Following our pints-and-fire alarm at Buffalo Billiards last night, we agonized over where to eat dinner. In heat like this, my Viking body just shuts down and food is the last thing on my mind (sleep is the first… but then, it always is). So we decided on sushi at Dragonfly.

Dragonfly’s all-white anime-themed interior was all the rage when it first opened, one of a series of “too-hip-for-DC” locales that really paved the way to revitalize the dining/clubbing scenes. It’s interior is still fun, a sort of Space Odyssey meets Starblazers, but that white doesn’t age well when the sun blazes through the frosted glass at happy hour. It does, however, cool you down.

The happy hour menu has some sweet deals of their most popular drinks and a few menu items, but being as we are sushi freaks we couldn’t confine ourselves to just that. So we ordered off the main menu, which is laid out to resemble a bizarre version of an 80′s SAT answerkey. The one waitress was also bartending and quite batty, which always makes for an interesting evening. But when you are trying to figure out what the hell to do with your lives, slow service doesn’t really faze you.

The sushi was really good, too. Though I could’ve done without the guy sitting next to us blowing cigarette smoke on my hamachi. Due to its being a restaurant/club hybrid, Dragonfly is resolutely a smoking establishment, with ashtrays on every table. Though I usually abstain from the smoking wars, somehow sushi and cigarettes just don’t mix in my mind. But after the second luscious lychee martini, I ceased to care…

to follow tiffany’s suit on courthouse establishments:

gua-rapo — a hit or miss? imho, it’s not even on the boards…

i’m not sure when gua-rapo‘s building changed from blue to red, but it’s lack of something spectacular is what i can’t get over. located in courthouse (orange line towards virginia), it definitely brings a different feel to the area lined up next to ireland’s four courts and across summers grill & sports bar. however, while it’s intentions are good, gua-rapo’s execution is lame as its sangria.

after 3+ years being open, guarapo is a mixmatched. the sangria is all fruit juice — you can can get red or what they call white, but is really orange juice. they also felt it was a good idea to omit the fresh fruit from the drink. then around 11 PM after you’ve kicked back some juice and mediocre tapas, the live band kicks in. now for a latino themed establishment, i would think the music would be a little less rock and a little more samba/lounge. the place was so empty anyway for a friday night, we high-tailed it to the outside seating w/views of the traffic on wilson blvd.

anyway, restaurateur mauricio fraga-rosenfeld of agua ardiente, chi-cha and Gazuza, & soon 2 others (matte & ceviche) is hit or miss…i love chi-cha and agua, while gua-rapo and gazuza dissapoint. oh and he used to or still does own ozio’s? that place is totally down the crapper w/ it’s sketchy euro-trash crowd…

yar…let’s see what happens with his two new ventures. mauricio — i hope you’ve improved your aim!

It’s heartening to see how die-hard bar regulars react to fire alarms in this supposed panic-prone city.

Last night I met my husband and his demoralized co-workers at the wonderfully cool (as in AC) and kitschy Buffalo Billiards. It’s basement location off Dupont Circle was the perfect antidote to the shock I experienced upon seeing the bank clock scream in blazing digital hysteria “107 degrees!! Get inside while you can!!”

As we detoxed over a perfect pint of Guinness, the fire alarm went off.

Did the patrons bolt? Did the hustlers wave their pool cues in panic?

No, of course not. We all just shook our heads, nodded to the bartender, and ordered another round.

Toasty. Hot. Oven.

Those are the words I would use to describe Dr. Dremo’s last night. We were meeting some friends last night for a beer and some relaxation, walked in the doors, praying for some respite from the brutal heat (92 last night at 9pm), but found a sauna instead. Even my pint of Fuller’s was warm. One round later, the six of us decided to head up to Four Courts and their working cooling system.

What business in their right mind lacks air conditioning here? Seriously, with June, July and August the way they are in this area, can you really expect to run a business without AC?

Which other restaurants and bars ought we avoid during this heatwave?

The Wisdom of my Parking Garage

Originally uploaded by tjbax.

I park on the bottom floor of my parking garage, mostly because the asshats in SUVs insist on jamming their urban assault vehicles into all the compact car spaces on the level nearest the street. (Note to SUV drivers- the sacrifice I make for driving a Beetle is lack of cargo room, but I gain the ability to park in teeny tiny spaces. You get cargo room in exchange for not being able to park wherever you want. Your Escalade is NOT compact.)

But I park near this inscription a lot. It says, “BEDROCK 25 1/2 inches LOT OF WATER.”

Why yes, 25 1/2 inches of water in the parking garage is indeed a lot of water. How perceptive. And thanks for informing the rest of us who may not have known…

Dr. Dremo’s, Arlington’s archetypal dive bar, has seen more drama in its existence than a whole afternoon of cheesy soap operas. It’s condemned! It’s open! The hurricane caved in the roof! It’s re-opened! It’s closing to make way for condos! The county might not approve the condos! It’s moving! It’s not! For the number of times Dremo’s has died and returned, George Romero ought to be making movies about it.

Through it all, people keep coming back to Dremo’s because the beer is good (Fuller’s ESB! On tap!) and it’s the opposite of foofy and pretentious.

Now, I like Dremo’s as much as the next chick who hates beer does, but there’s one thing I just don’t get.

How the HELL does Dremo’s stay in business in the summer? They don’t have AC. There is only one fan, an ancient, rickety, tabletop model pointed straight at the bartenders. The place is a freaking sauna. We went last night to hang out with some friends, but we only lasted 5 minutes because the air was more oppressive inside than outside.

I suppose this might have added to Dremo’s unique brand of always-one-step-ahead-of-condemnation charm, but then I made one simple request: I wanted a big glass of ice to pour my Diet Coke over.

There’s no ice.

No… ice?! How the HELL does a BAR not have ICE?! No AC and no FREEZER?! WTF?

(I realize this is not a shocker to most of you, particularly those in Arlington, but I do most of my drinking downtown, right after work, and don’t spend a lot of time at Dremo’s.)

I drank my Diet Coke as fast as I could, pausing only to hold the can against my forehead and neck to make up for the utter lack of air movement, and yet by the time I had nearly finished it, it was room temperature.

I don’t understand how any establishment in this area, even one with the history of tenacity that Dremo’s has, can attract customers without even some damn ceiling fans and a bag of ice from 7-11. We promptly left and headed for the Courts up the street, as did the other guys sitting at the bar with us.

Sorry Dremo. See you in late September.

Why is it that I am standing here on the Columbia Heights Metro platform? I wandered onto the platform over 10 minutes ago and I am still here. Waiting. Agh, see this is the number one thing wrong with the Metro system and why I hate taking Metro anywhere: the wait between trains.

I don’t mind the bus wait, when there is one, because at least I am outside in the fresh air and can enjoy the sights and sounds of DC while I wait. Also I am free to walk away from the bus stop, many times I do, and sometimes I even beat the bus to where I am going. This I do not mind.

What I do mind are the 15 minute waits between trains in the Metro anytime outside of rush hour, and even 6 minute waits in rush hour. God forbid you have to transfer too, for that means at least 30 minutes added onto your trip time.

It doesn’t have to be this way. In the Moscow Metropolitan, my favorite subway system worldwide, the trains come in at 1-2minute intervals. In fact, there is a clock above each train tunnel exit that starts counting when a train enters the tunnel. If it makes it to 90 seconds before the next train stops at the station, people start to grumble. A two minutes there is a noticeable anger, and by three minutes (3!) there will be a riot. If only the Metro in DC could be so efficient.

Are you a Geek? I mean a real hard-core Geek who dreams Linux and eats kernels for breakfast? And yet do you hack for good, trading fat paychecks for a clean conscience. Then its time for you to find your kind.

Tonight, join me at NPower Greater DC Region’s 501 Tech Club – a monthly gathering of people working on nonprofit technology in the Washington D.C. area. The meetings are opportunities for anyone interested in helping nonprofits use technology to get together and talk shop in a fun, informal setting, with others who work primarily with and for 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations.

501 Tech Club of NPower Greater DC Region

Time & Location: 6pm @ Local 16, 1602 U Street

Of course, we’re big on the Google Maps hacks this month, what with Jason’s DC Foodies Google Maps, Wayan’s post on Hot People by Zip code, and the newly available Cell Tower Search with google maps. God bless you, semantic web! Of course, now I want to know whose towers those are near my place, and why my reception is such crap…

Then I just found the best way to fill your nights with adventure. Remember the Hot or Not site popular back in 2000? Well some bright Geeks just hacked Google Maps and Hot or Not to give you Hot People by Zip Code. There you can put in, say the 20005 zip code and presto! You have a Google map you can zoom in and out as needed – to the areas you’d like to see HotOrNot personals.

Now I can finally be sure that my date doesn’t do it, drive I mean.