Tonic Happy Hour in Mt. Pleasant

This is the Thursday Thurst with Jackie Carl.

Unless you live under a rock you would have known that this week was the second largest drinkers holiday (first being St. Patty’s) – Mardi Gras. Known as “Fat Tuesday,” this colorful holiday is basically an excuse to do whatever you want, so you can justify your attempt at being pious for the next 40 days. I never attempt the pious part, but I do enjoy the “fat” part.

So when I think of eating badly, my mind immediately went to wings. And when my mind goes to wings, I think of two places: The Mighty Pint and Tonic. On this particular “fat Tuesday,” Tonic won out. It is, in fact, the birthplace of my wing eating delight. So I phone a friend, and head to Mt. Pleasant to indulge in my crispy-loving poultry limbs. (Please note that normally Mardi Gras would have encouraged more heathenistic acts than wing eating, but it was a school night, and I had to give event presentation early the next day. I do better bloated than hungover.)

Regular HH is from 5pm – 7pm, M-F and ½ price drafts, rail, and burgers. Wines are $5. Then each day of the week, they have another special going on – this Tuesday it was $.50 tacos from 8pm – 10pm. Like a big, hard shelled meaty taco. Luckily, to get us in the spirit, Tonic also had some Mardi Gras food and drink specials like Gumbo and Hurricanes. However, my heart was set on wings, so wings it was! My friend Abby, who is a self-professed Hurricane connoisseur and New Orleans fan was ready to taste Tonic’s take on the infamous brew. I settled for a doozie called the “Hand Grenade” which the waitress basically described to me as every liquor they have plus Midori.

Abby’s Hurricane was not New Orleans worthy… but it didn’t stop her from having a few refills. My Hand Grenade tasted like the cool Midori and went down quite smoothly… too smoothly perhaps….

Then came my wings! I opted for the BBQ, as did my cohort, and although meaty and crispy, they were a bit over-dressed which was a tad disappointing. I ended up scraping some of the sauce off (to only re-sauce in ranch) and enjoyed anyway. I think the Hand Grenade kept me cool.
That being said, I’ve been to Tonic a few times and have always enjoyed their food. They have great burgers, great hummus, and bottomless mimosas for brunch. I’m not giving up on them yet.

And for your information, I was up early and nailed my presentation.

Lessons learned: Don’t ever set a one-drink limit, you will just end up failing (anti-Charlie Sheen-like). Bars are not the best place to take pics of food/drinks. If you don’t like eating the tendon part on the ends of the wings, bring along a carnivorous boyfriend – they will ravage those bones until they are dry.

Shirlington Happy Hours

This is the Thursday Thirst with Jackie Carl!

Shirlington Happy Hours
Sorry CSKer’s for the lost blog last week. I rarely let work interfere with my happy hour recap, but I we all gotta work for the Man… and whoever he is, he needs to let his hair down a bit. So this week, let me take you on a little trip. Don’t be scared. Honest. A lot of people go here, even live here. I know because I once did. And people there are much like us – believe me. Please join me in a happy hour in…. Virginia.

… and you’re not near a metro.

Ok ok before you stop reading hear me out for a minute. Honestly I used to work in this little corner of the world, and had convinced many of my DC friends to come out and visit and partake in its quaintness. Once convinced it’s easy to come back. I’m talking about the tiny village of Shirlington, fondly called ShirleyVegas by many of its inhabitants. It is, in all honesty, an easy place to get to- and getting easier by the day. Since I started working there, more bus lines have been added to their very new and helpful bus transit there. Yes I said bus.

Ok ok again before you stop reading, the DC buses are super easy to use, especially for a little get away like to Shirlington. Best part is, it’s a flat rate and most of the time, the card scanner doesn’t work (thank you WMATA) so you end up riding for free. So metro to Pentagon, Ballston or Crystal City and check out the schedules at wmata.com. I promise you, Donna Summer you will survive.

On to the drinking. ShirleyVegas has a great “strip” of bars and eating establishments that you can view here but I’m going to take you to my tried and true HH (and I’ve tried a few) Ping.

Ping is a Charlie Chang’s restaurant that serves upscale sushi and asian cuisine. They also have a killer happy hour. You may or may not know, that restaurants in VA are not allowed to advertise their happy hours online, so I’ll help you out. Please see the menu below.

We started out with a refreshing vodka soda and seaweed salad. The salad was the perfectly dressed with a sweet sesame oil, but still chilled and crunchy.

Second course were (my favorite) steamed meat dumplings served with a sweet soy dipping sauce. I could drink that sauce! We paired it with pork spring rolls (you can get veggie) that they serve with a ½ duck sauce/ ½ spicy mustard mix. Warning: that spicy mustard will get up your nose!
Finally, we ended it up with 2 sushi rolls: eel and cucumber and spicy tuna. Now Ping can make all sorts of crazy super fun rolls, but these are delish and on happy hour pricing.
So we’re full, the night is over? WRONG! They don’t call it ShirleyVegas for nothing. We followed the bright lights down the strip to the Tony Award Winning Signature Theatre (Jackie used to work there). This great venue offers a multitude of performances from big musicals, to intimate student workshops. However, tonight we were there for the cabaret by Katie Thompson. With a wine bar containing carefully selected libations, and a kitchen with warm gourmet cooking, it’s the perfect place to grab a bottle, go into a dark theater, and listen to extraordinary musicians. The bottle will be about $30-$45 dollars based on your selection, but the taste is worth it. And what is a better way to end a night than a cozy table for two, an amazing vocalist, and a succulent Malbec….. and a cab ride home.
Lessons learned: If wanting to venture to ShirleyVegas for a weeknight happy hour, get there before 6pm – that’s when the Signature Theatre staff gets off work ;). Signature Theatre’s cabarets are open seating, so get your seat first, then head to the bar. Some cabs from the VA may not know their way around all of DC… honestly; You may have to Sacagawea them home (no ,that is not dirty).

Oyamel Happy Hour

This is the Thursday Thurst with Jackie Carl. Today is a very special day because it is the birthday of our dear friend Dr. Christine Bender, who introduced Jackie and I. Happy Birthday Christine!! We love you! Take it away, Jackie...

Valentine’s hangover? Yeah, me too. Now all we have to look forward to is some unexpected warm days, and the smell of Irish kegs which you’ll help kick in a month. Sorry because of not feeling well this week, I haven’t been out in a while. But just like the month of February, this post is short and sweet.

Before stepping out to a delish dinner at Mama Aiesha’s on Valentine’s Day, my sweetie and I decided to stop by one of our favorite happy hour spots, Oyamel, located in Penn Quarter, for one of their fabulous margs. Much to our dismay, the original happy hour was not going on, due to their Valentine’s Day pre-fix dinner. Bummer. However, the creative bartenders there did not forget the day of love, and concocted a few specialty cocktails to create some mischief for couples that night. One word: Aphrodisiacs.
At the lofty price of $12 a pop, you can tell these drinks were made with love, passion sweat, and baby dove tears. Ok not really, but the ingredients were so interesting I couldn’t even remember them all… so I just took a picture of the menu.

The Honey Almond was sweet and silky with creamy froth on top. And although it’s hard to tell, there was faint pink frothy heart in the center, which was amazingly still visible after the drink was finished.
The Grape Basil was my favorite. With the tangy and sweet grape and strong basil bite, this drink was accented by a scoop of crushed ice, that you could mix through the glass as the flavors married together.
Did I mention they both also have booze?

After flirting with our senses, we headed off to dinner, a little giddier than before.
Although these drinks are probably not available again right now, Oyamel has a great happy hour, and all of their drinks are made with great skill and flavor. Their schedule is 4:00pm to 6:30pm Sunday through Friday- $5 classic margarita, ponche and select draft beer; 2 for $5 taco specials; half off select wines by the glass. Get on their mailing list because they often do dinner specials and may bring a couple more tricks out of their cocktail sleeves! (ahem – margaritas with “air salt”).

Lessons learned: To make your honey smitten on Valentine’s day, would you rather send $200 of roses or a $12 aphrodisiac? Do the math.

Ruth's Chris Happy Hour

This is the Thursday Thurst with Jackie Carl.

So you know when you go to a great place, have awesome service, eat delicious food, and realize HH prices are like finding a hidden treasure? You want to tell EVERYBODY! You feel so glorified! Your best friends should know! This is the place to be! OK. So then you know when you go to a great place, have awesome service, eat delicious food and realize the HH prices are like finding a hidden treasure.... and want to tell NOBODY. This is your place. Your hidden gold. Well CSKers, this is a difficult entry for me. Please be selective when you divulge this classified information.

Ruth's Chris Happy Hour
So one particularly stressful day at work, I look over at my co-worker and our eyes connected like laser beams in the "it's happy hour time" kind of way. You know. So rolling through our options, she suggested martinis and rib-eye sliders at Ruth's Chris. I pretty much laughed at the fact of thinking I would be so classy to afford... or even go to... a happy hour at a steak house. However, my coworker and I pair like gin & tonic, so I trusted her to go. Needless to say the experience was friendly, financially and foodilicious.

The pictures I share of on my 5th visit (in 2 months) with a group of co-workers. We went on a Tuesday and it was crowded because the Caps were playing in town. However, it's normally very accessible. Ask Miss CSK herself - I had her give her blessing on the place. They have specialty HH martinis and Bombay and Grey Goose for $7. When you think of nice martinis, that is a steal. You need two (or four) and still don't feel like you need to asses the damage.

I had a Bombay Gin martini with a lime

This is the generous cosmo
and two co-workers ordered the Black Cherry martini... very smooth but for the sweet tooth.
So the best is for last. The food on this HH special is phantastic (fantastic with a "ph"). I was reeled in by the rib eye sliders and once I bit in, I was transformed. I feel asleep dreaming of them. I crave them.
Now I will tell you, I am a meat snob. I don't eat McDonalds burgers... or really anything that I don't trust. Well this is the real deal. No grit. No chewy. Just a delicious piece of meat, a bit crispy around the edges, and wonderfully juicy on the inside.
They serve it on a crispy toasted buttered bun with a horseradish creme. My mouth waters as I'm thinking about it.
This thing will make you forget your worst work days.

Of course, the other things on the menu are wonderful too. They have every thing from gourmet thai chicken wings, to a seafood sampler (seared tuna, steamed shrimp and scallops), to huge onion rings served with a sweet and sour sauce.
Happy Hour is from 4pm-7pm and house wine and beer are $6 - martinis are $7. The food ranges from $5 to $7; I believe a full burger is $6! Not only that, you get the service and atmosphere of a fine dining restaurant.

Lessons Learned: Don't tell friends of your favorite HH spot... unless you're taking a cut from the owner. Always get the sliders. Then order them again.

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!