Restaurants

Anyah Dembling, an energy writer by day and gastronomic explorer by night, lives and eats on H St, NE.

I like a good dive bar as much as the next girl.

I like them for their playlists and for their smarmy bartenders, who I’ll charm all night just to steal a crack of a smile. I like dive bars for the variety of cheap, frosty cans of beer at my disposal, including the occasional microbrew still poured at bargain prices. And I like that it’s perfectly acceptable to barrel through a dive bar’s doors, maybe without even a proper bath, sporting a dirty t-shirt and cutoff jorts, perched idly until the wee hours of the morning—so long as your server is tipped accordingly (read: generously), of course.

That said, what I truly love—and consider even more of a soul-quenching rarity—is the establishment that values its exquisitely crafted cocktails, beer and wines in the bar equally as important as the chef’s perfectly executed creations in the kitchen. If a restaurant can manage to achieve this delicate balance, all the while cultivating the lighthearted and sometimes unruly atmosphere of a dive bar, that is—for me— the synergistic crux of a neighborhood gem.

Smith Commons (1245 H St, NE) is in no way a dive bar. But it absolutely attains that coveted equilibrium and has been a welcome addition to the Atlas District, raising the [neighborhood] bar with its original and well-prepared
food and drinks in a comfortable, fun and relaxed setting.

Continues after the jump. (more…)

Photo by PoPville contributor Anya Dembling

Shawafel opened today (after a soft opening this weekend) at 11am at 1322 H St, NE. Their Facebook page says:

“I, Alberto Sissi, will be opening a Lebanese Cuisine on Monday, August 15, 2011 called Shawafel. Shawarma and Falafel quick served restaurant, the name comes from the two words combined “Shawafel”. We will be serving chicken, lamb and beef mixed Shawarma; the traditional Lebanese way which is made from scratch with my family’s secret sauce. All our meat will be bought from local farmers, cutting it, marinating it and then skewered on the vertical spit. Same goes for the chicken shawarma. We will be serving spreads such as: hummus and baba ghanoug. For salad options, we will have Tabouleh and Fattouch as served in Lebanon. A side from other vegetarian options, we will be serving a cauliflower sandwich that is topped with lettuce, tahini sauce, pickels and fries. For the night goers the french fries sandwich should be satisfying, it is a signature sandwich that we will be offering; the topping remains a secret.”

Photo by PoPville flickr user Nivad

Nivad writes about the soft opening:

“It was delicious.”

We previously spoke about Shawafel here.

Photo by PoPville contributor Anya Dembling