bar quirks

oddly enough, there are funky, quirky things going on in some d.c. bars. and what makes them cool is that these bars are making no attempt whatsoever to be cool.

my two favorite bar quirks so far are:

(1) hard boiled eggs at BOBBY VAN'S - the first time i went to bobby van's for drinks, i noticed a rack of hard boiled eggs with a salt shaker sitting on the bar next to a group of people and thought, "wow! someone likes hard boiled eggs as much as i do." so, of course, i was fixated on the rack of eggs sitting untouched before me. finally, it occurred to me that maybe those eggs were up for grabs. hesitantly, i asked a guy in the group, "you guys gonna eat those?" nope. it turned out that bobby van's has racks hard boiled eggs out on the bar like other places have peanuts. they are for everyone!! i've since learned that this is a very old, traditional bar snack but i can't seem to find any info about it on-line. if anyone knows the real history behind hard boiled eggs as bar snacks, please educate me.

(2) drink mixing at DAN'S - in general, i don't go out to bars and restaurants so i can prepare my own food and drinks. i want someone else to do it for me and do it well. that's why i'm paying. duh. when it comes dive bars, though, i take what i can get. despite being on the nasty strip of 18th in adams morgan, dan's is a chill little space with no pretense and, on the night i went, no frat boys. they also take a do-it-yourself approach to mixed drinks. let's say you ordered a vodka tonic. instead of getting the usual glass of ice with a little vodka, a lot of tonic and a lime wedged on the top of your glass, the bartender at dan's gives you a mini-bucket of ice, a glass full of vodka, a 10oz bottle of tonic, a small bowl of lime wedges and empty glasses. you mix your own drink as you like! dan's rocks.