Brightest Young Things

a perfect feature/guide to revisit before LABOR DAY WEEKEND

As the weather turns warmer (read: ridiculously hot) DC starts to do their annual dance battle royale to snatch up every single outdoor seat
in town. As we tend to do, we decided to informally poll some of our favorite people around (mainly BYT contributors with a bona-fide expert or two sprinkled throughout) and see where exactly they like and love drinking (and even eating) outdoors in this city. It is not a comprehensive survey, nor is it an objective one. PLEASE FEEL FREE TO COMMENT WITH YOUR OWN FAVORITES ON THE BOTTOM.

Alex Nicholson

(the original BYT EAT/DRINK master & commander)

La Fourchette remains my favorite spot to eat and drink outside. Many Sunday's have been spent drinking bottle-after-bottle of inexpensive white wine, and eating onion tarts and artichokes. The entire day is good for people watching, and without fail you see someone you know every 30 minutes - the good friends stop and join you.
American Ice Company has the sweetest hidden patio in town. If you get there early enough you can try out the lunch menu, drink a bit, then order BBQ off the dinner menu. If you don't already know this, they make THE BEST margarita I've ever had in DC.

Kat Bangs

(sommelier @ Komi and BYT's first Drink Diarist)

My first instinct is to choose the Tabard Inn, where they serve brunch, lunch, dinner and cocktails in quiet comfort. My second thought is Bourbon Steak (within the Four Seasons Hotel) where men light fires and swaddle you in fleece blankets if the weather turns cold. But truly, I always come home to Big Bear on Sunday mornings. There you can nurse baskets of farmer's market strawberries and drink buckets of ice coffee while reading the Sunday paper. These days, you can also hide in the over-grown garden foliage and sip white wine in the afternoons.

Laura Herman

(now in charge of our FOOD NEWS ROUND-UP and blogger for Borderstan)

Stetsons Famous Bar & Grill (1610 U Street NW) Unassuming and out of view from the street, Stetsons' back courtyard is a hidden gem within the dive bar and among the usual U Street haunts. It's one of my go-to places on a warm weekend evening to either start or end a night. Pro trip: Skip the lines at other nearby outdoor drinking establishments, waltz right into Stetsons, and make a beeline for the back patio.

Alan Zilberman

(our movie guy)

DC9. When I go out boozing with friends, conversation is often as important as a steady buzz. On a typical Saturday, most DC bars are too packed or too loud for such an opportunity. DC9's roof deck, on the other hand, is an oasis of comfort. Anyone's who has gone to a show there knows how friendly their bartenders are, and upstairs they're even more relaxed and willing to chat. There's plenty of space, the drinks are cheap, and the crowd is always chill. They even get the small details right - once you open a tab, the bartender returns your card promptly - so I'm sure it'll be a favorite spot as the summer continues.

Svetlana Legetic

(well, me)

I am going to go geographically convenient and pick: Saint-Ex and Room 11's patios respectively. Saint-Ex is my favorite work week, mid-afternoon place, period (I have their wi-fi password and everything), and sometimes, when the weather is nice and I decide to brave the happy hour season, scoring that second table from the street on their patio before the crowds hit is like a dream come true. And of course, that little patch of land that triples Room 11's capacity in warmer months is both a Godsend and a perfectly intimate, neighborhood hang out. Honorable mentions: Bourbon's back yard, Donovan House (I know) and DC9's rooftop. Now, 1905-GET YOUR ROOFTOP READY ALREADY.

Jeff Jetton

(BYT ideas guy)

Veranda on P: How can you go wrong with a name like Veranda. Best outdoor seating in the city, AND there's never a crowd. 1/2 a block from Logan Circle? Check. Flaming cheese on the menu? Check. Plus they do pig roasts and goat roasts on the weekends.

Daniella Caruso

(soon to be Chicago based BYT food writer)

Favorite outdoor place to eat/drink in DC, I'd say Cork. It's a small space, but it serves it's purpose. More importantly, they've got an amazing wine selection and this grilled bread with avacado & pistachios that I would kill for. Really. Plus 14th St is great spot to post up for some people watching. The hobo camp stationed across the street has potential to get interesting. Other than that (I'm definitely biased since I worked there) but I'd say Breadsoda, especially if you're more of a beer drinker considering they've got 14 on tap and a bajillion (scientific estimate) in bottles. There's a spacious patio and an outdoor bar during summer, but it's really the grilled cheese + bacon and the veggie burger that make the trek up to Glover Park (and its bro crowd) entirely worth it.

Shauna Alexander

(BYT photographer and accounts honcho)

The best outdoor space to drink, eat and be merry is the patio of American Ice Company. I spent many a fuzzy winter (week) night in that space, huddling under heat lamps and chain-smoking till my lungs felt sore while snow fell. Now that the weather's (mostly) glorious, I'm sure it'll continue to be my go-to spot when I want a beer before a show at 9:30 and my nacho cheese sauce extra Jalapeño-y. Yum!

Melissa McCart

(editor for NBC's The Feast and author of Table for One with Washingtonian)

For lovely outdoor setting I like the Tabard. The back patio is really quite charming, not to mention I love the staff. For low brow on the weekends i go to the roof at Red Derby. They almost always play reggae have decent bar food and a terrific crowd. And chances are there isn't a single Virginia ID in the bunch.

Andrew Bucket

(man about town/our boy Friday)

My favorite place to have an outdoor drinking experience is Nellie's at 9th and U st NW, though it may be for benefits exclusive to myself. As it happens, I am very popular with elder gay men and black lesbians, and Nellie's is a whirlpool for both of these intersecting currents of the city. As a boy who has always been functionally attractive to straight women, earning a lot of my points in the personality and originality category--I must admit that its nice to be hit on really hard, have drinks bought for me, and as a BONUS have black women tell me I'm really cool. But apart from that, they have their badass Beat the Clock Happy Hour: beer and cocktails 5-6 pm $1, 6-7 pm $2, and 7-8pm $3. On the rooftop you can see all the way to the National Shrine, there's a big screen projector that is usually playing something embarrassing, and their bartenders all call you "babe". The food is quite bomb, and if you get there at dusk, there is sometimes a man at the corner of 9th and U, in front of an office building lobby, shadow boxing his reflection in the glass door.

Nycci Safier Nellis

(the List and You're On It)

Let me start by saying that I am a sun-worshipping summer lover. The minute I can sit my tush outdoors, I just do. And, once that thermometer begins to rise in the DC region, I begin plotting out the places where I can sip, dine and, if it is early enough, possibly catch some rays. Day or night, chances are I’ll be at Bourbon Steak… sitting out on the all-brick patio, the sette in the far right-hand corner provides a perfect place to catch the afternoon sun, while cooling off with a flute of something tantalizingly crisp and bubbly. Come nightfall, I may still be seated there or perhaps at one of the other lounge seats with one of those fab, glass-like firepits in front of me. I truly love the way the bouncing light flickers off the hot crowd that gathers on that patio nightly. Of course, the temperature stays bearable thanks to the refreshing cocktails whipped up by “bar maestro” Duane Sylvestre. These days I barely break a sweat, when I have one of the "Market Cocktails" like the “Celerickey” (Hendricks gin, fresh lime, house-made ginger syrup & celery juice) or the "Classic" R&R (ambhar, rose water, fresh lime, ginger, grenadine & cucumber) in hand. Summer on that patio at Bourbon Steak? What’s not to love?!

Kimberly Cadena

(BYT photographer)

RedRocks Pizzeria - Picnic tables on the patio, plentiful umbrellas, reasonable waits, they never forget the slice of orange, the spinach salad makes me want to eat salad and they serve some of the best pizza in DC.

Robyn Mincher

(BYT SILF-er)

Picture me, age 6, front row center at the mechanical band concert at Chuck-E-Cheese: wide-eyed, gaping mouth holding un-chewed cafeteria-style pizza. I was completely captivated by kitsch – still am, as an adult. Which is why my favorite outdoor drinking venue in town is Piratz Tavern in Silver Spring. Their “Caribbean terrace” is the most gloriously cheesy place to grab an outdoor drink in town, complete with nautical knicknacks like figureheads of half-naked, stoic mermaids. The tavern’s signature grog has like eight different kinds of rum in it (one stein will make you forget the world), and the best part: it’s served by an real-life, questionably tipsy pirate. The pirates grab themselves and each other inappropriately, spit, sing sea shanties, belly-dance and stab tables with real knives when you refuse to order another glass of grog - which you should because it's spiced right and it goes well with their smoked turkey legs. A great time to go is during the off-hours, like Saturday afternoons, swill that grog and smoke Marlboro Reds with the pirates as they regale you with stories of growing up in pirate-lands such as Glen Burnie and Odenton.

Julian Vu

(BYT photographer/writer/food enthusiast)

Everyone’s been to Standard on 14th and S NW, at least once by now right? I was expecting to hate the place, but I have to admit they deliver on the good ‘cue. Shame on them for not having brisket the day I went as that’s the mark of a good pitmaster. The thing about Standard I love most is not the barbecue or the beer, it’s the fried pickles. These things are heavenly. I’m originally from Mississippi where fried pickles are commonplace. Instead of doing pickle chips like I’m used to, Standard does the whole spear in a batter that’s not too heavy, and not too light. This fried spear of Americana is a warm invitation to summer, and even if you don’t like it, at least you’ll be in the perfect place to eat it.

Emily Amarel

(BYT Contributor)

CAVA on the Hill : Enjoy tapas-style Mediterranean cuisine at Cava on Barrack's Row while sipping a glass of chardonnay on the outdoor, street-level, full-service dining area or on the rooftop patio. I highly suggest the spanakopita (Google wants to correct spanakopita to "spanking," by the way) as well as the grilled asparagus with feta cheese. Plates are small but lend to sharing so it's the perfect place to take close friends (or a first or second date).
Prices are reasonable, servers are pleasant (and all shockingly good-looking) and bottles of wine are 50% off every Monday night. Enjoy a cocktail and/or dinner at this adorable and laid back Capitol Hill restaurant.

NOW-TELL US YOUR FAVORITES IN THE COMMENTS....

Previously in BYT Guides:

• 5/4: The Bourgey Guide to Guacamole
• 4/9: What to Wear to Work - Spring Edition
• 3/30: BYT STYLE GUIDE: SPRING/SUMMER 2012!!!
• 3/26: ARTS Guide: Spring/ Summer 2012
• 3/23: Creative Cocktailwear: BYT + Corcoran ARTINI 2012
• 3/22: Theatre Guide: SPRING/ SUMMER 2012
• 3/21: Food Guide: Spring/ Summer 2012
• 3/20: MUSIC GUIDE: SPRING/SUMMER 2012
• 3/19: FILM GUIDE: SPRING/SUMMER 2012
• 2/29: I Spy: A Movie Marathon