Cloud (9?)

What used to be the old Savino, Cloud (http://www.clouddining.com/index.htm) is now a restaurant/ lounge bar/ dance place that gets pumping late nights. Perhaps it was the changing multi-colored lights and the white curtains that prevented us from checking the place out for months since it became Cloud in spite of being right in the building I work in (One Dupont Circle). A few months ago we decided to check it out and had a fun enough experience the first time to return back there.

Both times Cloud had fun music and the place was quite full even at 8 pm with well dressed people. The waiters are all dressed in white and the bartenders are quite efficient—they sure know how to make a good martini! I loved the butterscotch martini (good for people who like sweet drinks) a bit expensive at $9 a glass. Big Head enjoyed her blood orange cosmo at $8 a glass saying it was “amazing, very refreshing.” The website claims they have happy hour specials with $3 shooters and champagne Fridays thought that might have changed.

The bar area near the front entrance attracts a slightly older crowd. Last night there was a group of Latinas celebrating a bachelorette party. It was fun to see the male stripper do his thing while the ladies (and some males) cheered on. The dance floor located at the back attracts a much younger crowd and that gets packed by midnight with people bumping and grinding to hip hop and other popular dance tracks. The first night we went there one of our 30 + year old friends, a successful doctor was rejected outright by a girl who told him he was too old and remarked she would be turning 19 years next week! That same night we were quite scandalized by the scantily clad youngsters they continued to bump and grind with every person they encountered on their floor.

All in all, it’s a good place to get dressed up and party. But if you don’t have the energy to pretend like you’re below 25 years, sit by the main bar and enjoy the martinis while you people watch. Cloud has a $10 cover charge although ladies get in free before 10:30 pm but the bouncers are open to negotiation regarding women. Last night for instance they allowed 2 girls and one guy in for just $10. They also have valet parking which is convenient since Dupont circle can be a pain to find parking.

Hullabaloo about IndeBleu

For about a year now Shrek and I have been wanting to check out IndeBleu (http://www.bleu.com/restaurant.html). We had tried for reservations several times including valentine’s day but could never get a decent time on Open Table. Finally to celebrate Shrek’s new job, we settle to have dinner an hour earlier than usual and headed to Chinatown to have some French-Indian fusion cuisine at 6:30 p.m. last Friday.

The restaurant was larger than the façade let on. There was a bar area as you entered. To the left was a lounge area (with a tapas style menu but apparently requires a minimum one bottle order to get a table there). The upstairs restaurant area had one large room and another smaller room (looked like a good place for private parties).

We were pleased to learn there was a prix-fixe 3 course option for $49 + tax. They also had a $75 chef’s tasting menu with an all vegetarian menu for $65. Since the entrees were alone as expensive as $24 a piece, we decided to go for the 3 course option. We were pleasantly surprised with the complementary aperitifs – a vegetarian salad for me and a lobster bisque for Shrek, both very good. We nibbled on the delicious naan drizzled with olive oil and herbs brought while we waited for our first course. My wild mushroom confit with dosa was interesting though being a dosa connoisseur from South India, I thought the rice crepe fell below par. Shrek was pretty satisfied with his tandoori shrimp appetizer. I felt my entrée a falafel like chickpea pattie stuffed with paneer (or cottage cheese) was a bit dry and ordinary tasting though I enjoyed the hint of saffron in the sauce that accompanied the platter. Shrek’s sea bass was also nothing rave about. We were both very pleased with our delicious desserts—spaghetti shaped saffron ice cream served with gulab jamuns (cottage cheese fried balls in rose syrup) and the most decadent chocolate moose. Along with a beer and cappuccino, the meal came to around $125, add 20% tip and its about $150--not your regular Friday night dinner!

While IndeBleu was worth checking out, neither of us felt the burning desire to return. It seemed quite easy to get a table between 6:30 p.m. and 7.30 p.m. and appeared to be very busy by 9.30 p.m. We definitely want to go back there for drinks with friends, about $8-$10 for mixed drinks though we will need to be prepared to stand as it gets packed on weekends.

Science Club--better than 18th street Lounge ?
Situated on 19th street & L, next to Luigis (where Star of Siam used to be) Science club is a cool new lounge bar that is located over 3 floors. We chose to occupy a cozy booth in the basement bar--the most comfortable spot on that floor. The basement has its own entrance to the left of the main entrance and is simply marked "Bar". The two floors above are brighter and more spacious, the first floor has a little room with tables at the back and chairs and is a good place to hang out with a group. However our friends seemed to prefer the basement. Big Head remarked the basement had a medieval feel but yet was cozy. The bathrooms are located in the basement though I suspect the single stalls for men and women could be an issue on a crowded night.

We were greeted by a very friendly person (substituting momentarily for our waitress) who sat down besides us and told us of the happy hour specials--$3 yuenglings and $4 rail drinks which last till 8:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. We were surprised to learn that the menu was mediterranean. Shrek was pleased with his order of chick pea salad that was a healthy portion for $7. Our waitress allowed us to have several tabs instead of just one for the group which made settling the bill easy!

We loved the music was similar to the eighteenth street lounge. The owner Steve Maguire was formerly the manager of ChiCha lounge and helped set up Gazuza in Dupont circle. At 5.30 pm on a Tuesday evening the 3 floors were pretty empty but when we left at 7.30 it was beginning to pick up. I've heard it gets quite busy especially on the weekends-- the Washington Post says "Tables are hard to come by on weekends, and the dance floor fills as DJs spin forward-looking dubstep and broken beat records. "

While I don't think Science Club is even trying to replace ESL, its nice that DC now has someplace new with good music. It's definitely worth check out as there is no cover charge-- even on the weekends!