Tune Inn

The day after the ESOTC (that's Epic Snowstorm of the Century) we embarked on a long journey through the city streets to check out the beautiful, snow-covered aftermath (read our post here). As we watched sledders on Capitol Hill, we just happened to run into two friends who were also out for a walk. Who says D.C. isn't a small town?

We were hungry and the food options were limited, since many merchants decided to take a snow day. Lucky for us, our friends live on Capitol Hill and knew about the dive bar wonder that is Tune Inn.

The Tune Inn is definitely NOT for the uppity Hill staffer looking for a chic place to dine. The Tune Inn is gritty, eclectic, and has enough animal heads on the wall to make any PETA loyalist run far, far away. As we trudged through the snow, I was a bit worried they'd be closed. But once I got inside and saw the decor and the grizzly bartender I realized... the Tune Inn doesn't do snow days.

We were cold, hungry, and really craving warm comfort food. Throwing all dietary cares to the wind (as if we had any other choice), we started off with a basket of greasy, but absolutely delicious onion rings. Dunked into a wading pool of ketchup, these really hit the spot.

Now I know I've told you before that B always asks the waiter/waitress for a recommendation. Well, thankfully he had enough sense to skip the question and just order. Did you see the animal heads and guns on the wall? Does this look like the kind of place that you should ask for the chef's recommendation? I didn't think so.

B ordered the Hot Pastrami sandwich with grilled onions and swiss cheese. The sandwich was decent, but the fries stole the show. I don't think I want to know what they fry them in to get them to taste so good.

I went with classic cheeseburger. Someone mentioned that Janet Reno used to come here all the time for the burgers and who am I to question the culinary taste of the first female Attorney General? Well, the burger was just ok. Maybe Ms. Reno just ordered it so she could eat the fries!

Second Thoughts From B

To set the record straight, my hot pastrami was more than "decent." For me it hit the spot. But there's something you should know about J. She abhors rye bread. So for her to call anything on rye "decent" makes Tune Inn's effort rather remarkable.

But you don't go to a dive bar for the food. And Tune Inn, in case you were asleep for J's part of this post, is the embodiment of what a dive bar should be. That the food was pretty good is just icing on the cake.