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The Bottom Line on I Street NW is one of the closest bars to the White House. On most weeknights, happy-hour worker bees sport tucked in dress shirts and nod to Dave Matthews. The urinal in the men’s room is awkwardly close to the sink. It’s a basement joint with aged white tablecloths and ESPN across four or so flatscreens.
Scoff at the decidedly square clientele all you like—-in the not-so-distant future those of us who work in Farragut Square will be able to say there was once a dive here with $3 appetizers and all the $1 Miller Lite vortex bottles you can carry on Fridays.
My favorite thing about this bar is that it exists in a vacuum from the news. I drank here the day there was an earthquake and downtown office buildings took precautionary structural measures and shut down for the afternoon.
Ivan Aguilar tends bar during weekdays. He says tonight’ll be a long one, but despite some rock-solid specials (the aforementioned apps special, $3 rails), Bottom Line has made no election night plans. Again, Bottom Line is a seven-minute walk from the White House.
“We’ll have folks from both sides,” Aguilar said, “We can put on CNN if they want. We’re kind of a dive bar, we like to stay away from that.”
At the moment there are five old men in suits and a handful of young people. Green Bay Packers linebacker Clay Matthews‘ recent hamstring injury dominates patron conversation. Aguilar pours me a seasonal Sam Adams pint and I ask him for predictions. He’d rather not. Any timely prediction at all?
“I think the Falcons are going to win the Super Bowl.”