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Though I’m not enamored with nachos, my post earlier this week set off a craving. EatBar’s Monday night football menu promised an interesting version spiked with venison chili. The nachos were fine, but it was the rooster sauce wings on the menu that grabbed me.
I’ve always been a Frank’s sauce purist, but sriracha has also long been a fixture in my pantry. And Joey Alvarez hit a home run when he decided to employ the Asian condiment as the foundation for his wing sauce. The sous chef uses a reduction of rice wine vinegar and sugar to tone down and balance the Thai heat, resulting in a slightly sweet, bright, and spicy snack.
Blue cheese is cast aside, and traditional accompaniment of carrots and celery are interpreted as a slaw dressed in cilantro and lime, getting further kick from the same fresh jalapeño that adorned my chili nachos.
Okay, maybe the three hand-pulled cask ales helped. But I have to say Eat Bar assembles an impressive bar food menu that calls to mind the gastropub moniker I feel is completely overused. It’s too bad for me it’s a ride on the Orange Line and a decent walk away. If this place was stuffed into a dark basement on U Street, I might have a new local.