Phoebe Posted August 24, 2005 Share Posted August 24, 2005 Well - Cap Lounge WAS my favorite. I'm just sick to hear of their loss this morning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCJono Posted August 24, 2005 Share Posted August 24, 2005 Well - Cap Lounge WAS my favorite. I'm just sick to hear of their loss this morning. Ten cent wings on Tuesdays has been a favorite since I moved to the Hill six years ago. It's a total bummer. A lot of people are mourning an old friend today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stretch Posted August 24, 2005 Share Posted August 24, 2005 Well - Cap Lounge WAS my favorite. I'm just sick to hear of their loss this morning. What happened? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Dente Posted August 24, 2005 Share Posted August 24, 2005 What happened? Done burnt down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCJono Posted August 24, 2005 Share Posted August 24, 2005 Done burnt down. Major fire about 5:30am today. Haven't seen any news stories on it yet - lots of rumors about cause floating around though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kanishka Posted August 24, 2005 Share Posted August 24, 2005 NBC4 says errant cig thrown in trash can. Wonder if this effects Sonoma at all? Wonder if I'll ever see Arlene, salty barmaid supreme, again? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCJono Posted August 24, 2005 Share Posted August 24, 2005 NBC4 says errant cig thrown in trash can.Wonder if this effects Sonoma at all? Wonder if I'll ever see Arlene, salty barmaid supreme, again? I wonder if the Smoke-Free DC folks will use this... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Posted August 24, 2005 Share Posted August 24, 2005 (edited) Well - Cap Lounge WAS my favorite. I'm just sick to hear of their loss this morning. That's really a shame. When I was down by there this morning, I was having trouble figuring out which building(s) it was, but there clearly had been a substantial fire. It looked like it might have been Capitol Lounge, but it was hard to tell from where I was across the street. Edited August 24, 2005 by Pat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stretch Posted August 24, 2005 Share Posted August 24, 2005 Done burnt down. I would have thought that so many years worth of accumulated scuzz, nicotine deposits and intern jism would have combined to make the place pretty much fireproof. A sad, sad loss for anyone who's ever worked, lived or trawled for jailbait on the Hill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crackers Posted August 24, 2005 Share Posted August 24, 2005 (edited) That's really a shame. When I was down by there this morning, I was having trouble figuring out which building(s) it was, but there clearly had been a substantial fire. It looked like it might have been Capitol Lounge, but it was hard to tell from where I was across the street. From WTOP:Fire Destroys Popular Capitol Hill Tavern Updated: Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2005 - 10:48 AM WASHINGTON - It looks like careless smoking caused the fire that destroyed a Capitol Hill tavern early Wednesday. D.C. Fire and EMS spokeswoman Catherine Friedman tells WTOP the two-alarm fire caused significant damage to the Capitol Lounge. The fire started in the bar and no one was injured, she says. Around 6 a.m. Wednesday a cell phone caller alerted the fire department about heavy smoke coming out of the building in the 200 block of Pennsylvania Avenue, Southeast. Two people who live in apartments on the building's third floor managed to get out of the building safely, Friedman said. (Copyright 2005 by WTOP and MetroSource. All Rights Reserved.) Edited August 24, 2005 by crackers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tweaked Posted August 24, 2005 Share Posted August 24, 2005 This is a total pisser. I've been drinking at the Cap Lounge since 1996. I wouldn't be surprised that if you added up all the times I've been to the Lounge it would equal a year of my life spent there. I've even brought my bartender to DC United games! The Lounge truly was a home away from home for me. Sad day in the Life of Tweaked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MelGold Posted August 24, 2005 Share Posted August 24, 2005 A friend sent a staff assistant down to the scene for the sad/awful proof. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bookluvingbabe Posted August 24, 2005 Share Posted August 24, 2005 Wow! Drove past this morning and couldn't tell what exactly was going on or where... Sad, sad, sad... Jennifer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kanishka Posted August 24, 2005 Share Posted August 24, 2005 Just heard from Eli over at Sonoma that all is well with their space, though the smell of smoke was evident in the alley behind the restaurant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hillvalley Posted August 24, 2005 Share Posted August 24, 2005 Favorite Cap Lounge moment: sitting the basement with a ton of Democratic hill staffers when NBC announced that Gore had won Florida and therefor the election. Sigh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roo Posted August 24, 2005 Share Posted August 24, 2005 Summer of 2003 probably found me at the Lounge four nights a week. I migrated over to Pourhouse when Colin and Mark bought it, but I'll miss the Wings Night nonetheless. Though when they started charging .50 for extra blue cheese and for celery and carrots, I nearly decided to stop coming. I guess interns would occupy a table for two hours, drinking water and racking up a $5 tab. Even infested as it was with Hill staffers during the week, I enjoyed the more locals scene on weekend evenings... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tenunda Posted August 24, 2005 Share Posted August 24, 2005 I've had a bunch of great Cap Lounge moments, especially because it tends to be the end of many a Hill pubcrawl. One particularly fine moment was owning my drunkenness and allowing my pool cue to find its own errant path directly into the kidneys of a particularly vitriolic Senator's staffer of the other party (I'm being purposefully vague, as I fear DonRocks' rabidly anti-partisan delete key ). Good times, good times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kanishka Posted August 24, 2005 Share Posted August 24, 2005 More photos for some vivid imagery on how bad the fire actually was. I'm really going to miss the make your own Bloody bar. Sure there are others in town -- but none I could walk to easily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveBVI Posted August 26, 2005 Share Posted August 26, 2005 I'm planning on asking my friends in UK to mail some soccer scarves for when they re-open. I am being optomistic, but people have insurance, and they place did make $$. rumor is it was a ciggy butt in a trash can/ Official news said basement was just water damage. Let us know if the staff will be guest bartending anywhere. I'll be there and I tip well! D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phoebe Posted August 26, 2005 Author Share Posted August 26, 2005 I'm planning on asking my friends in UK to mail some soccer scarves for when they re-open. I am being optomistic, but people have insurance, and they place did make $$. rumor is it was a ciggy butt in a trash can/ Official news said basement was just water damage. Let us know if the staff will be guest bartending anywhere. I'll be there and I tip well!D I was talking with Simon last night. He hopes to pick up some shifts at Trusty's. He also mentioned that the side bar didn't get too badly mangled - mainly smoke damage, so it will hopefully be opened in a few weeks while the main bar will be back in a few months. Brian still bartends at the irish Channel. Not sure about Tony T, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Posted August 26, 2005 Share Posted August 26, 2005 It looks pretty optimistic, I'd say, but the shrine is a bit much. OK, I'm not big on those things to begin with, but it still seems excessive. Yesterday there were people looking around like they were planning repairs. Today there was a fire and restoration truck outside and people looking like they were planning repairs. The 3 stuffed bears I saw at 9:30 this morning were supplemented by flowers and a lot of American flags by 4 PM. Plus there is now something called a Capitol Lounge Memory Book (or something close to that), and a handwritten notice saying they'd be reopened in a few weeks. I used to go there back in the 90s (it was a great place to take people from out-of-town), but I hadn't gone there so much in recent years. I hope they get back on their feet soon. No politics. No Miller Lite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
genericeric Posted December 8, 2005 Share Posted December 8, 2005 There have been many rumors floating around out there about when Cap Lounge will reopen again, the buzz on the hill today is that they will reopen at 4pm today. I haven't been able to confirm this, but there is furniture inside, beer taps have been reinstalled, and there are now liquor bottles back on the wall. Additionally theres been a flurry of employee activity inside all day. I'll try and walk by around 4 to see if she's back! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparkycom Posted December 8, 2005 Share Posted December 8, 2005 I will do the same around 5. Here's hopin'! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
genericeric Posted December 8, 2005 Share Posted December 8, 2005 Just received secondary confirmation, 4pm today!!!!!!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crackers Posted December 8, 2005 Share Posted December 8, 2005 (edited) There have been many rumors floating around out there about when Cap Lounge will reopen again, the buzz on the hill today is that they will reopen at 4pm today.I haven't been able to confirm this, but there is furniture inside, beer taps have been reinstalled, and there are now liquor bottles back on the wall. Additionally theres been a flurry of employee activity inside all day. I'll try and walk by around 4 to see if she's back! If that's true, Tweaked will be very happy tonight. Edited December 8, 2005 by crackers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tweaked Posted December 8, 2005 Share Posted December 8, 2005 I don't know why I have this reputation as being a lush However I will swing by the Lounge around 8pm or so to check out these rumors and IF the Lounge is open make sure the Bass line is free of any soot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tweaked Posted December 8, 2005 Share Posted December 8, 2005 (edited) Per the dude at the other end of the phone line...Cap Lounge is indeed open for business today at 4pm. It's a Holiday Season Miracle Edited December 8, 2005 by Tweaked Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Posted August 8, 2007 Share Posted August 8, 2007 deja vu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FunnyJohn Posted August 8, 2007 Share Posted August 8, 2007 Holy Smoke! Hope Sonoma wasn't involved too. [replied before I read the next thread re: Sonoma] Wasn't the last fire started in a dumpster? If so they oughta install a sprinkler system in the damned things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Posted August 8, 2007 Share Posted August 8, 2007 Wasn't the last fire started in a dumpster? If so they oughta install a sprinkler system in the damned things.I think the conclusion was an improperly discarded cigarette inside the bar.This time doesn't look as bad from a perspective standing on the street, but since it started in the back, I don't know how much that impression is worth. The two buildings that sustained the most visible damage from the front are the Trover card shop and the Lounge. The ladder of the hook and ladder was up on the roof of the bar still at 9AM. Art and Soul (next to the card shop) looked to have damage but less. Sonoma and the book store didn't look as though they'd had fire damage from my vantage point. I was standing in the median on PA Ave behind the police tape. Mayor Fenty appeared to be there inspecting the damage (or someone who looked like him from a distance ) One thing I noticed was the sons from the Trover shop walking out of the card shop with an officer (maybe the police chief?) just before 9. If they were in to inspect damage 3 1/2 hours after the fire started, I'd consider that a good sign. I couldn't really see if there was any activity at the Lounge, though. I feel terrible for the firefighters being out there in this heat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Posted August 8, 2007 Share Posted August 8, 2007 Channel 9 news just said it was a tarp covering furniture behind the bar that caught fire. I guess time will tell. They only mentioned damage to Cap Lounge and the card shop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tweaked Posted August 8, 2007 Share Posted August 8, 2007 Lastest from the Post http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...7080800946.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdcbrucefan Posted August 9, 2007 Share Posted August 9, 2007 Article at Roll Call (subscription required) says Lounge will be open Friday. Insider report says that there's no real damage inside. Just fire smell. Could even be open tonight. Outdoors (back patio) is where the damage is. Apparently the Feds are checking the fire out. There was a small fire behind the Lounge on the night that Eastern Market burned down. All indications are fire yesterday was not suspicious, but ATF (not sure why them) is checking into the various incidents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Posted August 15, 2007 Share Posted August 15, 2007 It was once again an improperly discarded cigarette that started this last fire . I guess people smoke out back since they can't smoke in the bar anymore. http://www.news8.net/news/stories/0807/447328.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tweaked Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 After a 6 week renovation of the basement, they have put the "Lounge" into Capitol Lounge. Gone is the smell of vomit, urine, dead rat, and industrial cleaner, replaced with new floors, low slung seating, trendy cube shaped stools and tables. The new beer list offers almost 50 beers by bottle, housed in a large glass cooler behind the bar. 12 taps are going in soon. More renovations to the upstairs are coming. The beer list includes Common Bud/Bud Light Stella Sierra Nevada Blue Moon Bass Newcastle Less Common Rogue Dead Guy Smuttynose Old Brown Dog Three types of Chimay Bells' Porter Rare Ommegang Hennepin 750 ml ($21) Moa Original 750 ml ($20) Eggenberg Dubbelbock Oskar Blues Dale's Pale Ale (in a can) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
u-bet! Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 Gone is the smell of vomit, urine, dead rat, and industrial cleaner, replaced with new floors, low slug seatingDo low slugs really smell all that much better than dead rats? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tweaked Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 Do low slugs really smell all that much better than dead rats? Depends if you corner the slugs in the bathroom and kill them with a pool cue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
u-bet! Posted June 13, 2009 Share Posted June 13, 2009 According to the press release, Teddy Folkman has by now taken over as Executive Chef. The new menu is on their Web site, so I assume that means it has officially been rolled out - has anyone sampled it yet? I've never been to Granville Moore's, so I don't know how similar it is, but I'm thinking this would improve the pre-game dining options for DC United fans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Posted June 13, 2009 Share Posted June 13, 2009 According to the press release, Teddy Folkman has by now taken over as Executive Chef. The new menu is on their Web site, so I assume that means it has officially been rolled out - has anyone sampled it yet? I've never been to Granville Moore's, so I don't know how similar it is, but I'm thinking this would improve the pre-game dining options for DC United fans.When I googled "Capitol Lounge menu" the first hit that came up started: "Capitol Lounge is a wine bar in Washington, DC." It also says "The Capitol Lounge, one of Capitol Hill's most storied restaurants, is raising the bar to a new level." Uh...What have they done to this place? I haven't been in several months. Is this all Teddy Folkman-related or had they started making things fancier before? Wine bar? really? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tweaked Posted June 15, 2009 Share Posted June 15, 2009 As someone who has eaten more then their fair share of Cap Lounge Grub (and lived to tell about it) the menu doesn't look that vastly different. There some new apps, the addition of mussels, and some new sandwiches and pizza options. They have been slowly upgrading the place for months, redesigned the basement, expanded the beer offerings, etc. etc. Now maybe the food quality will get an upgrade as well. As long as patrons can kill rats in the bathrooms, it's still going to be the Cap lounge, filled with Hill staffers on the weekdays and locals on the weekends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DPop Posted June 15, 2009 Share Posted June 15, 2009 As long as patrons can kill rats in the bathrooms, The first time I went to Cap Lounge I saw a guy scoop up a huge rate in between 2 beer glasses in the bar area and fling it out the front door of the restaurant. I was the only person in my vicinity that seemed even remotely phased by this, which gave me a good glimpse into what I could expect for my future visits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FunnyJohn Posted June 15, 2009 Share Posted June 15, 2009 When I googled "Capitol Lounge menu" the first hit that came up started: "Capitol Lounge is a wine bar in Washington, DC." It also says "The Capitol Lounge, one of Capitol Hill's most storied restaurants, is raising the bar to a new level." Uh...What have they done to this place? I haven't been in several months. Is this all Teddy Folkman-related or had they started making things fancier before? Wine bar? really?Ah yes, "most storied" indeed, and if those interns ever write their memoirs... On the wine bar aspect -- perhaps if they finally succeed in burning through the fire wall that separates them from Sonoma, then it could be considered a proximate wine bar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 DCist with an early look at the new menu. That doesn't sound so promising, especially if the wings have gotten worse. Those used to be pretty good. (The Lounge hasn't been open since the 80s, though, as the article indicates.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FunnyJohn Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 (The Lounge hasn't been open since the 80s, though, as the article indicates.) The article says in its 20 year history -- I assure you the Cap Lounge has been open in this decade and in the 90s as well -- except for the closings due to fires and the required repairs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 The article says in its 20 year history -- I assure you the Cap Lounge has been open in this decade and in the 90s as well -- except for the closings due to fires and the required repairs.But wouldn't a "20+" year history have it open in the 80s? . It sure wasn't there when I moved to the Hill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tweaked Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 It opened around 1995. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 It opened around 1995.That's about what I remember--mid-90s. I think we may have discussed it here at some point. Was Stevan's in that space before (late 80s-early 90s), or was that Jenkins Hill? My memory for these things used to be better and at some point I had actually kept track. I think Jenkins Hill was closer to the corner at 2nd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bookluvingbabe Posted June 19, 2009 Share Posted June 19, 2009 That's about what I remember--mid-90s. I think we may have discussed it here at some point. Was Stevan's in that space before (late 80s-early 90s), or was that Jenkins Hill? My memory for these things used to be better and at some point I had actually kept track. I think Jenkins Hill was closer to the corner at 2nd. I don't think it was Jenkins Hill. (Was Jenkins Hill where Pour House is now?) There was Steven's. And wasn't there something called Michael's or am I just conflating it was Steven's? And then Steven's became this weird amalgam -- I want to say it was a cross of something and Korean. It was counter service, I think. And then Capitol Lounge. Which was quickly axed from the lunch rotation in my office for serving burgers on foccacia bread and the mix on the soda machine being off. And then it stopped being open for lunch. I started working on the Hill in 1991 at it wasn't open until I had been there a few years... I don't think I've been there this decade! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Posted June 19, 2009 Share Posted June 19, 2009 I don't think it was Jenkins Hill. (Was Jenkins Hill where Pour House is now?) There was Steven's. And wasn't there something called Michael's or am I just conflating it was Steven's? And then Steven's became this weird amalgam -- I want to say it was a cross of something and Korean. It was counter service, I think. And then Capitol Lounge. Which was quickly axed from the lunch rotation in my office for serving burgers on foccacia bread and the mix on the soda machine being off. And then it stopped being open for lunch. I started working on the Hill in 1991 at it wasn't open until I had been there a few years... I don't think I've been there this decade! Pour House is farther east. Not on that block. Firehook might be where Jenkins Hill was. I'm almost certain that was west of Stevan's. Stevan's had a distinctive configuration in the back of the dining area that seems similar to the layout of the Lounge, which is why I'm thinking that must be where it was. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bookluvingbabe Posted June 19, 2009 Share Posted June 19, 2009 Firehook is where the bagel place used to be. What was at Sonama before it was Il Radicchio??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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