ChurchKey ~ Washington, District of Columbia

First visit: Dec 2023

The day after the record show I had to get up super early (like before 3) to catch a flight to DC through Atlanta. I'm there for work, but wanted to have Sunday and Monday (as a PTO day) to look for records. In order to have time on Sunday, I need to get there as early as possible. Everything more or less was timed perfectly, and I was into my first shop by around 2 or so. After visiting four different places, it's time to settle in for dinner and some craft beers.

One of my goals in life is to try a local craft beer in every state (including DC). I've already accomplished having a beer from each state, but not in the state if that makes sense. I was eight short going into this trip, but DC and Virginia are two I'm missing. So this should be easy. And it was. I recently read an article on the top 10 craft beer bars in the US, and ChurchKey was one of them. And it's less than a 10 minute walk from my hotel. Incidentally I stayed at the Kimpton Hotel Banneker. Wonderful boutique hotel. I've enjoyed Kimpton's since the first one I visited in San Francisco way back in 1995 (Hotel Vintage Court). Kimpton long ago sold out of the San Francisco market, but they were my go-to chain when I used to frequent that once fine city for business. I hope to go to SF again, it's been over 10 years since my last visit. Of course the general news is how bad it is there - but then I read the same things about DC and it's a wonderful city. And everyone - and I mean everyone - has been so nice to me. I haven't been here since 2007 and that was a brief stop to drop off a proposal. The last real trip to DC was in 2004 on the same night as the presidential election. What crazy timing. Stayed at a Kimpton then too (different hotel than this one). I'll have to look it up when I get home. And ate at Bobby Van's Steakhouse. OK back to this visit... Interesting to note that the Banneker is right next to the Serbian Embassy. I should have knocked on their door to see if they had any Igra Staklenih Perli albums (esoteric reference, but I do encourage you to check them out on YouTube if curious - they were similar to early Pink Floyd).

It's a little bit confusing at first, but basically you open the door and walk up two flights of stairs to the main room. I started on the local DC beers (two), and then moved to Virginia, for four total. As for dinner, they have my go-to Cuban. This is a very good variation, with crispy bread and ham and pork. Ever since my time working in Idaho, if I have the option for tater tots, that's what I'll go for. These were a bit too much filler, and not crispy enough.

While I wouldn't crown ChurchKey as better than Max's Taphouse (Baltimore) for beer selection, I would still rate it very highly. I do think the food is better here. I hope I get another chance to try ChurchKey again.

12/3/23 (new entry)