arglennon

I, too, made a special trip to GSE today. I had coordinated a lunch with my family (wife, infant son) and my 85 year old father who metro-ed in from Rockville with my niece and her fiancée who just arrived from Denver. CLOSED -Hello?. Very annoying. Thanks for the notice on the website (or, something)!

Would anybody care to make a suggestion or two on a place to grab a cocktail before dinner at Komi? Hoping to find something that is walkable to/from. Thanks in advance. ag

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Antonio, I cannot wait to try your establishment--I truly beleive that everything trickles down from the top (especially with regard to hospitality)--and you have an attitude that is in such short supply nowadays. I think that you hit the "nail on the head." And that is: if you are, in fact, across the street from a sports arena, then you should except some amount of patronage from the patrons of said venue. Adding a little footnote to my original post--We came to be at IndieBleu because we met the group at the Potrait gallery for a drink and as some of the group was from out of town we were merely trying to extend, by small measure, the time we were able to spend with them (or, not spend with them), by trying to have a cocktail with them at IndieBleu, before their dinner there. ps-For those folks who were unaware, the Potrit gallery (on the 2nd Floor) has a lovely portico, which sells alchohol--not the greatest view or anything, but lovely nontheless (as my wife said, "how long do you think it will be before this turns into the purfunctory first date location?"). arg

Regards a bad experience at IndieBleu: My wife and I met five friend's (some of whom were from out of town) at IndieBleu for a cocktail (They had a rez for dinner) this past Saturday eve--we arrived there at about 7:15PM. The group: a couple in their seventies, a female couple in their forties and one young girl (Niece, granddaughter). All looked great, well dressed. Well, apparently everyone, but....me. I was in a pair of shorts. In my defense, I was wearing a nicely pressed button front shirt (Tucked in), Nantucket red shorts and white bucks-I was very presentable (if a little preppy) for Washington in the middle of August. Anyway, the hostess immediately informed us that I would not be allowed in as their "policy" strictly forbid shorts--I casually said that that was fine as we were just going to have a quick cocktail at the bar and then allow the rest of the party to go on with dinner. The hostess still refused. I was starting to get a little miffed at this point. The hostess was very nice and clearly embarrassed as she stated "I'm just the messenger." Both the group and I were embarrassed and my wife and I left after an awkward goodbye. Thinking back over thirty years of eating out, not only in my home base of DC for 30 years but all over the country (and other countries) and especially after having lived in New York for three years -I could not recall one single incident of being refused service in a restaurant due to my sartorial predilections (a hoity-toity club in NYC ,perhaps once). If I want to drink an over-priced 12 dollar specialty drink, doggoneit, I have the right to be comfortable. I do understand and respect the fact that there are some restaurants where you just wouldn't go in and eat in shorts: La Cirque, The Four Seasons (NYC) Citronelle, Roberto Donna's joints, Inn at little Washington, 1789 (though I have had a drink at the bar in shorts) to name a few. I don't think that I am being un-reasonable here. I just don't get it. I realize that a restaurateur has the right to refuse service to anyone--And, perhaps, in that neighborhood he has people in shorts issues (which he should have been aware of when he signed a lease) but in my opinion, when you alienate your demographic you are doing your business MUCH more harm than good. Not only will I never go back--I will do my best to steer groups of people away that suggest going there. It must be nice for him that in the weakest sales month of the year for restaurants he can afford to turn a way business. Further, this policy seems related to other service/attitude issues that are well-posted on several blogs/boards. As some other poster mentioned on another site: So much for a place that promised "no pretense, no attitude" when it opened. Yeah, so much! Heck, I'll just have to spend more time at Cafe Milano and drink those 16 dollar glasses of wine-they don't mind if I'm wearing shorts and they'll even let me wear a baseball cap as well, if I feel like it. Oh yeah, almost forgot. The party that we were with that actually got in said had a lovely (if somewhat expensive) meal. They were seated right next to a "hipster" with a ratty black t-shirt and "scruffy" jeans on--figure that. Thanks for letting me rant!