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Axis Bar and Grill, U Street Corridor - Closed.


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on saturday night a friend called to invite me to join a group having cocktails at axis. i arrived after the kitchen closed so i cannot comment on the food. what i am happy to report is that the space is gorgeous, the beers varied and interesting, and the staff friendly.

the space is dominated by the exposed brick walls. i remembering being shocked when i learned that adamstein & demetriou were the architects as this place was more subtle and soft than sizzle and bling. the wall behind the bar has two flat screens, not so much a bonus in my mind but surely appeals to some.

eggenberger pils, and red seal ale are two of the dozen beers on tap. i don't remember any of the others but i am looking forward to having dinner there and sampling the other malted adult beverages. the menu appears to be similar to st. ex - very good comfort food reasonably priced.

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Any other recent reports? I might check Axis out tonight.

i tried to have dinner there on wednesday night but i arrived too late and had to settle for a beer or two. i did spend a bit of time reviewing the wine list. 6 whites and 6 reds by the glass, and another 12 / 15 bottle selections. it was certainly not ambitious (almost exclusively new world, large production wines) but i also think that it was priced fairly and there were a couple of bottles worth ordering.

my sober examination of the menu and conversation with the bartender mary left me wanting to return for dinner but with lowered expectations. upon further reflection, and spending time there without a bottle of burgundy appetizer, i wish to retract the comparison to st. ex. the menu is less ambitious than chef seaver's food. the more apropriate comparison is two doors down at creme.

anyway, i still haven't eaten anything here but i have plans to have dinner at the bar on wednesday.

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We had a very pleasant dinner here on Saturday. They're not doing anything particularly innovative food-wise, but there's a lot to be said for simple things done well. I had the cream of carrot soup, which was remarkably light for a cream-based soup, and had just a hint of cumin, and a tomato and mozzarella salad. Yes, tomatoes are out of season, but they did pretty well with what was available, and the balsamic-fennel vinaigrette worked really well with the cheese.

The spouse had a grilled portobello with blue cheese, and a burger. I'm assured that the mushroom was good, and the burger and fries were both entirely acceptable - non-greasy fries, and caramelized onions on the burger.

The real standout, though, was the dessert - poached figs in a light custard. They somehow managed to get all the flavor of Christmas pudding with custard, which tastes great but is slightly denser than your average neutron star, into an infinitely less dense and far more appetizing form. I'd go back just for this - although having a reliable source of Dry Blackthorn on tap is a definite bonus.

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I've never seen a bar with a greater discrepancy between draft-beer and bottled-beer selections than Axis. Fifteen beers are currently being offered on tap, many of which are worth ordering - Dogfish Head, Hofbrau Dunkel, Weihenstephan, and Oberon are just a few. However, the flowing descriptions of the beers appear to be culled from the breweries' own literature, and read more like propaganda than useful information.

Here are the six beers they're serving in bottle:

1. Heineken

2. Heineken Light

3. Amstel Light

4. Corona

5. Miller Lite

6. Kaliber (non-alcoholic).

The two-page menu is unappealing and poorly written - the four different fish are offered cooked one of three ways: gilled (Gilled!), blackened, and au-poivre. I was somewhat tempted to order a blackened whole trout, but decided to just ask for the check, which came to $6.49 for a glass of Old Speckled Hen, inexplicably served in a frosted mug.

I handed the bartender a $10, and he asked me, "Do you want some change?"

What I thought: "No, of course not - what better use of my money could there possibly be other than to leave you a 52% tip?"

What I said: "Just a dollar, please."

That said, he was a nice guy, and had previously given me a taste of a beer I didn't order. Although I suspect this place gets packed on weekends, I'd come here again for a draft on a quiet evening.

But tonight I owed Creme a repeat visit.

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I've never seen a bar with a greater discrepancy between draft-beer and bottled-beer selections than Axis.

I wish more bars would adopt this policy: save the draft lines for good stuff, and keep the crappy beers in bottle (if you must for financial reasons).

And agreed that the beer descriptions are odd. It's clear somebody knows what they're doing on the beer ordering side, so it doesn't make much sense that the descriptions are as copy/pasted as they are. Maybe the beer lists were printed up in a hurry around opening time and they haven't had a chance to re-print them. I'd vote for non-laminated copies next time...it's hard/expensive to keep your beer list up-to-date when it requires a re-print and re-laminate every time you switch out a beer.

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They updated the beer list but I forgot to re-read the list to see if the descriptions were any more useful. The list was already out of date (it still listed Bell's Hopslam, which I didn't see on draft and I assume has been gone for a couple weeks).

The burger, not so much. Especially when the bill comes and you realize you just barely missed the happy hour price (with cheese, $9 instead of $7). The fries are pretty awful too: someone tell the guys in the kitchen that excessive use of pepper does not make the texture suck less. I think I will stick to beer here unless I hear the food has taken a turn for the better. Maybe the pastas are good? Maybe?

Still, it's a very enjoyable tap list, better than most in the area. If I was drinking tonight I would have really enjoyed a few of their taps.

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I wish more bars would adopt this policy: save the draft lines for good stuff, and keep the crappy beers in bottle (if you must for financial reasons).

And agreed that the beer descriptions are odd. It's clear somebody knows what they're doing on the beer ordering side, so it doesn't make much sense that the descriptions are as copy/pasted as they are. Maybe the beer lists were printed up in a hurry around opening time and they haven't had a chance to re-print them. I'd vote for non-laminated copies next time...it's hard/expensive to keep your beer list up-to-date when it requires a re-print and re-laminate every time you switch out a beer.

When this place opened, they really emphasized the food. There was a sign out front, I remember, bragging about the best burger in DC or something like that. I had a decent meal there a few times, and remember tables being mostly full. I don't know what caused what, but the crowds soon left and the food got a lot worse, and now Axis mainly just emphasizes the bar. But I agree, they do have a pretty decent beer selection on tap. Too bad about the food, though...

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Surprised no one has yet opened a thread on Bistro La Bonne. It recently opened in the nondescript place at 1340 U st where Axis was formerly. There has been practically no press on this, so it looks like they are trying to slide into their opening.

Thanks for the information, Rieux. For the record, Axis Bar and Grill closed in late December.

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