A night on the "G"-Town

My wife was having girls night at the movies and I've been sick the past few days, was getting cabin fever and decided that Georgetown would be a good outing. I realized that although I have a plaque on the wall, for drinking all of their 80+ Bourbons, I haven't been to Old Glory in quite some time. After a few phone calls, I convinced Steve and his girlfriend to meet me there for drinks and food.

As I arrived, I noticed a large table finishing dinner filled with a bunch of Georgetown undergrad girls at what must have been a 21st birthday party. A table like that always draws attention but the number of gawkers was particularly high and it took me a minute to figure out why.

One of the quirks at Old Glory is that after you've gorged yourself on BBQ and comfort food, they give you a lollipop as an after dinner treat. I'm not sure how many licks it took any of those girls to get to the center but there were at least a few guys at the bar that could have told you the exact number if you'd asked.

I found a seat at the corner of the bar, sweet!, and ordered an Evan Williams bourbon, $6.50 and well worth it, straight up. My friends were running late but I was happily occupied with the University of Maryland basketball game playing on the TV. About 15 minutes after arriving, a British gentlemen sat down next to me and asked for a menu. We chatted briefly, he was in Washington to attend a conference this week on radio or something equally forgettable, but I remember him because when it came time to order, he had no idea what any of the items on the menu were. He was especially perplexed by pulled pork and collard greens and just couldn't figure out why there were so many sauces. He eventually settled on chicken but I think it was a safe option, not because he was particularly excited about it.

After another half an hour, Steve arrived with his girlfriend, something to do with him having to wash his hair. They ordered a bunch of food, I ordered another drink and the mac and cheese side. I was surprised to find that while the side was inexpensive, $4, it was quite a large portion. I guess that's what the menu meant by "sized to share." They're not kidding.

The corner of the bar we were sitting at was close proximity to the door and every time anyone entered or exited, we'd get a blast of cold air. It got downright chilly so after finishing dinner, we decided to move on to Mr. Smith's.

I've only ever been to Mr. Smith's for happy hour, $1.50 rails and 1/2 price appetizers, or to as a casual place to start the evening. During these times, it's never very crowded and a table/bar space is usually easily accessible. Evidently, 11pm on a Saturday is a completely different scene. The bouncer wasn't letting people in the front door because he was suggesting that everyone go upstairs to "give the top bar some business" which really meant "the first floor is so crowded it's impossible to move or get to the bar anyway." Fine, we'll play your game and walk up the fire-trap stairs to the third floor.

Thankfully, the top bar was a less crowded and we were able to get seats at the bar. Unfortunately, there was a small gap between the three of us and the next group down the bar which meant that every 5 seconds, someone attempting to order a drink would try to squeeze between the two groups. Compounding the problem was the completely inept bartender who kept forgetting what people ordered and could only make one drink at a time.

We ordered drinks, a vodka tonic for Steve, two bourbon and ginger ales for his girlfriend and I and began surveying the field. The majority of the crowd seemed so young that we questioned whether the bouncer downstairs actually looked at any one's IDs.

We were openly commenting on what time mom and dad were coming to pick everyone up from the dance when a very preppy looking guy walked up to the bar and ordered 12 beers. This caught my attention, of course, so I asked him where the party was which received a perplexed look back. Our friend explained that these beers were for him and his two buddies.

It turns out his name was Chase which Steve thought was the type of credit card he had. People like Chase are fun because they bring energy to the crowd and can be convinced to do crazy things.

I present Exhibit A: There was a large group of very drunk people who kept ordering shots next to us. At one point, I think they lost track of how many drinks they'd ordered and there were 3 shots of tequila sitting on the bar for a good 15-20 minutes. I suggest to Chase that I'll drink one if he does to which Chase responds by picking up two glasses, handing me one and taking his shot without a word. I take my shot and we never discuss the event, especially when the one sober girl looks down, realizes her shots were missing and complains.

After the shots, I introduced Chase to a few random girls, a couple of which were pretty cute and actually talked to him for a while before he went back to his people and the girls went downstairs. A short time later, the girls returned and I offered to reintroduce them to Chase but they declined, strongly. I didn't understand why until I looked at Chase who had a beer in each hand and two beers stuffed into each breast pocket, one on the right, the other on the left. Stay classy Chase, stay classy.

After one more drink, it was approaching 2am and it was time to go. At some point, fairly late into the evening, I mentioned that none of us had used the restroom so we made a bet for $5 each going to the last person to go. Steve was first to go, breaking the seal almost immediately after making the bet. His girlfriend put up a strong fight but she finally fell, netting me a cool $10 which, although we talked about going to another bar, I used to take a cab home. Overall, quite a good night.