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Spacebar, Falls Church, Grilled Cheese, Tater Tots, and Lots of Draft Beers by the Owners of Galaxy Hut


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Now, it just so happens that neither one of them had particularly good coffee, so that's another issue (I heard from a non-industry friend, by the way, that some sort of wine cafe is opening in the old Stacy's place which would be awesome - no details, and I haven't confirmed).

The old Stacy's location is becoming Spacebar, second location from the owners of the Galaxy Hut (unless something has changed). More here on Facebook

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Spacebar opened on Friday night (June 1st). Mrs. DrX and I hit it for the first time tonight. At this time, they open at 5 and we got there about 5:50. We were able to get a table, but you may not be able to after about 6:30 or so. Spacebar is a cozy space, like Galaxy Hut, with a bar on one side and tables on the other. There are 8 tables of varying sizes, maybe, that seat 2-4 comfortably or 4-6 if you're close friends. There's no place for live music, which I'm fine with, and the music playing is at a reasonable level. The space does get loud, though, as the bar and tables fill up. There's no sound absorption anywhere to be seen. The beer list is great, with around 20 taps and some bottles/cans, plus wines/cider. Check out their Facebook page for the current beer list and menu. The food at this point is only grilled cheese sandwiches (some with meats or vegan options), tots and salads. I don't know if it'll get any more extensive or if this is the final plan. They say they'll start opening for lunch on weekends once they've settled in, but at this time it's a 21+ bar that opens at 5 every day. Cory behind the bar was great. My grilled cheese (#3) was just right and the tots were...well, tater tots. Good stuff, though. If I had to knock the tots it'd be that they weren't seasoned. +1's sandwich (#14) included roasted red pepper, bacon, feta and another cheese. The feta was mild and the bacon was skimpy, but the sandwich was serviceable. She said she wouldn't get it again, but I wouldn't hesitate to do so.

My only disappointment was that the Berliner Weiss they had available when they opened was tapped by the time we got there tonight. No worries, I had Boulevard's Tank 7 Saison and Lost Rhino's MIG, both of which were fantastic. Mrs. had Heavy Seas/Devil's Backbone Black Pilsner and Green Flash's Fizzy Yellow Pilsner. All good stuff.

Parking is shit, but there are 4 spaces in the back down the alleyway between the two buildings. I got lucky enough to get one of those.

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Hey!Iwastemptedtowritethefollowingreflectionswithoutusingthespacebar,butquicklyrealizedhowannoyingthatwouldbecome.

We parked on the adjacent street recently, and moonwalked* into Spacebar for my inaugural visit.

Super friendly staff, smiles and helpful suggestions from everyone behind the bar. The seats near the front window seemed spacious. At a venue like this however, dim light is best, so we wandered to the back.

Tasty vittles, prepared carefully, good use of hand gloves, proper icing of ingredients, other minor features frequently overlooked in an assembly/prep station. We tried the smoked salmon sandwich ($10-ish) with added avocado, and the hot dog with sauerkraut ($9) also with avocado. Large portions, flavorful ingredients, the rye bread carrying a bit less moisture than I like but a tasty and satisfying meal. I've been spoiled with Del Ray Pizzeria's tater tots, they must use beef tallow or other animal fat. For that reason, the peanut oil here seemed a slight downgrade even though the salting was spot on.

San Diego's Green Flash IPA for both of us, a shout out to my sister's current hometown. And I've seen that green flash once, only once, a special moment this East Coast sunrise watcher may never forget.

Laid back environment, clean, friendly, and a super place to catch up with an old friend on a Thursday night. Falls Church, you luck out once again.

<tip for the thread tags>

<add "space bar" with a space>

<it took me a metric forever to find this thread>

*'cuz it was THRILLER, quite a show for the people walking by.

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<tip for the thread tags>

<add "space bar", with a space>

<it took me a metric forever to find this thread>

I don't put names in the tags - it *is* Spacebar (one word), n'est-ce pas?

21-and-over after x o'clock, x=?

Still all grilled cheese, or were yours something other than that?

Do you know the name of the holding company?

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I don't put names in the tags - it *is* Spacebar (one word), n'est-ce pas?

21-and-over after x o'clock, x=?

Still all grilled cheese, or were yours something other than that?

Do you know the name of the holding company?

The proper name is Spacebar one word, and you'd increase the ability for users to find this thread if you added the tag. I doubt I'm the only one who has searched for it via "space bar"; it's a reasonable, understandable, and likely to be frequent mistake. If you want to leave a better trail of bread crumbs with a simple intervention, add the tag. If you'd rather the burden be on the user to recall the exact name, that's OK, also. Fortunately, someone typo'd in the Galaxy Hut thread, which is how I discovered this thread, but miracle of miracles I checked again this morning. I've typed "space bar" so many times now, this thread now rises to the top of the resulting listing. Muahahha issue resolved.

The sign on the door noted the policy is still 21 and over, opening time 5PM. And still all grilled cheese, tots, and salad. And mood-enhancing, not too loud, groovy music.

Not sure who the holding company is...

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Using the dining guide (assuming it's bookmarked) takes exactly one Click + one Find: less than five seconds.

1) Click

2) CMD-F (on a Mac)

3) Type text

4) Return

And you're there - no way a search is faster than that. Plus, you have both the thread and the website at your fingertips.

You have to go into the individual (DC MD VA multiple) area first. That's an extra step. If I am looking for a specific restaurant, I search within the restaurants forum. (It's usually the last thread that comes up or near the end). If I'm looking for something in a certain geographic area, I might go into the dining guide for the particular subarea. If I don't know exactly where a restaurant is (many VA and MD towns sound alike to me), I search the restaurants forum rather than trying multiple subareas. Not everyone is aware of where a specific restaurant is located.

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I stopped by Spacebar last night and had a #11, House Tuna Salad ($8.50) with Provolone and Swiss on Rye, and it was good - they grill the tuna salad on the flattop before doing anything else, so it's a variation on a tuna melt that stays hot the entire time it's in front of you (i.e., the heat is radiating from both inside and out).

What's more impressive than the sandwiches is the selection of draft beers - there are twenty-four (yes, 24!) taps of North American craft(-ish) beer, some of them very interesting and not all that common around here. They're reasonably priced, and what I tried was in very good condition.

They don't fill growlers at Spacebar, but they do something even more unique: They sell any of their 24 beers in 16-ounce Mason jars, up until midnight, for the same price as it costs in the restaurant. Each mason jar requires a $1 deposit, but if you bring it back in, they'll refill it without you having to pay that dollar a second time. A "poor-man's growler," if you will, so if you want just one more beer before going to sleep for the evening, but don't want to drive after having it, just take one home, and you'll have your very own Mason jar to boot.

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We made our way to Space Bar on Saturday.  It's one of the places we've been meaning to get to but haven't until now.  I contemplated several sandwiches, included the tuna that Don had.  I settled on the Turkey, Avocado and Havarti, a very comforting sandwich.  Jim got the roast beef with sharp cheddar and horseradish mayo.  He added banana peppers to the sandwich which helped cut the richness of the sandwich while adding another layer of zing.

I agree with Don that the tap selection was pretty darn good.  We opted for several smaller glasses of beer to let us get more variety.  Jim went mostly with the hoppy varieties while I stuck with the dark beers.  Had you told me a year ago that not only would I like dark beer but would order it more often than any other, I'd have laughed at you. Honest, just ask Jim.

Would we go back?  Probably, especially the next time we get a hankering for a solidly made sandwich, tots and a cold beer.

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