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Hogo, Rum, Latino, and Tropical Drinks Bar at 7th and L St NW, From the Owners of The Passenger, With Rotating Chefs - Closed Aug 2, 2014


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Any updates on whether Hogo will continue to be guest chefs vs fixed menu? I admit that I do like the rotating chefs bit, but I bet it's a pain for Tom to continually schedule.

Maybe these guys will take a turn in advance of their new bar opening up nearby?

The Washington City Paper had an article in Aug. about Hogo moving to a permanent menu in the fall because they were "running out of friends that are chefs."  The article said that they were going to do the Hawaiian menu for a while and then switch to a Caribbean and South American menu.  (The article did indicate there could be more guest chefs in the future.)

And in mid-Oct, they did switch from the Hawaiian menu to "dishes influenced by Caribbean, Central & South American Street Food" - Their tweet with picture of menu here.

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Happy One-Year Anniversary to Hogo, who celebrated the milestone on December 19th.

 

I walked up and saw, in the window, from behind, a familiar looking Spin Doctor. 

 

"˜Heh, that's Tom Brown manning the vinyl,' I smiled to myself.

 

I walked inside from the frigid cold, shook Tom's hand, and grabbed a seat at the bar, ready to warm up from the inside. My super-friendly bartender immediately took my order.

 

"I'll have a hot rum drink," I shivered.

 

There really is something deeply warming, at the soulular level, of a Hot Rum Cider ($10) - spiced rum, cider, lemon, sugar, spices, and "holiday cheer."

 

While I was gratefully sipping my hot rum, my bartender brought out some egg nog she had just made. "This is the first time I've ever made this," I heard her say to someone else, adding proudly, "˜And I have to say: it's really good!'

 

Guess what my next drink was? House Egg Nog ($10) with egg nog, rum, and "visions of sugar plumbs."

 

For the first time making a drink, she pretty much knocked it out of the park. This is another one of "those" drinks that I had to restrain myself from drinking too quickly, or from ordering about ten of them.

 

Hogo has apparently been serving a Pan-Latino menu for awhile now, and on this evening, it was to great success. I ran into a couple of friends at the bar, regulars at Hogo, and they highly recommended the conch fritters - that was good enough for me.

 

I don't know who's cooking at Hogo right now, but with all the fine Latino cooks in the area, it's always an encouraging sign to see Pan-Latino cuisine on a menu, and on this evening I batted two-for-two.

 

My first course was a Crawfish, Beans, and Cheese Pupusa ($4), and it was everything you'd want in a pupusa. Served with blissfully unsweet pickled slaw and a tomato dipping sauce, the crawfish added both a little taste of the river and a nice variation in texture. Of the two pupusas available, I was advised to get this one, and I'm glad I did.

 

Then I went with the Buí±uelos de Concha ($8) which, on their own, were possibly the best conch fritters I've ever had (having spent some time in the Keys and the Caribbean, I've had a lot of genuinely awful conch fritters). What put them over the top was the ingenious lemon remoulade dipping sauce, the lemon being a perfect counter-taste to the fritters. These were a wonderful surprise, especially considering that Hogo is primarily a drinking bar.

 

Tom Brown has a winning combination with this menu coupled with rum-based drinks, and I hope he stays with it. I also wish both Hogo (which is in Italic in the Dining Guide based on the strength of this meal) and The Passenger the best of luck with their upcoming lease situation.

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That's a real shame. I don't know why this city can't support more decent cocktail bars.

It can. Hogo was (I *think*) set up without permanence in mind. The important thing to remember is that Tom Brown made Hogo what it was, and not vice-versa.

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Agreed. I'm just speaking as a disappointed cocktail lover who will have nowhere to go for thoughtful and delicious tiki drinks after August. It's not about Hogo per se; it's just that I wish there were half a dozen more bars like Hogo so its closure doesn't leave such an absence on the DC cocktail scene.

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Agreed. I'm just speaking as a disappointed cocktail lover who will have nowhere to go for thoughtful and delicious tiki drinks after August. It's not about Hogo per se; it's just that I wish there were half a dozen more bars like Hogo so its closure doesn't leave such an absence on the DC cocktail scene.

I suspect there will be - the demand is there. This was a "construction thing," but yes, I feel your frustration. Amazingly, I've only been to Hogo once, but I really enjoyed myself there.

I just read the thread in News and Media about "tablets" at Applebees. Hogo was the *exact* opposite of that - it was wonderful.

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It can. Hogo was (I *think*) set up without permanence in mind. The important thing to remember is that Tom Brown made Hogo what it was, and not vice-versa. 

Hogo maybe, but Passenger? Although I realize that's still speculation at this point.

Between the chef change at District Kitchen, Palena and Pabu closing and now this I have really become aware that I need to make more of an effort to get to places in a timely fashion instead of expecting them to always be around. :( Except that that's incredibly difficult when you don't have time for a social life. :P

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With the construction and everything else, it was an open secret that time was perhaps limited. Of course, the fact that they haven't heard anything yet about Passenger (they're required to have at least 4 months notice) has been an on-going joke...

It looks like more places are doing tiki (or at least tiki-ish) drinks nowadays. It might be harder to find over the winter, but there'll be places.

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With the construction and everything else, it was an open secret that time was perhaps limited. Of course, the fact that they haven't heard anything yet about Passenger (they're required to have at least 4 months notice) has been an on-going joke...

It looks like more places are doing tiki (or at least tiki-ish) drinks nowadays. It might be harder to find over the winter, but there'll be places.

What SeanMike said. Redevelopment for that block has been well known. Random 6 month old article as an example. I have great appreciation for the Browns as businessmen (and purveyors of fine food and drink) (and people who have been very good to me). I think that we can all rest assured that they (like several other DR favorites who have experienced similar things) have foreseen this.

Common thought at the time - "Tom , you're leaving the Four Points and are going to do what with a crappy old row house on 9th Street?"

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Oh, I've known about the construction and Hogo's limited lifespan for ages. I just wish its absence won't be so keenly felt. It was the kind of neighborhoody cocktail bar (like, say, the Grotto bar at Dino's Grotto) that didn't require reservations and was seldom so packed you could hardly breathe, a lovely place to sit at the bar and enjoy two or six delicious drinks over a couple of hours. As cool as The Passenger or the Shaw trio of Brown joints are, they're usually so crowded that they don't quite fit this bill. And, of course, I have a longstanding love affair with tiki in particular, ever since I stumbled on the dearly departed PKNY in Manhattan a bum of years ago. :)

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If you have recommendations for good tiki places (i.e., not Dirty Martini), I'd love to hear them. :)

To be honest, I've seen a few press releases touting new tiki-related menus, but I really haven't been around to visit them (especially since getting diagnosed as diabetic - that can make tiki drinks problematic.)

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