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Barmini bartender Carlie Steiner has long prided herself on her epic dinner parties. “I’d call up like 40 of my friends,” she says. “Granted, it ended up being more of a party than a dinner party by the end of the night.” Someone would inevitably break out a guitar. A friend’s art would hang on the wall. And everyone would enjoy good food and drink.
Now, she’s bringing her parties to the public with Tea Time DC, a series of twice-monthly events that combine food, drinks, music, and art from up-and-coming talent. The events don’t necessarily have a set format, but Tea Time’s next event, on April 24 at The Ulysses Room in Truxton Circle, will include unlimited cocktails from Firefly bartender Aaron Michael Del Giudice and a musical performance by local bluegrass band Only Lonesome. A number of food vendors will provide small bites, including cupcakes from Cakes by Evangeline and 24-hour smoked beef brisket and pulled pork sliders from B. Lin Catering.
As for the name Tea Time? “If you look at the history of tea time, it’s a really cool time where people stopped what they were doing in their lives to sit down and have a cup of tea and talk to each other,” Steiner says. “Yeah, there’s no tea, but it’s the same idea of stepping out of the norm.”
Tickets for the April 24 Tea Time event are $30 and can be purchased here. Part of the proceeds will go to FAIR Girls, a local girls empowerment and anti-human trafficking organization.
Photo by DIV Perry Photography courtesy Tea Time DC