Saturday, March 27, 2010

Checking in With Toyland

I made an unanticipated stop in at Toyland last night, and found all three of the owners on site. It turned out they were starting the roll out of some dishes from the new menu (I'll post it here once it's ready). I tried the veggie sandwich. It was good bar food and comes in a basket with fries. My friends had the burgers, which they enjoyed. We split an appetizer of fried pickles (they don't show up on many menus around here, so we kind of HAD to order them). For those trying to eat right Toyland offers two salads. I was drinking the Loose Cannon draft. It was hoppy, but very drinkable. They had three other taps (something from Brooklyn, possibly a Magic Hat, and another that escapes me for the moment).

If you haven't been in a while, you should stop by again. They've got art on the walls, everything lights up that should, and the place generally has a feel that is neither too stark, nor too busy. Sitting at the table in the left corner, the conversation turned briefly to Frozen Tropics, leading me to remark that Toyland is actually done up in Frozen Tropics colors. That orange, the blue, and the light green on some of the tables. David, one of the owners of Toyland, has never actually seen the site, so he had no idea about the colors. It was a funny moment. I'll have to take my camera next time.

6 comments:

Singsubu said...

Tom Sietsema from the Post was there last night too and Tweeted about it:

"Dropped by the fledgling Toyland on H St. NE last night. It may be my fave new bar. I dig the 60s vibe, mixed crowd, GREAT drinks ($35/4!)."

Campy said...

This is some seriously high praise coming Toyland's way.

I've been there twice but not in the past month or so. When I was there last the place was clearly not up and running at full speed, which was fully understood, so I'm looking forward to my next visit.

Anonymous said...

I am quite impressed by the team at Toyland. They know their booze and aim to please. The music is decent (there is room for improvement) and the bar stools are comfortable. We've been several times since they've opened and it keeps getting better.

better call saul said...

Deep Fried Pickles- I'm there. First place in DC I know of that serves them. No menu available online yet?

Anonymous said...

Hey Better Call Saul -

DC9 also had fried pickles on it's menu and has for a while!

better call saul said...

thanks crossbones-

I see they also have hushpuppies and NC Style BBQ. My type of menu.
I haven't found too many places around here that make good hushpuppies either.