The Passenger - High-Quality, Low-Key Cocktail Bar near Mount Vernon Square

[DannyNoonan]

First visit to The Passenger last night and I was quite pleased. We were fortunate that it was a Tues night and there were seats at the bar and were thus able to chat with the bartenders. I didn't catch her name but the blond bartender was very nice and made me some excellent cocktails. It was a gin nigh for me so started with an Aviation - tart, but smooth with almost floral notes from the creme de violette. Then onto a Martinez, again perfectly concocted. I didn't see what kind of gin or vermouth she used but this was a fantastic drink. Then I got adventurous and asked her to make me something with gin, less sweet and more boozy. So, she made what I think she referred to as a Perfect Plymouth martini with Plymouth gin and I'm not sure what else but it was awesome. Soooo smooth. Finally, she made me a gin rickey which was like an awesome boozy limeade.

This place is great. The bartenders were all very nice, very knowledgable, and clearly very skillled at concocting drinks. If I lived closer, I would hang out here all the time.

[Dr. Delicious]

I was here the other night and enjoyed a few beers, as opposed to cocktails. Really interesting beer list. This is a great bar to just grab a couple beers with some friends, fancy (and delicious!) cocktails not necessary.

[JimRice]

More good media notices for Alexandra Bookless and the Passenger: Shaking up the cocktail scene. Congratulations!

The Winter Solstice looks like something I need to try.

[goodeats]

In case people don't know, they are closed until Thursday, January 6 for minor renovations, according to their FB page.

[DaRiv18]

Reviewing a dive bar is something I've refused to do, but the lack of attention (here) of the Passenger threatens the legitimacy of this Board. Disclaimer: I average a visit a week here and they definitely pick me out of a crowd here, but DAMN, this is the place to booze if you have any loyalty to the local industy. Not sure if I've ever imbibed after 10pm here without meeting a front/back rep from some acclaimed restaurant on this board who gave me a realistic tour of their menu. And I'm anti-social in real time!

Sunday brunches hold a special place in my heart as I try to hit it just at open (2pm) with my daughter, whom consumes the mocktail special as I explore the Sunday Soiree menu (CHEERS!). Biscuit and (sausage) gravy will satisfy any appetite, while the pork belly over rice is a fam fav.

Apologies to insiders for ruining the secret.

[SeanMike]

I don't think the Passenger gets enough credit for some of their food.

I hit brunch for the first time last week. Most of the options are $8-9, which to me is a good deal. I got the corned beef hash; delicious nuggets of corned beef, diced potatoes, topped with a sunny side up egg with a nice runny yolk. Delicious. Later that night I had the chilequiles (sp?) which were also very good (to point: I was also much drunker by that point).

Last night while there I took a picture of the menu and sent it to my brother. The dessert listed is the deep fried peanut butter cups with cola tempura - I haven't had them yet but heard they were decadent. My brother almost instigated a riot by showing the picture to some stoned folks. While at the bar last night, the pork cheek nachos seemed to be the choice du jour.

Now that football season is almost over I see many more brunches coming up...

[Mark Dedrick]

I've been meaning to eat more often here, but I can tell you that the pork cheek nachos are fantastic.

[JoshW0615]

I was at the Passenger on Sunday, and did manage to try the deep fried bacon-wrapped peanut butter cups in cola tempura. These were about as indulgant as you can imagine, but the batter wasn't what I was expecting--it reminded me a bit of a corn dog, and I didn't pick up on the cola at all. However, putting bacon and peanut butter cups together (confirmed to be Reeses)--wow, so good! I was a couple drinks in and ended up posting a picture on my Facebook. It got nearly a dozen comments from people asking where I was, so I'm sure they're a popular item.

The drinks, as always, were delicious. One of the "chalkboard" drinks that day (you can view that day's drink menu on Facebook or Twitter if you'd like to check before you go), had Aperol, rum, lime, a splash of soda water and some ingredient I'm forgetting. It was the perfect mid-afternoon post-disappointing-brunch drink. It was pretty empty most of the time we were there, which meant we were able to play a round of trivial pursuit with our bartender, Alex, and one of the servers. All in all, a wonderful way to waste away a Sunday, and also a reminder I need to start coming here more often.

[SeanMike]

So for those of y'all who didn't know, Chef Joe left for The Pig, and Javier is back. The menu has been revamped as of Monday.

I had the burger last night - a bit pricey, but man, was I happy for a non-huge burger (it's 4 ounces, so a "quarter pounder" I guess). The burger was quite tasty.

I need to get around to trying the slaw dog at some point, and had the duck tacos the time before last when I was there.

[Tweaked]

Currently being spit out from the rumor mill...The Passenger victim of Douglas Development office building project? City Paper with the story

[Tweaked]

City Paper with the latest on the future of The Passenger...well, the Douglas Development side of the story anyway.

[JPW]

I just got alerted that Columbia Room includes tax and tip in their prices. Is this true?

Yes

[DonRocks]

Rail or not, Beefeater's is an entirely respectable gin. Certainly not trendy or fashionable, but a fine product nonetheless.

I also like Beefeater as a relatively neutral (dare I say "mild?") gin. I was at The Passenger last week, and ordered my usual (a Gimlet, fresh lime juice obligatory), and asked for Bombay (not Sapphire; just plain Bombay). They didn't have it, but they asked if Beefeater was acceptable, and it was A-OK with me. And a fine Gimlet it was, too.

[Banco]

I also like Beefeater as a relatively neutral (dare I say "mild?") gin. I was at The Passenger last week, and ordered my usual (a Gimlet, fresh lime juice obligatory), and asked for Bombay (not Sapphire; just plain Bombay). They didn't have it, but they asked if Beefeater was acceptable, and it was A-OK with me. And a fine Gimlet it was, too.

My sentiments exactly. I also prefer either for martinis (when I used to drink them). Did your bartender assume you meant Sapphire when you said Bombay? I hate it when that happens.

[DonRocks]

My sentiments exactly. I also prefer either for martinis (when I used to drink them). Did your bartender assume you meant Sapphire when you said Bombay? I hate it when that happens.

I'm not sure - I had friends order for me while I visited the powder room; when I got back, they were thoughtful enough to ask about the substitution. They do assume Sapphire at a *lot* of places, but they know what they're doing at The Passenger.

[Sthitch]

I also like Beefeater as a relatively neutral (dare I say "mild?") gin. I was at The Passenger last week, and ordered my usual (a Gimlet, fresh lime juice obligatory), and asked for Bombay (not Sapphire; just plain Bombay). They didn't have it, but they asked if Beefeater was acceptable, and it was A-OK with me. And a fine Gimlet it was, too.

Every time the smell of Beefeater hits my nose my jaw clinches up - memories of a horrible night of about 8 too many G&T's almost 30 years ago. I love gin, I just cannot get past the memory that the smell evokes. It and Sapphire (really, why not just order vodka) are the only two gins I will not allow in my house.

[SeanMike]

Four years old! How time flies, when you spend too many nights a week perched on a bar stool there...

[Justin Bittner]

I think my friend Said put it best when he referred to beefeater gin as dirty uncle gin. I used to pilfer the stuff from my parents as a kid

[SeanMike]

Last week the loco moco plate from Hogo showed up on the Passenger's brunch menu. I'm on my way to get one now.

[cheezepowder]

Surprised that someone hasn't posted this yet:

Fritz Hahn's article:  "The Passenger will go dark Jan. 1 and the Columbia Room is moving to Blagden Alley"

Countdown

[MTPeter]

The Passenger opened shortly after I moved back into the city proper from a few miserable years in suburban exile where the closest thing to a cocktail was the Greenbelt Marriott or (shudder) TGI Friday's.  I was so happy to find a non-pretentious bar serving excellently made drinks at a reasonable price. We were good friends for quite a while,  and although we've drifted apart in recent years, this is a spot I will truly miss.

Tom and Derek, I pour out a little liquor for the Passenger's closing.  -it was a hell of a great spot - thank you.

[DonRocks]

Derek's Facebook post is here.

In it, he says, "Paul and I set out to create was a place where people could come together as a community. That word came up a lot in the beginning. What I didn't know is what that word truly meant: the joy and pain, the good decisions, the bad decisions, the people we lost, the friends we gained. The times we were right, the times we were wrong. The times we should've gone home. The times when everyone was here and I shouldn't have left. The good times. The really good times. The really, really good times. And the bad times. The really, really bad times. At the end of the day it had nothing to do with cocktails at all, did it? It was about everyone who entered and left those doors, those doors with their faded black paint and some old bells hung above them."

On our first day of operations (remember, I had the advantage of doing this with eGullet for a year beforehand), I wrote this post which is still there.

In it, I say, "Each and every individual here is more important to me than the site itself, and I hope you'll feel welcome in joining and nurturing a vibrant, dynamic community. It's not going to be about the food; it's going to be about people."

So, Derek knows. So does Tom. And I understand exactly what he's saying. What a wonderful run The Passenger had, and my only regret (and it's a big, legitimate regret) is that I wasn't there more often. That's something I plan on changing in the future.

[Gary Tanigawa]

March 10 @ PX

[DonRocks]

I've split off all posts from The Columbia Room into this thread, and this thread (the one you're reading now) now has all posts for The Passenger. Does anyone know The Passenger's website?

 

[Pat]

The website is http://www.passengerdc.com but it's currently a placeholder.  Tom Brown has a recent update on his twitter feed, saying that it's coming soon.

[Pat]

Via Popville: The Passenger will be having a "rent party" Monday, August 15th from 8 PM to midnight.  $40 at the door.

[cheezepowder]

On 8/11/2016 at 6:32 PM, Pat said:

Via Popville: The Passenger will be having a "rent party" Monday, August 15th from 8 PM to midnight.  $40 at the door.

And "officially" opened today (via Passenger tweet here and here).

[eatruneat]

Stopped by last night with a friend. It was not too crowded when we got there around 5:30pm or so but was very busy (though short of packed) when we left at 8pm. The two floor set up with two bars makes the place seem larger than it is. There is some nice artwork on the walls highlighting the various liquors and beers the Passenger carries (Filibuster, Schlitz, Chartreuse). Tom was walking around with a huge smile on his face. You can tell he is as happy as we are to have the Passenger back.