City Tap House, Penn Quarter, Washington, DC

Our monthly Old Guys Group met at the City Tap House downtown. (There’s also one near Dupont Circle.) I was looking for a place near the Green Line, and City Tap House is just a block away from the Gallery Place station. I’d only been there once, for a brief drink among a crowd of friends of former Justice Department colleague, Asheesh Agarwal. Asheesh was that rarest of things for me, a friend a supervisor who actually remained a friend after supervising me, or attempting to. I hadn’t tried any of the food at that time, but the varied group of diners seemed pleased, and the menu offered a good range of choices. So to City Tap House we went.

We had a good turnout, Willie King, Ken DeCell, the elusive Bob Berendt, Marc Rosenbaum, and me. Bob Leland was back in town, but he had a date with his Even Older Guys group.

We each ordered a beer, except for Willie who got his usual sauvignon blanc, and studied the menu. City Tap has a very good variety, and we all ordered things out of the neighborhood run of the mill.

Bob and Ken both considered Cuban sandwiches, which generated much discussion by Marc and me. The City Tap Cuban includes pork, of course, and prosciutto (!), provolone (!), and maple bourbon mustard. Marc hails from Tampa, and has decided views on the proper Cuban sandwich (pork, salami, Swiss, and yellow mustard. I am fairly latitudinarian on Cuban sandwiches, and mainly care about the pork having lots of mojo and sour orange. I also am broadly anti-maple, except on pancakes, and prefer mustard unadorned. I regaled the group with the glorious Cuban sandwich at Antonio’s, a hole in the wall in the 600 block of D Street back when there were holes in the wall amid the naughty shops downtown, and the glorious flavor and penetrating fragrance of the pork, a wonderful sandwich to take back to the office. Bob and Ken ignored our carping and ordered away.

Willie had the seafood linguini which comes with plenty of mussels and shrimp and, if my nose knows, some garlic. As you can see, it’s an attractive dish, one I might try next time.

Marc had the fried chicken sandwich with pickled green tomatoes and pimiento cheese, and I had the hot chicken sandwich topped with pickles. All of City Tap’s sandwiches come with fries.

I’ll confess I had approached City Tap with low expectations, and I was delighted to have them exceeded. First, each of us was pleased with his choice. Bob and Ken enjoyed their Cuban sandwiches despite the sniping from the peanut gallery, and Willie was well pleased with his seafood. Marc and I liked our respective chicken sandwiches, and Marc commented on how much the pickles added to the sandwich. That’s a thoughtful and important observation. Pickles add texture and they lighten and brighten a sandwich as they balance the richness of the meat. The same was true with the hamburger dill chip, which rarely gets the credit it deserves, on my hot chicken sandwich as well. The hot chicken also had a nice but by no means overpowering touch of heat, and also a light touch of sweetness, not so much as to spoil the sandwich. The chicken was juicy and the crust added flavor and texture. It was a success.

City Tap was a bit slow starting the day’s service. It took a while for our drinks to arrive, and the food arrived after a dignified pause. The staff were friendly, however, and we meet less for the food than the conversation, and we took it in stride, at least by Old Guy standards. We’ll return to City Tap House in the future, I feel sure. There’s variety and quality, all at a good price. You should try it.

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