A look at what's going on in Trinidad, on H Street, and in the larger area north of Capitol Hill.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Gridskipper: Jimmy Valentine's
Gridskipper names Jimmy Valentine #7 on its list of top DC dive bars. Jimmy Valentine's is located at 1103 Bladensburg Road. It is currently open Wednesday-Sunday. It doesn't open until 10pm. Days and hours subject to change.
11 comments:
Anonymous
said...
"...subject to change." I like it. I also liked it when I showed up at 10:30 on a Saturday night and the sign said "Closed tonight for inventory."
I mean, I even live in the neighborhood, and I think it's pretty messed up to tell someone that you're closed on prime bar night after they've walked there. I can't imagine how upset I'd be if it was more than 10 blocks from my house.
And then, of course, the fact that they were blatantly lying is a bit frustrating as well. A bar that's closed until 10 every night just doesn't need to close for inventory. Ever. Oh, and all the lights were out. He should have put up a sign that said "Closed because I wanted to go to my friend's party." I'm guessing that's closer to the truth.
Ah, welcome to how DC establishments do business. I've never seen such a town, where businesses just close when they feel like it. Like you said, it really does suck to walk to a place only to have the proprietors not bother to show up.
Ok, one thing, They've actually got it set up (with stuff on the windows and the fact that there is an additional interior door) I don't think you can ever even see the lights from the outside, so they may well have been in there. Since they've got three people working in there (who, at least at one point, had other jobs) it seems unlikely that they would all take off to go to a party. Saturday does seem like an odd night for inventory, but who knows.
Banducci's over on 2nd and F does the same thing. Great food, but the owners close shop whenever they feel like it. Never seen a restaurant run like they were doing a favor by letting you eat there until I moved to DC and ate at Banduccis...maybe these places are mob joints or CIA black sites?
Unfortunately, Inked, between the tinted windows and the little window in the door, I could see through just enough to be sure that it was a dark and empty bar.
It's frustrating that this comes after being told by one of the owners that they had no plans for a sign because he wants "people to find it on their own" or a hard opening, because "the last thing I want is some review about how funky and eclectic we are" (my amused friends and I now refer to the place as "the funky eclectic"). So it almost feels like they're actively avoiding customers. And unlike Banducci's, they're not going for the business lunch crowd.
And it's a shame, because I actually really like the place.
Alright Atill Frustrated, that sucks! Friday night is a bad night for inventory, and it isn't fun to make the hike up to Jimmy V's only to find yourself denied. Better luck next time. Honestly, every time I walk up to the place I think for a minute that it is closed.
Anyone remember the R & B Coffee shop on H near the theaters? My partner and I walked up there one Sat. morning at 10:00 for coffee (did I say it was on a Sat morning?) and he was closed! Guess what - out of business! I wonder what the owner says, "I just never had any customers." Ha. Too bad - nice guy, nice space, & good coffee - still doesn't make for a good business man though.
your feelings are perfectly just and i deeply apologize for our inability to open on time that saturday night. there are only 3 of us who owner/operate our bar and all of us maintain multiple jobs to make a living. on that particular night, i was spewing from all orifices, and dawn- who's only night off ever is saturday- had to go to southern maryland to babysit for her twin nephews. while we're willing to go solo on a weeknight, i'm sure you understand why troy would not run the bar alone on a weekend night in our 'hood. perhaps we should have posted a sign to that affect, but in any event none of us was "at a party". it was extremely distressing that i couldn't get there until after 11:30, because we are otherwise ALWAYS open on time (even if we have a ladder up and are making repairs during service) and we agree strongly with your underlying assertion that any business MUST operate as advertised. elise's statement "subject to change" refers to the fact that we could eventually open earlier as well as 7 days a week. we hope you can forgive our circumstances.
as you suspect, we ARE actively avoiding publicity, and have so far negotiated ourselves out of potential coverage from the washington post as well as getting ourselves de-listed by dcbars.com. i have begged gridskipper.com editor (Chris Mohney) to remove us from their listing, and in our email exchanges to date he has so far refused.
lastly, frustrated-yet-amused, you misquote me. i told you "i would hang myself if someone described us as "funky eclectic"", and i believe this exchange perfectly illustrates why we would prefer zero publicity, no?
Well, I didn't wander too far and would have been happy to make it back later in the night if the sign hadn't led me to believe you'd be closed all night. All the same, it's reassuring to know that there were extenuating circumstances.
Sorry you were feeling so sick. I certainly do understand why a solo run would be ill advised.
Both frenetic and somehow serene in its own odd way, protean and ere long thriving Trinidad no longer appears to be the misrepresented urban wasteland it might have once been. A onetime contender in DC’s urban decay tournament, Trinidad appears to now be in the prologue of reinventing itself… perhaps even as a 24 hour Funkytown-meets-Gotham City jamboree. With Jimmy Valentine’s perched at the helm, the metro city’s new capital of cool, Trinidad is where it’s at. If you don’t want to have to jostle amongst the vainglorious crowds that saturate most of DC’s other night spots, in a fruitless effort to get the bartender’s attention, then head on over to 1103 Bladensburg Road, NW and order up a forty of your favorite Malt Liquor. Belly up and stay a while. Good music, friendly staff, beautiful artwork and an incredible atmosphere, Jimmy’s awaits you.
11 comments:
"...subject to change." I like it. I also liked it when I showed up at 10:30 on a Saturday night and the sign said "Closed tonight for inventory."
I mean, I even live in the neighborhood, and I think it's pretty messed up to tell someone that you're closed on prime bar night after they've walked there. I can't imagine how upset I'd be if it was more than 10 blocks from my house.
And then, of course, the fact that they were blatantly lying is a bit frustrating as well. A bar that's closed until 10 every night just doesn't need to close for inventory. Ever. Oh, and all the lights were out. He should have put up a sign that said "Closed because I wanted to go to my friend's party." I'm guessing that's closer to the truth.
I want to like it, I really do.
Ah, welcome to how DC establishments do business. I've never seen such a town, where businesses just close when they feel like it. Like you said, it really does suck to walk to a place only to have the proprietors not bother to show up.
Ok, one thing, They've actually got it set up (with stuff on the windows and the fact that there is an additional interior door) I don't think you can ever even see the lights from the outside, so they may well have been in there. Since they've got three people working in there (who, at least at one point, had other jobs) it seems unlikely that they would all take off to go to a party. Saturday does seem like an odd night for inventory, but who knows.
Banducci's over on 2nd and F does the same thing. Great food, but the owners close shop whenever they feel like it. Never seen a restaurant run like they were doing a favor by letting you eat there until I moved to DC and ate at Banduccis...maybe these places are mob joints or CIA black sites?
balducci's caters to the buildings/businesses/associations around it.
it's open during business hours, but after that, they don't really cater to evening diners or weekend diners (yet).
at this point, it's just not economically feasible for that.
Unfortunately, Inked, between the tinted windows and the little window in the door, I could see through just enough to be sure that it was a dark and empty bar.
It's frustrating that this comes after being told by one of the owners that they had no plans for a sign because he wants "people to find it on their own" or a hard opening, because "the last thing I want is some review about how funky and eclectic we are" (my amused friends and I now refer to the place as "the funky eclectic"). So it almost feels like they're actively avoiding customers. And unlike Banducci's, they're not going for the business lunch crowd.
And it's a shame, because I actually really like the place.
Alright Atill Frustrated,
that sucks! Friday night is a bad night for inventory, and it isn't fun to make the hike up to Jimmy V's only to find yourself denied. Better luck next time. Honestly, every time I walk up to the place I think for a minute that it is closed.
Anyone remember the R & B Coffee shop on H near the theaters? My partner and I walked up there one Sat. morning at 10:00 for coffee (did I say it was on a Sat morning?) and he was closed! Guess what - out of business! I wonder what the owner says, "I just never had any customers." Ha. Too bad - nice guy, nice space, & good coffee - still doesn't make for a good business man though.
your feelings are perfectly just and i deeply apologize for our inability to open on time that saturday night. there are only 3 of us who owner/operate our bar and all of us maintain multiple jobs to make a living. on that particular night, i was spewing from all orifices, and dawn- who's only night off ever is saturday- had to go to southern maryland to babysit for her twin nephews. while we're willing to go solo on a weeknight, i'm sure you understand why troy would not run the bar alone on a weekend night in our 'hood. perhaps we should have posted a sign to that affect, but in any event none of us was "at a party". it was extremely distressing that i couldn't get there until after 11:30, because we are otherwise ALWAYS open on time (even if we have a ladder up and are making repairs during service) and we agree strongly with your underlying assertion that any business MUST operate as advertised. elise's statement "subject to change" refers to the fact that we could eventually open earlier as well as 7 days a week. we hope you can forgive our circumstances.
as you suspect, we ARE actively avoiding publicity, and have so far negotiated ourselves out of potential coverage from the washington post as well as getting ourselves de-listed by dcbars.com. i have begged gridskipper.com editor (Chris Mohney) to remove us from their listing, and in our email exchanges to date he has so far refused.
lastly, frustrated-yet-amused, you misquote me. i told you "i would hang myself if someone described us as "funky eclectic"", and i believe this exchange perfectly illustrates why we would prefer zero publicity, no?
best regards,
mark thorp/jvlhc
202.438.0394
Well, I didn't wander too far and would have been happy to make it back later in the night if the sign hadn't led me to believe you'd be closed all night. All the same, it's reassuring to know that there were extenuating circumstances.
Sorry you were feeling so sick. I certainly do understand why a solo run would be ill advised.
Stay funky.
Both frenetic and somehow serene in its own odd way, protean and ere long thriving Trinidad no longer appears to be the misrepresented urban wasteland it might have once been. A onetime contender in DC’s urban decay tournament, Trinidad appears to now be in the prologue of reinventing itself… perhaps even as a 24 hour Funkytown-meets-Gotham City jamboree. With Jimmy Valentine’s perched at the helm, the metro city’s new capital of cool, Trinidad is where it’s at. If you don’t want to have to jostle amongst the vainglorious crowds that saturate most of DC’s other night spots, in a fruitless effort to get the bartender’s attention, then head on over to 1103 Bladensburg Road, NW and order up a forty of your favorite Malt Liquor. Belly up and stay a while. Good music, friendly staff, beautiful artwork and an incredible atmosphere, Jimmy’s awaits you.
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