Sat, 03/10/2007 - 12:32pm

The Surge and her aptly named "Surge Shot"

For years DC residents local to H St. corridor in Northeast have had two choices if they wanted to get a drink anywhere after nine in the evening. They could either make the trip to a more “evening friendly” area such as Capitol Hill SE, U St NW or Adams Morgan, or they could hit a corner store, grab a 40 oz, and brown bag it.

Thankfully some developers have felt our pain and responded in generous fashion by opening a slew of bars and nightspots. Over the last year and a half the H St. Corridor has welcomed the addition on the Argonaut Restaurant and Bar, The Rock and Roll Hotel, H St. Martini Lounge, The Palace of Wonders, The Pug, and The Red and the Black. While all of these places have their own strong points at the top of my list of recommendations to a H St. Corridor novice would be The Red and the Black.

For those familiar with the U St area’s DC 9 the set up of Red and Black may bring on Deja Vu. Both places have the same ownership and this is reflected in basic similarities. Like DC9 the Red and the Black is a split level venue with the upper floor being reserved for live band performances (booked by the same promoter who handles DC9 and The Rock and Roll hotel’s music) or DJ inspired dance sets with covers that range from 5-10 dollars. On the bottom floor entrance is free and the music is provided by a digital jukebox with an extensive selection. However, The Red and the Black differs significantly from its U St counterpart in that it’s a New Orleans themed bar.

The theme in question is primarily provided by a variety of velvet curtains, tin ceilings, masks, nick-nacks, and plastic beads that decorate both the upper and lower level bars. While the decorum does a good job of evoking the Mardi Gras holiday for which New Orleans is famous, unfortunately the abundance of beads didn’t inspire any girls gone wild style stunts. In a further nod to the bar’s New Orleans roots they offer red beans and rice and Jambalaya. While the Jambalaya was slightly soupy for my tastes the red beans and rice proved quite tasty.

The bar menu is pretty straight forward. There are no beers on tap but there’s a decent selection of bottles with reasonable prices to match. At the high end you have Chimay Red and Guiness at $8 and $6 respectively. The list also includes personal favorites Yuengling (4.50) and the Belgium style ale Alagash White( $5). As far as liquor its pretty much full service with all you’d expect.

Of course the key to any bar is the staff and I found all the bartenders there to be knowledgeable and friendly. The bartenders have a good time and seem to genuinely want their customers to do the same. Recent highlights include watching bartender Corin dance on the bar and tasting The Surge’s unforgettable and self named Surge shot. While Friday and Saturday obviously feature the largest crowds Sunday is also notable for its all you can drink $20 special. While the special is limited to Bud, Bud Light, Yeungling and Rail Cocktails at four drinks you’ve already hit $20 so if you can make it to five you’ve got yourself a bargain.

About the author
The writer is a journalism student at UDC. He’s been writing professionally off and on for over 5 years.

Photo by Lafayette Barnes

Categories:

• Bar Reviews