#popupbardc

                 It was a cold rainy Wednesday night in the Capitol when I decided to venture out. I heard of the coolest pop-bar up in the East Coast and considered giving it a try. My thought process: Wednesday night, 45 degrees and rain, rain, rain – no one is going to be thinking about going to a bar! Novel idea right? As I stepped out of the Metro station, I quickly learned my unique idea wasn’t so unique. The line had already formed and was growing at an exponential rate. I stopped for a second to ponder whether I really wanted to check out the venue. Talking myself into not wasting a good outfit or beat face, I begrudgingly step on the line which was now wrapping around the metro entrance.

                  And so the wait begins, we have all been there: slowing inching closer to the door, doing bouncy dance moves to keep warm, shivering under your umbrella, hoping large groups of people give up on the wait and making new friends. Finally, after 45 minutes I make it to the front of the door, no turning back now but of course you must wait another 10 minutes at the door as you watch warm partygoers having fun inside. Was it all going to be worth it? This is everything “we” (as in the 50 plus people waiting in line) have been waiting for.

           Entering with high expectations is an understatement, “this better be worth it” as I shake off all the rain and the bundled up winter layers. As you walk in the bar you are instantly greeted with Christmas lights, music, and cheer! I stepped into the mistletoe photo booth for a quick pic and then off to explore the 4 Holiday-themed rooms. First stop, was the main bar, lots of Christmas tree decorations, bells, tingle, garland, bows and ribbon. I wandered into the next room which was a Jewish Hanukkah theme; a play on Festivus, featuring a graffiti-inspired Hanukkah mural. I stopped at the bar to order a festive drink – my options were: Snow Angels, Santa’s S#!t List, Cookie Dough & Snuggles, Santa Bei Bei, a Nog Shot and more. Due to the fancy glassware they hold your ID for collateral, if you break, or lose your fancy cup you pay for it, on top of the $12 dollars it cost for the weak but tasty drink.

Next was the “gold room”, literally a spare room in the back of the bar with gold foil everywhere not sure how it fit into the Christmas vibes but okay. Two more rooms to go, one features a panda mural, panda mugs and more adorable panda moments. Lastly, what I called the Nutcracker Christmas themed room, more Christmas decoration, trees, red, gold, greens and blue. This room also feature a naught and nice Santa slay. I returned my empty glass and left. I may have spent more time in the line then I did in the bar but I learned a valuable lesson. The morale of the story is: never try something that seems too cool to be true.