Takoda, American, Beer Garden, and Whisky Bar on Florida Ave. and 8th Street NW in Shaw

[adjen]

I've never started a thread before, but I searched for Takoda and didn't find a thread, and we had a fantastic experience there tonight, so I wanted to let folks know. If this is in the wrong place, please forgive me. A mom and dad and seven year old girl looking for somewhere fun on a bonus weekend night. Loved the idea of beers and whiskies, plus a food menu that sounded like the chef cared. It hit on all cylinders. We all were excited. Great beers on tap (24) and a spot-on Old Fashioned with a beer syrup. They offer wings and cauliflower florets with the same choices of sauce; PB&J bbq sauce, Old Bay seasoning, and Parmesan Garlic. We got the cauliflower with parm garlic and fought each other over it. Perfect texture between crispy and with some give, and the sauce was awesome. Iceberg salad was good -- the crispy onions were excellent -- but needed some more dressing. The Mac and cheese was pretty perfect in my book. Real cheese taste, al dente pasta, and some pepper heat. Cheesy but not creamy, which is how I like it. Got it with chicken for a little protein. Salmon cakes were nicely seasoned and full of salmon, not filler. Nice crunch of corn with it. My husband got shrimp and grits and polished it off.  I didn't taste it, but it looked good. Interestingly, it had a dark sauce, kind of roux looking. Had fruity pebbles ice cream at server's suggestion. Was skeptical when ordering, but it was fantastic. Very cool space with window tables overlooking Florida, plus cozy high booths and a long bat. There is also a rooftop beer garden, which looked fantastic on a quick glance, but we didn't eat up there (though lots of folks were). 

[TedE]

Just a note: this place is 8th and Florida Ave NW, nowhere near Gallaudet (right next to Howard U., though).

I've been meaning to check out the space because the roof deck looks nice and they have a pretty varied beer selection.  Good to know the food is more than an afterthought, lots of new places to check out in this little corner of "North Shaw" or whatever the current condo marketing designation of choice is ....

[DonRocks]

On 9/6/2016 at 11:55 AM, TedE said:

Just a note: this place is 8th and Florida Ave NW, nowhere near Gallaudet (right next to Howard U., though).

I've been meaning to check out the space because the roof deck looks nice and they have a pretty varied beer selection.  Good to know the food is more than an afterthought, lots of new places to check out in this little corner of "North Shaw" or whatever the current condo marketing designation of choice is ....

[My fault - I was the one who mapped the address.]

Now if I can just figure out what the hell that neighborhood is called.

[saf]

2 hours ago, DonRocks said:

[My fault - I was the one who mapped the address.]

Now if I can just figure out what the hell that neighborhood is called.

8th and Fl NW? Shaw.