Shrine of Hip

Rock & Roll Hotel
1353 H St. NE
202-388-ROCK

This must be prefaced with the fact that we are a little biased because we hosted our first (but not last) DCBW soiree. For this reason, the crew was sequestered in a separate room- The Presidential Suite where we were lavished with cupcake towers, chocolate fondue, and plates of hummus.
With that being said...here goes:

The Rock & Roll Hotel, situated quite a far (and expensive) cab ride out in NE, certainly caters to a unique crowd. As both a bar, and a concert venue, the Rock & Roll attracts the grunge, punk, trendy and scenester population of the district. For the typical Georgetown patron, you certainly won't find Ralph Lauren or Louis Vuitton here, but it is a nice change from the norm and the Hotel manages to create an accepting atmosphere, even though the majority of the guys (and girls for that matter) have mohawks, piercings and multiple tattoos.

If Smith Point is a shrine to DC exclusivity, then Rock & Roll is a shrine to absolute cool. The atmosphere definitely lives up to its name. Truly, could you expect anything less than velvet couches, flying guitars and a general ode to sex, drugs and rock and roll?

Downstairs houses the stage for performances. As we headed right upstairs I must admit, I have no comment as to the decor there. However, if the upstairs is any indication then it simply rocks (no pun intended).

Upstairs, there is a main bar area with pool table and DJ booth. Walking into the main space, there are two rooms, on the left and right and another behind the entrance.

The Presidential Suite (the oh-too-fabulous location for DCBW partying) epitomizes posh, in a trendy kind of way. Royal blue walls with gold pinstripes are adorned by cleverly photo-shopped pictures showing typical DC/Presidential locations with all-time famous rock-stars inserted (i.e. Gene Simmons exiting Air Force One). Fancy Carter era couches and tables line the walls and the scene is set for a hell of a good time. A small bar inside the room allows the use of a private bartender. Not having to fight your way up to the bar only to be ignored where every other Joe Blow gets their cocktail? That my friends, is priceless.

The second room, a much smaller space, aptly entitled the Honeymoon Suite has a sultry but edgy vibe. Red walls with hand-painted oversized blood droops and black-thorned roses create an eerie but chic setting, perfect for a small engagement party or birthday.

The third space, known as the Piano Cafe is a quiet laid back room, perfect for an office gathering (if you can get your office to book and event at a place called Rock & Roll Hotel of course). Since we are neither quiet, nor laid-back we didn't even glimpse this room, but I'm sure its a muted but still baller version of the aforementioned rooms.

The bartender was fabulous. By the end of the night she was cracking jokes with us and making comments about our group. The drinks were strong and cheap by DC standards ($5 vodka cran) but beer was a little pricey.The general manager, Jason Martin even made an appearance to make sure everything was peachy. Testament to the still boutique feeling Rock & Roll manages to create, even with its size and scope as virtually the only rock and roll arena in the city.

The food, although not credited to the actual hotel, is the genius of Melt Catering. Being privy to a memorable amount of catered food in my life, Melt certainly does the job right.
Cupcake towers (chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting), cheese fondue with veggies and bread, plates of cheese, hummus and spinach artichoke dip and chocolate fondue with berries, marshmallows and rice krispy treats were the perfect treats for the night. My one and only regret about our time at Rock & Roll was that I did not eat enough of the yummies.

The music. At first, it was what we expected, but were none too thrilled about. Head-banging metal was the genre of choice for the first hour or so. We decided this simply wouldn’t do. We wanted to dance, and gosh darn it; we were going to dance. After requesting, “sorority girl music” as Irish Car Bomb phrased it from the DJ he obliged with some unfamiliar but bouncy tunes. If you dig M.I.A., GirlTalk and Daft Punk to groove to, the DJ on Saturday night will certainly deliver. In no time at all, we were jamming on the dance floor with the Mohawk sportin’ patrons of the Hotel.

Rock & Roll Hotel lives up to its famous name and infamous reputation as a hotspot for the cool people in DC. I could not imagine a better location for DCBW’s first official fête. The drinks, the decor and the delectables were too good to be true. We left 1353 H Street feeling like bonafide rock stars, if only for the night.