Okay, so you’re two badass guys from the burbs and you want to come in the city to do some slumming. Well, don’t get off at the Shaw/Howard station ’cause there’s nothing here. Really.
Last night after coming from a late lecture downtown I spotted two white males, mid twenties, long khaki shorts, flip flops, baseball caps, t-shirts, and ‘tude. They were spoiling my quiet metro ride by yakking. Anyway, they convince themselves to get off at the Shaw station, R St side. As I headed back home I noticed they seemed a little lost going through the crowd of teens that hang out near 8th and R and then wandering over to the 7-11. Yup, that’s it. Not much to see here, go home.
Or get off at another stop. You see if they got off at Mt. Vernon Square, they could have gone to Warehouse. There are a bunch of other clubs around there but, they wouldn’t have gotten in the way they were dressed. Then there is U Street, lots to do on U Street, restaurants, some with bars, if you want something edgier looking (are they edgy? I don’t know) I guess you could wander down to the Velvet Lounge or DC9. But really, R Street exit of Shaw metro….. 7-11 is the hottest thing going. Pick up a Pepsi, some chips and hang out in the parking lot.
East of 8th Street, there isn’t alot in the whole entertainment section on this end of Shaw. If you want to walk around Shaw to be all bad and do some slumming, you’re going to have to get off somewhere else.
6 thoughts on “Slumming”
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My guess is that the ‘tude twins were looking for the place Where Hipsters May Not Tread, or Cafe Manowaj on T/Florida (painted bright yellow). There I see hipsters who are so painfully hip that they appear to just ache with hipness. The place is so hip that even the mainstream hip people at Saint Ex have not heard of Manjowaj. When Manjowaj’s patrons gather to sit in a group, the aura of hipness is almost as overpowering as the smell of urine coming from nearby 7th and T.
I completely forgot about Cafe Manjowaj.
I was going to write a review for it but I was way too lazy and the experience was way too bad, so it never got written. And even then, if these guys were looking for a dive bar with chairs from Goodwill I still wouldn’t recommend it. However I must admit that I did find the outdoor dining entertaining as I watched the house across the street get searched by a boatload of cops.
I will admit I’m one of those who has not eaten at Saint Ex, but it seems that the owners of Saint Ex give a flying rat’s rectum about a decent dining experience. Cafe Manjowaj has the charm of an underfunded cult school’s cafeteria. I’m gonna stop now.
St. Ex has good burgers. Their brunch is a little pricey, but also pretty good. But I hear it was better before a chef change that occurred a few months back.
How do you know they weren’t there to experience the virtues of the public bathroom or what you call “homeless camp” in front of the library? Walking through that little slice of sunshine in flip flops could certainly be characterized as an extreme sport.
Justin
Wow–how bad were your experiences with Mawonaj? I’ve had good times there, although I admit it’s been a while. It’s not fancy, but I’ve had good food there.
One experience. They were hosting another event and I found the food, dull. The indoors I found, dark (to be fair they were showing a film). We got shifted over to the little one table ‘patio’ behind the bar and it looked as if one of the trees had fallen over recently and I couldn’t help to notice all the various things needing repair (brick needed repointing, and the threshold needed some work). When I go to an eating establishment two things are important to me, the food is the primary reason, and the atmosphere is second. I didn’t find the food that great and the atmosphere just seemed too sloppy for my tastes.