Posts Tagged ‘Cafe Mozart’
DC Finally Getting a German Beer Garden? The Lagerheads Share their Outdoor Picks in the Meantime
Early this summer when the weather was ripe for it, several of you joined in our plea for a local outdoor space to grab steins of German beer and enjoy brats in the open air. Temperatures are now cooling off, but it seems that our prayers will be answered soon.
Russia House co-owner Aaron McGovern is heading up a project on H Street that could help fill DC’s beer garden void. According to last month’s Capital Community News, Biergarten Haus, a 5,000-square-foot German restaurant, will occupy the two store fronts adjacent to Rock N’ Roll Hotel (where NorthEast Salon and DC Sanctuary used to be).
McGovern is planning a menu full of traditional German fare for his new restaurant, and an outdoor beer garden that we hope will satisfy the nostalgia of all those lucky enough to have been to a real Bavarian biergarten in Germany. As you can see from the Weltenburger Kloster photo above, that means long wooden tables under the shade of trees, space for plenty of people longing for some gemutlichkeit, an occasional oom-pah band, and most importantly, lots of great German beer. We’re not sure how well the location will allow McGovern to deliver on all these stipulations, but there will be twelve taps, and that’s a good start. We’ll see about the polka. More details and our outdoor drinking spot picks below.
Tipsy Tuesdays
Tuesday has long been an excellent night to go a’drinking in DC. The Belgian Beer Happy Hour Bohemian Caverns used to have was a night we thoroughly enjoyed in our just-getting-into-beer days. We have managed to have plenty more tipsy Tuesdays as a result of the wealth of beer happy hour opportunities available in DC.
Many of you probably know about dchappyhours.com, which is the most exhaustive list of happy hours searchable by both neighborhood and day of the week. While an excellent and fairly up-to-date tool, it’s not always the most useful resource for a couple like us, who care little for wine specials or $1 shooters. So, we thought we’d offer a quick list for your convenience.
Below are The Lagerheads’ picks for Tuesday budget beer. Got other good spots for beer happy hours? Let us know in the comments–regardless of the day of the week.
Missing in DC: A German Beer Garden
Now far be it for us to find fault with DC’s beer scene. We have a lot to be grateful for. Just a few years ago, the Brickskeller was the only game in town. Today, the competition outdoes it on a regular basis–especially if you get sick of having to order three or four times before they have something in stock. RFD does considerably better in this regard, but we digress…
Our fair city’s beer renaissance, though, has focused almost exclusively on Belgian beers. Yes, Red Derby specializes in cans. And Commonwealth features an English list chock full of bitters. We’ve even got a few brew pubs, not least of which Dogfish Head’s latest extreme beer mecca near Seven Corners. But what’s lacking is the one of the most elemental of beer experiences: an old-fashioned German beer garden. New York’s got Zum Schneider and Zeppelin Hall, among others. And Pittsburgh’s got its own brand new, Munich-style Hofbrauhaus. Anybody looking to invest in a new place, we beg you, please give us outdoor seating, strings of white lights, oompa music, and steins full of delicious German malts.
