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Destination Wedding (Formerly 2 Birds 1 Stone) - Cocktail Lounge Below Doi Moi, Owned by Fat Baby, Inc.


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Not sure if there is, or if there should be, a separate thread for 2 Birds 1 Stone. So I'll post here. You enter on S Street, down a discretely marked staircase. Great looking space, short but interesting cocktail list. Between the two of us we had four drinks, and loved all of them. This is a great addition to the 14th Street corridor.

No food now, not sure about the future.

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Three of us walked up from Le Diplomate to 2 Birds, 1 Stone last week for a nightcap. Having never seen Doi Moi, and approaching it on foot from the south, my first impression while still a half-block away was: this is way too bright inside (I never did walk in; so this was literally just a passing thought).

One friend, who had been to 2 Birds, 1 Stone previously, replied, as we were about to walk down the stairs to it, "I have a feeling you're going to think this is too bright also."

Yes. It's clear that this space represents what could have been the world's biggest storage closet; instead, they painted the concrete, put a couple clever frescos (well, "fresco" might be a stretch) on the wall, and spent quite a bit of money on lighting - the lighting system in here is fairly complex for such a place, but I do hope it comes with a dimmer switch and that they consider using it. I suspect they're trying to make what could have been a gloomy space into a little beacon of happiness, but I think people will be more comfortable in a slightly dimmer atmosphere (and this is coming from someone who has criticized places like Pazo in the past for being so dark that I couldn't even read the menu). There's a happy medium somewhere.

But this is all periphery. The one fixture in 2 Birds, 1 Stone that really matters is Adam Bernbach, and he was there on this evening.

My go-to cocktail, as long as a bar doesn't use Rose's lime juice (which is gross), is straight out of a post-depression gin joint: the Gimlet. When I order a Gimlet, and the bartender says, "gin or vodka," that sends warning bells clanging (mostly about the clientele). I want gin, and I want fresh lime juice.

The Gimlet ($10) wasn't on the menu at 2 Birds, 1 Stone, and I didn't ask Adam, "*Can* you make me a Gimlet?"; I asked him, "*Will* you make me a Gimlet?" Knowing he was there, I didn't need to ask if he knew how to make it, there was little doubt that he'd be using fresh lime juice (or at least something other than Rose's), and there was no "gin or vodka?" moment. "Of course," he said.

And wow, this was *it*. Bone dry, with no gratuitous simple syrup (which so many places do), this was Smooth Ambler Greenbriar Gin, fresh lime juice, and (if I remember correctly), the barest hint of house-made cordial, so subtle that I didn't detect it. All I know is that this was the Gimlet of my dreams, perfectly executed. And I got a second one, too.

One of us enjoyed the only draft beer, Stillwater Cellar Door ($6), a Belgian-styled Farmhouse Ale (Witbier) brewed by Stillwater Artisanal in Baltimore, and the other got what was perhaps the cocktail of the night (CON): a Pií±a Colada - yes, a Pií±a Colada, and one which I've never before experienced: this was towards the dry side, and was so complex that I was in disbelief. Note to self: get back to 2 Birds, 1 Stone and have a Bernbachian Pií±a Colada ASAP. A friend also had an Old Pal ($12) - (Canadian?) Whiskey, Vermouth, and Campari - which I took one sip of and enjoyed.

For my last drink, I asked Adam for "Rye and dry," and let him make whatever he wanted to make. He came up with yet another near-perfect cocktail: rye (I'm not sure which type), Bonal Gentiane Quinquina, and Celery Bitters.

2 Birds, 1 Stone will only be as good as its bartenders, and I suppose one day Adam will no longer be there full-time (how could he be, with Proof, Estadio, and Doi Moi to oversee?). But as long as he's there, it is a glorious watering hole, one to be enjoyed *now* and not later. Call before you go, and see if he's working. I'm not saying other bartenders there can't fill in; merely that it's a sure-thing if Adam is there.

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Don, I did the reverse commute this evening with a friend and started at 2B1S and ended at Le Diplomate.

Even though Adam was not working, I will say that the Oregano Boulevardier is outstanding. This may arouse skepticism, but I thought the earthiness of the oregano-infused bourbon was a terrific complement to the remaining flavors of this drink.

That one drink I had was enough to inspire a future visit.

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The Gimlet I had last night at 2 Birds.1 Stone was nothing like the Gimlet they served me later upstairs at Doi Moi (where I was asked if I  wanted gin or vodka), and I mean that in a good way.  Almost two completely different drinks.  This place can get loud.

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Went there last night with Kara Newman and Amber Pfau (note: Amber picked up the bill, and she's a publicist for it - I was invited by Kara to join them). Adam was working.

The menus were gorgeous, the drinks delicious, I didn't think it was that bright down there, and we split some appetizers - fried dumplings, spring rolls, spicy cashews. I let Kara and Amber order (as I "wasn't hungry" until the food showed up) but since I haven't been to Doi Moi, I can't say if it was the same menu or not.

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FYI Two birds one Stone has been closed and a new bar has opened in its location - Destination Wedding (no web site yet) 

The theme is individual sitting areas made up like various destination wedding sites and a 'feel' of a wedding reception, dancing and drinking.

We met a friend there last night because in the past we have enjoyed mezcal from their bar manger Robin Miller (Formerly of Espita Mezcaleria) .

The drink service is very fast, many drinks are nitroginated and served on draft.  All drinks are a play on something common but a step up - sort of a way to get people only familiar with basic drinks to take a step up.  I had a 'Pretty in Pina' play on a frozen pina colada, a 'J Rickey' described as Mojito Lite and a 'Coco Margo' their house margarita with Lime Salt foam.  Hubby had a Negroni Nitroni.    We had a good time - definitely a place to hang out with friends and have a good cocktail vs a interact with craft bartender mixing your drink type of bar.   We will be back.

Happy hour is usually pretty packed but being a Wednesday with federal workers off it was fairly quiet until about 8

Washington Post article

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On 12/6/2018 at 10:10 AM, StarStraf said:

FYI Two birds one Stone has been closed and a new bar has opened in its location - Destination Wedding (no web site yet) 

As far as I'm aware, Estadio, Max Kuller (and Adam Bernbach) have split off from Fat Baby, Inc., the corporation that still owns Proof and Doi Moi. So, even though there has been an enormous shakeup, Fat Baby, Inc., still owned 2 Birds 1 Stone, and Destination Wedding is a reconcepting of that space (someone please tell me if I'm wrong).

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