Exploring DC- Adams Morgan, Dupont Circle, Golden Triangle

Hey y’all. I’m Ben H. Next fall I will be a senior at the University of Chicago (where the fun comes to die) where I major in Political Science and Arabic. This week, the interns took to the streets to find out where the DC hotspots are for college-age students. Hannah and I combined our forces and did some exploring around Dupont Circle, Adams Morgan and the Golden Triangle.

Here’s what happened.


Despite the near lethal combination of DC humidity and stuffy business casual attire, our day of exploring DC was both productive and a lot of fun. Leaving work at a quarter to twelve, we hopped on the Red Line (which was still crowded and chaotic from the previous day’s tragic events) to Farragut North stop. We were pleasantly surprised to find ourselves in the heart of the Golden Triangle’s lunchtime rush. While most of the crowd was definitely older and more professional, the neighbourhood is littered with nice restaurants (The Palm), Cheap Eats (Chipotle, Starbucks) and bars (including one ‘gentleman’s club’—sadly we ran out of time to visit).

We started our quest to find a location for the July 1st event at Vapiano, a restaurant and bar, which seemed to have a pretty good happy hour special. At first, we were a little shy and the waitress was confused what we were asking for, but eventually we met with the manager who was gracious enough to show us the space. It was a nice, but the crowd seemed to be a little “yuppier” and more up-scale than we were originally looking for. Plus, they have this weird card system, where everything you buy gets put onto a card, and you ‘close out your balance’ when you leave. It felt like the DC Professional Equivalent of Dave & Busters or Chuck E. Cheese. Even though we decided not to go with Vapiano, it was still a great place to start because the manager was enthusiastic and honest about what they could provide us with.

Next, we hit up MadHatter, the DC location of a chain that also has a location in Montreal. The contrast to Vapiano was pretty jarring. This was definitely an older crowd’s dive bar. We found no fancy napkins or matchboxes; just an elderly bartender who directed us to ‘Mickey’ upstairs. While we waited for the aforementioned Mickey, we took sometime to survey the surroundings. Beer-stained floor? Check. Dim lighting? Check. Huge burger platters? Check. The rapport between the servers and the few lunchtime customers suggested that this was the type of place where everybody knows your name. When Mickey showed up after a couple of minutes, he turned out to be gruff, no-nonsense, and delightfully blue-collar; exactly the type of person one might expect to own such a bar. Within 90 seconds, we had our Happy Hour location planned.
After leaving MadHatter, we perused some of the other bars and restaurants in the Golden Triangle, including Rumors and Porters, though neither lived up to the atmosphere and prices at Mickey’s establishment. Taking a moment to catch our breath, we stepped into Chipotle. If we wanted to meet as many interns in the District as possible, we would do well to open a burrito bar since the restaurant was packed with college students and young professionals. We also discovered that you can fax in your order to Chipotle. Perhaps in a couple months, they will add a BBM booth as well.

Leaving the Golden Triangle/ Farragut area, we ventured to Dupont circle where we did some productive people-watching, lunch-buying, and smoothie-drinking. One of the men at the park appeared to believe that the fountain was his personal shower. We spotted a couple groups that looked like interns, but mostly the area seemed to be dominated by the neighbourhood’s fabulously hip locals. Still, it was a great place for an impromptu picnic.
After lunch, we walked over to the DC Jewish Community Center at Q & 16th. While our contact (Jenna Ebhert) was out for the day, we managed to get a tour of the facilities. While the state of the art gym and sports facilities would appeal to the younger crowd, the membership price tag was a little unrealistic for your average summer intern. Still, their cultural events throughout the summer seem to appeal to a wide audience of non-members and members alike.

Leaving the JCC, we decided that we would check out Adams-Morgan, one of DC’s nightlife hotspots. On the way, we passed the Freemason Headquarters on 16th Street. When we noticed the “Free Tours” sign sitting casually outside the impressive neo-classical structure, we couldn’t resist. Once inside, we were treated to a fantastic 15-minute tour by a rising junior at GW and a prospective Freemason. We got a chance to marvel at the Italian marble in the upstairs ritual hall, and giggle as our guide got a little carried away educating us about the brotherhood’s secret symbols and meetings. By the end, our tour had devolved into a typical DC intern networking moment as we exchanged information and promised to find each other on Facebook.

Our afternoon ended with a lovely walk through Adams Morgan. We found the neighbourhood barren relative to the usual night time chaos. The hookah bars, Ethiopian restaurants, and ice cream parlours seemed like great spots to bring underage college students on a Friday or Saturday night. Sweating from the afternoon humidity, we decided that it was time to return to Dupont and meet up with the other interns.

Tonight we’re checking out the AIPAC Summer Seminar with Howard Kohr. Check back next week for the report