beer, served to her by the owner. On our second round she asked for a glass of water. After clearing Liz's empty bottle of beer, the owner replied, "I'd better bring you a bottled water. I don't feel right serving you regular water, because of the baby."
-- A. Gonzalez, Washington
The best neighborhood dive bar is by far Cleveland Park's Nanny O'Brien's (3319 Connecticut Ave. NW, 202-686-9189). It's a true Irish pub where you have a good chance of actually hearing folks with Irish accents. It's also unpretentious and the authentic decor includes classic neon beer signs as well as road signs from the Emerald Isle. There are no fancy martinis and most patrons are content to drink their Guinnesses without the need of a dance floor or DJ. The men's room also has "magic" urinals -- they always look like they are on the brink of spilling over but never do.
And the best part about Nanny O'Briens: It's only a 60-second walk from my front door.
-- D. Rusty Shuffelton, Washington
My mom once told me, "Some men join country clubs, your dad goes to Cafaretta's, and believe me it's a lot cheaper." So, in keeping with family tradition, when I moved to Northern Virginia from St. Louis I looked for a neighborhood bar like Cafaretta's. It would be more of a challenge than I thought. Then one happy day I discovered the Sunset Grille (7250 Columbia Pike, Annandale, 703-658-0928). It is a true dive! Improvements are made so gradually and haphazardly that the regulars are never upset that the place is trying to go uptown.
Dart games go on all evening in the back and the juke box can make it a little raucous. Don't go anywhere afterward if you have to smell good . . . smoking is definitely permitted. The front room is quieter and perfect for discussing the world's problems. Several nights a week good local bands play there. The decor in the back is Annandale's version of an island bar, with an unusual license plate collection, featuring, I might add, my daughter's license plate from her college days (TEA-BRD). We feel duly honored.
If you are a liberal, leave your opinions at home or be ready to be outnumbered in a lively debate. The clientele is a diverse mix of professionals, some in biker get-ups, local business owners, and working-class blokes and gals. Everyone is friendly and will usually introduce themselves to someone new. I've been going there for nearly 20 years! Long live the neighborhood dive!
-- Cathy Cooke, Centreville
We've loved the Hawk N' Dove (329 Pennsylvania Ave. SE, 202-543-3300) for over 35 years. Why? How about:
· Five separate bar areas, each with its own personality:
1. Small bar -- Locals who dig sports and point spreads.
2. Big bar -- Mini meat market + big plasma TV; chaos.
3. Back bar -- Tables with parties of more than two; Hill types in a hurry.
4. Way Back bar -- When you read Bode Miller got wasted, here's where it happened.
5. Side bar -- Grease rink.
· Staff attitude range: County polite to city edgy.
· Staff attire: What you wear while waiting for your pj's to get out of the dryer.
· Food quality: Actually, quite good. Salad green & not brown; burgers brown & not green.
· Ambience: Rhapsodic iambic pentameter of menu not quite a match for chow-hall-casual presentation.
-- Bartley and Judy O'Hara, Washington
The S&J Restaurant (6108 Rhode Island Ave., Riverdale; 301-927-3977) is really an oddity in the D.C. area. It is maybe six miles from downtown Washington but seems more like 600 miles. There is no visible sign of the typical D.C. denizens (e.g., no rich brats, no lawyers, etc.). In fact, the visible signs in this bar are NASCAR posters. There is country music on the jukebox but it's not a gimmick. It's hard to believe -- a habitat of real, live, Middle-American people has remained undisturbed in this hyper-gentrifying metropolitan area. As of now, S & J is the only non-vacant storefront in Riverdale's quaint town square. But with the very convenient commuter train station here, it seems inevitable that change is coming.
The drinks are cheap and the food is pretty good. Stop in for a beer and help keep this place from becoming a Pizzeria Uno.
-- Jackson Williams, University Park
The Common Share (2003 18th St. NW, 202-518-6881) is definitely the best dive bar in Washington. First, having lived here my whole life, I can confidently identify the Common Share, along with the 42 bus and the Redskins, as one of the few things in this fractured city that successfully integrates people from different racial and socioeconomic groups. Luckily, two groups that are not represented at this bar are hyper-macho dudes in pastel polo shirts with popped collars and females draped in too much makeup and too little clothing. A trip to the Common Share is a welcome respite from the superficial Hide-and-Seek-and-Hookup scene that plagues other bars. The bouncers, the bartenders and the owners are great too. They even picked up my (substantial) tab when I went in after being laid off from my job. Last, but certainly not least: The drinks are seriously affordable. Each night, a different beer (Guinness, Bass, Sierra Nevada and Yuengling) is only $2. I defy anyone to find another bar in town with similar deals.
-- Zachary Kagan-Guthrie, Washington
If you want to talk about an unpretentious neighborhood joint, then let me throw Stetson's Famous Bar and Grill (1610 U St. NW, 202-667-6295) in the mix. I usually go on Wednesdays when they have the 25-cent wings, $2.50 rail drinks and Miller on special. What a great place to hang out, drink and eat for cheap until 8 p.m., when happy hour is over. I also hear the Bush twins have been seen there once or twice for your local VIP flavor. I have a crush on the waitress-bartender on Thursday. With the new swank places being added on the U Street corridor, my dive Stetsons has kept its own personality and vibe. Here the fellas or co-workers can still laugh and have fun after work at the old neighborhood bar.
-- Curtis R. Edwards Jr., Germantown
Talk about unpretentious: The good folks at Dr. Dremo's (2001 Clarendon Blvd., Arlington; 703-528-4660) allow my buddies and me to bring our bikes inside. We lean them up against a wall, out of the way, and click-clack our way up to the bar.
Do you like beer? Go to Dremo's. There are 32 brews on tap, all of them good. You can drink a lot of beer for not a lot of money, especially at happy hour, which really is a happy hour. Dremo's has stopped serving salads, and their bacon cheeseburgers are good and reliable. The cigarette smoke is thick, the writing on the men's bathroom wall is entertaining, the music favors '80s punk but is not so loud as to inhibit conversation, and the bartenders are heavily tattooed, beer-knowledgeable and friendly: They've changed the channel on the TV above the bar to let us watch "The Simpsons." Great beer, nice people. Look for the totem pole outside.
-- Mike Miller, Arlington
While Adams Morgan has its fair share of swanky lounges and crazy dance clubs, it is also home to my absolute favorite down-to-earth bar -- Toledo Lounge (2435 18th St. NW, 202-986-5416). The Lounge, as we regulars call it, is the quintessential neighborhood bar. People talk to you just to talk -- not to pick you up. Whether on a weeknight or weekend, you'll always find an unpretentious atmosphere. The red lighting and the funky Ohio memorabilia on the walls give the bar charm, but the bathrooms make you realize they aren't trying too hard. There's a jukebox that will take you back a decade or two and the framed photos of present and former staff give you a sense of the bar's history while also making the place feel homey. The beer selection has a nice mix of high and low brow. The food is great and includes an amazing selection of burgers (half price on Sundays), hand-cut french fries and hot dogs marinated in beer. It's a chill, fun place to hang out. The staff rocks! The Lounge is definitely the bar that makes Adams Morgan feel like a neighborhood and D.C. feel like a cool city to me.
-- Abby Fenton, Washington
You won't find two pieces of furniture that match. My favorite table is a small wooden one with a tabletop that is a United States county map. It's crazy how the Midwest's counties are huge and in a perfect grid but the Northeast's are really tiny and jumbled. What a great conversation piece. But that's just one way to pass your time at The Argonaut (1433 H St. NE, 202-397-1416). There's also a pool table, a huge flat-screen TV and tons of board games! It also serves some pretty good grub. I highly recommend the sweet potato fries. Globes hang down from the ceiling of the bar area. Not only are they interesting to look at as you wait for your beer, but they're also lights. As for the rest of the place, no two lights hanging from the old tin ceiling are alike. Most important, though, no two people in this joint are alike. Diversity is the true theme of this dive bar.
-- Jen Baldassari, Washington
The best dive bar in my area, Arlington, is by far Jay's Saloon and Grille (3114 N. 10th St., Arlington, 703-527-3093). It's a place to come to hang out with your friends, watch a game, listen to a local band (every other Saturday) or just relax at the bar. Unlike most of the other bars in the area, it doesn't attract the meat market, Red Bull-drinking, night clubbish crowd. At any given time there are lawyers and CEOs sitting next to general contractors and roofers talking about the latest baseball trade or the fastest way to drive to Dulles. You don't hear people asking what you do or how much you make or what kind of car you drive . . . it's refreshingly, well, normal in there. Ahh.
Oh, and the food is great. They have daily specials, half-price burgers on Tuesday and a killer quesadilla. They also have a pool table and a full bar and a great selection of beers and wine. And in the summer or warmer months, you (and your dog!) can sit outside on their patio.
-- Tracy Moe, Arlington
The Cowboy Cafe (4792 Lee Hwy., Arlington, 703-243-8010) has to be one of the area's best dive bars! It represents the socioeconomic confluence of this postage-stamp-sized county, all crammed into a postage-stamp-sized bar. You can order an Amstel Light or a rum and Coke, but the long-neck domestic bottle is the standard issue -- along with a greasy burger. The bar has the ubiquitous Golden Tee machine in the corner, but on any given Saturday night, it becomes the backdrop for some no-name guitar player. Plumbers, drywallers, recent college grads, businessmen and the ragtag staff commingle in the smoky haze. (Herein lies a key attribute of the Dive Bar: smoke.) While I wish it wasn't so smoky -- a quick 30-minute visit renders your clothes unwearable the next day -- the day it becomes "no smoking" is the day it loses its dive bar status.
-- Jim McCracken, Arlington
At the Tune Inn (331 1/2 Pennsylvania Ave. SE, 202-543-2725) on Capitol Hill, you can taste, touch, smell, see and hear the grease used in cooking the burgers. While you're waiting for your order, ratty, stuffed animal heads stare down at you from their wall mounts. An odd place for a job interview maybe, but in the early 1980s, I was a naive young woman who didn't question the congressman's assistant who suggested we meet there at happy hour to talk about a possible staff job. After all, it was my neighborhood dive, too. They knew me there.
Soon, I realized it was no office job the guy was offering. As I listened to his slick come-on from the other side of the table, I watched a roach climb across the back of the red-leather booth we sat in. It made an awkward leap onto the guy's over-stuffed shoulder padding and settled against his suit collar, its antennae twitching a clear "uh-uh" signal at me for the rest of the interview.
-- Glen Finland, McLean