Ping Pong Dim Sum and Rocket Bar

Holler CSK Devotees! As a great friend to Chef Em, I have been privy to her home cooking and sense for adventure. Now I am honored to be asked to contribute to this blog by giving some true insights to the fun, fake, and fortuitous parts of going out in DC. So put down your oven mitts for one day and get your cutest accessories ready for your Thursday Thurst!

So it’s only appropriate that I start my first blog with my birthday night. This past Friday, I celebrated my &!#@$?!th birthday. No worries; they check my ID less at the bar than they used to. Regardless, my boyfriend Matt got my closest friends together for a night on the town.

Ping Pong Dim Sum – between K and Eye on 7th St., NW
This is a fairly new place (open less than a year) in Chinatown/Gallery Place. When I had a dinner here for two about 3 months ago, it was extraordinary. With a dining birthday crowd of 13, it was a little more hectic to have an asian tapas meal… mostly because everyone wanted their hands on everything!
The menu works like most sushi places where they bring you a list and you check off whan you want. It works best to go in stages. order a few things and then when they come out, order more. Repeat until you are full and happy.

As for the Happy Hour (HH), it goes from 4pm-7 pm and it is PACKED. I will brave the crowd and report on it in a later post because our reservations were for 7:30pm and I had to go shoe shopping beforehand (Don’t worry – it was fruitful). However, for your record, it was impressive how the bar emptied after HH like when people realized they are watching a Nicholas Cage movie. Mark ordered the Earl Grey Julep which was bourbon infused with Earl-Grey tea stirred with mint and sugar and served with a whole lotta crushed ice. He would not share it, which means it was good.
But really...you must try the pork buns. Better yet, get 3 orders. They are worth it!
Rocket Bar – between H & G on 7th St., NW.
After an extraordinary amount of pork steamed buns, (to no complaint), I went to reclaim my youth at Rocket Bar. Now, I never really went to this bar in my first years of being in DC, but now working in the area, it’s a fun weekday HH spot. On a Friday night, it was expectedly more crowded… and this night, in particular, with Monster Truck fans. My posse and I got in just fine and the place was mixed with business people who have been imbibing since 5:30pm, scantily dressed girls looking for those men, and… people who were mad /glad about the truck crashing (?). It was quite entertaining.
Another form of entertainment I love is the games they have at Rocket Bar. It’s a good bonding piece, and hilarious effort to determine your soberness. After telling Abby Bell I let her win the 7 times we played Air Hockey, we just sat and chilled with friends. I have to say, with the crowd that Rocket Bar had there, they managed it quite well. You feel like you are in a busy place without feeling like you have to fight for a drink.
Never challenge a mid-westerner over bar games. She will school you.

So now, I will end every entry with “Lessons Learned.”

Lessons Learned: Make sure your server checks off each dim sum as they bring them- at one point, they all taste the same; Check Verizon Center’s events before planning something around there – I got a taste of this when the only place I could find a place to eat dinner before the Michael Buble concert at Hooters; Don’t think you can buy your advantage by buying your friend a shot before you challenge them in air hockey.

If you have any suggestions of where I should go next, email me at jacquelinecarl@gmail.com. I'm here to quench your Thurst!