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The Good Silver (Formerly Kangaroo Boxing Club), CHE - PORC Refugees on 11th Street in the Former Acuario Space - Closed


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Of the new crop of restaurants on Columbia Heights' 11th Street strip, I've been to Kangaroo Boxing Club the most--four times. This isn't by design, but it's easy, comfortable, welcoming, and has enough high points that it's easy to look past the weak ones.

The pastrami, for instance. I'm no expert, but this is by far the best I've ever had. I mean, outstanding, off-the-charts, off-the-hook terrific. The rye bread holds up to it and I don't know how it's possible, but the mustard makes it all even better. Seriously: get the pastrami.

I'm not as wild about the other meats. The Smokey Joe is okay--too much, too strong, too salty sauce mixed with over-shredded beef that's only remarkable if you get a couple of the awesome smoky end pieces in the mix. The chocolate BBQ on the pulled chicken is also pretty spicy, and the chicken is fine. I don't remember much about the pulled pork (not a good sign, but it was a couple of months ago) except that I couldn't really find a sauce I liked--I think they all were too spicy for me*--and the bottom bun was soaked through with grease. I clearly need to give it another go. Those sandwich buns are good though.

The beans vex me. They vex me so. The first time they were amazing; the second time they tasted like someone had spilled a bottle of vinegar on them; the third time, amazing again; the fourth time vinegar again, plus something else not so good. What the hell? Seems to me that we've got two chefs making two different recipes, and it makes me sad because I've clearly got a 50-50 chance of getting a ramekin of yuck, and those odds just aren't fair.

But when they're done right, the beans are the best side on the menu, along with the johnny cakes. The mac and cheese is pretty darn good, and the greens and salad are run-of-the-mill. The garlic fries are nice, but it's the dipping sauce that makes them dangerously addictive.

I think they only have three beer taps, but they're stocked with good stuff (the Redtober and Mojo are my recent faves) so I haven't explored the bottles. I stay away from the cocktails, which, even when on special, just aren't that well made.

The service is across the board terrific, but the joint is seriously tiny. The bar has been full pretty much every time I've been in, and every seat in the place tends to be taken by 6:30.

*Is BBQ usually this spicy? I'm sort of on the mild-to-medium end of the spectrum, but I was surprised that every sauce was so firey. Sigh. Guess I'll have to stick with the pastrami (poor me!).

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My first impression on walking in was "Oh, God, the assholes have discovered Columbia Heights." You know, baggy shorts, backwards baseball hats, frat boy vibe despite the fact that they're pushing 30. On the other hand, the help was pretty friendly and the bartender and I had the same tattoo. Didn't try the food but it looked tasty and with quertyy's recco I'll have to go back, when I'm in a rowdier sort of mood.

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My first impression on walking in was "Oh, God, the assholes have discovered Columbia Heights." You know, baggy shorts, backwards baseball hats, frat boy vibe despite the fact that they're pushing 30. On the other hand, the help was pretty friendly and the bartender and I had the same tattoo. Didn't try the food but it looked tasty and with quertyy's recco I'll have to go back, when I'm in a rowdier sort of mood.

What does one wear in order to be deemed not an asshole? I guess I just dont like generalizations. I wear shorts that are baggy and sometimes, if the mood strikes me, I turn my hat backwards. Guess I'm an asshole. Or is it only if I'm at a bar in Columbia Heights?

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I am wearing baggy shorts at this moment.

When an establishment starts to feel like Delta Tau Delta (or Adams-Morgan) on a Friday night, and it appears that spontaneous beer pong is about to break out on the middle of the bar, then there's a strong possibility that assholery is about. Characteristics include overloud drunkenness, ostentatious masculinity, playing horrible songs on the jukebox and knocking into you while you're carrying beer without noticing. For better or for worse, this behavior is is often undertaken by those dressed as noted above, particularly once a critical mass has been reached.

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The beans vex me. They vex me so. The first time they were amazing; the second time they tasted like someone had spilled a bottle of vinegar on them; the third time, amazing again; the fourth time vinegar again, plus something else not so good. What the hell? Seems to me that we've got two chefs making two different recipes, and it makes me sad because I've clearly got a 50-50 chance of getting a ramekin of yuck, and those odds just aren't fair.

Oh KBC beans. Why you gotta do me like you do?

Fifth time was NOT the charm. In fact, in the spectrum of extremes I've experienced--which runs from Perfect Amount of Vinegar to Holy Cats Who Spilled the Vinegar in the Beans--it was exactly in the middle. Just a little too vinegary to be good.

I think they see me coming and do this on purpose.

On the bright side, if you're wolfing down a whole delectable pastrami sandwich along with half your brother's johnny cakes, you probably don't need to eat your whole side of beans.

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this is one of my favorite BBQ joints in DC! I love the duck with the blackberry carmelized onions as well as the brisket with the delicious side of horseradish sauce. The pulled pork is always a good option too-very tender and I like that you can put your own sauce on once it's served. The goat was also delicious when I had it, and I loved the curry blend of spicing. I've had both the jalapeno cheddar and the bacon gorgonzola mac and cheeses, and my preference is the jalapeno. It has a nice kick and was very cheesy. The fries are fresh cut-which is always a plus. I also appreciate that the house salad is a bit unique for a typical house salad as it is topped with feta, pecans, and dried cherries. The beer list is always solid too!

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20 minutes ago, Rieux said:

Closing.  The food is terrible.  The barstaff is great.  My competitive karaoke team has been competing there for years, and it was much loved in that karaoke league.  It was a great place to see local bands.  But, no loss on the food...

Speaking of which, Kangaroo Boxing Club was slated to close on Dec 31, 2016, and indeed it is closed.

Which is really a shame, because this thread contains one of our all-time greatest quotes:

The beans vex me. They vex me so.

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But they will be re-opening (soon) as "The Good Silver." No more BBQ, but I like what I have heard of the plans. I miss KBC though.

So, they opened last week, Tuesday. We stopped in on Friday.

4 of us. Short menu. So we managed to try much of the drink menu, the beer list, and the food menu. 

It was good. Food was tasty, drinks were good, and service was nice. We were especially impressed that it was not a mess in opening week. And we all love what they have done to the space.

Now let me admit to bias. We've been customers since I used to go to the Porc truck, and all of us who went together live in the neighborhood and enjoy having food and drink walkable. We like all the partners in the place. Still, I think we can tell good food from bad. And it was good.

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9 hours ago, Gadarene said:

What was the favorite thing your group ordered, saf?

Hm. The fried chicken and the BLT were both quite tasty. The baba ghanouj fritter comes highly recommended, but only 2 of us will eat it, so we didn't get that. The hush puppies were quite good - my husband the hush puppy hater didn't like them, but the rest of us did, even the one who is very picky about hush puppies. The chips and dip were excellent.

The shrub cocktails were excellent. The beer list is good, but short. We very much want to try out the punch. That's next time.

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