• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • About
  • Book 1
  • Book 2
  • Restaurants
  • Military
    • Patriotism
  • Trucking
    • Repair
    • Beltway
      • Real Estate
    • Beach
    • Midwest
      • Great Lakes
      • Indiana
      • Ohio
      • Kentucky
    • Northeast
      • Conn
      • Mass
      • NY
      • NJ
    • Mid Atlantic
      • DC
      • MD
      • PA
      • VA
    • Southeast
      • Ark
      • Al
      • Florida
      • Georgia
      • Louisiana
        • NOLA
      • NC
      • TX
    • Overseas
  • Map
  • Blog

RUNIN Ragged

Exploring the highways and byways across this Land

Ad example
  • South
    • Alabama
    • Florida
    • Georgia
    • Louisiana
    • North Carolina
    • South Carolina
    • Tenn
    • NOLA
  • Midwest
    • Great Lakes
    • Indiana
    • Ohio
  • New England
    • Conn
    • Mass
  • Mid Atlantic
    • NY
    • PA
    • MD
    • DC
    • VA
  • Northeast
    • NJ
    • NY
  • Southwest
    • Ark
    • TX

The Bottom Line

May 9, 2022 by chito

December 2015

I knew a great place to celebrate New Year’s Eve, near McPherson Square and next to the Veterans Affairs office on I Street.  Established in 1979, The Bottom Line has served politicians, lobbyists, authors, and celebrities dirty martinis and gin and tonics over the span of four decades.

It’s a renowned watering hole that welcomes Bengals fans on football Sundays.  The basement dive bar serves Skyline Chili atop a pile of spaghetti with a generous mound of shredded cheddar cheese. 

The burgers are also half price on Mondays, and on Fridays there’s the uber popular “Beat the Clock” happy hour, where cold bottles from their extensive beer list start dirt cheap at 4 and climb a buck to $5 at 5 and until it reaches its peak at 8 pm.  

Celebrating the Bengals touchdown

I had visited the institution before on Sept 14, 2014, when the Falcons played the Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium, Cincinnati, and the Bengals whooped the Dirty Bird’s ass. The “The Bengals Growl” played loud and proud every time they scored along with that celebrated/annoying chant.

“Who dey, who dey, who dey think gonna beat dem Bengals?”

“Nobody” is then screamed in unison.

Al serving Shots at the  Bottom Line

Owner Jr Mosbrucker and Manager, Al Garcia, were busy keeping the DC Jungle happy, serving orange vodka shots to the faithful fans. Behind the bar, Ellen Massey and Ivan Aguillar were doing their magic pouring cheap domestic beer with baskets of crispy golden fries. The crowd was mostly trashed and boisterous, but for food, they were easy to please.

Jr had a knack for making his customers laugh and enjoy themselves. “We’ve played in two Super Bowls so far. Think we’re overdue to return to the big game very soon before we turn 40 I hope ”

New Year’s Eve

The party started with a bang.  The revelers greeted the wooden saluting Indian chief and gathered under the multi-colored chandeliers which lit up the funky walls with holiday props. They arrived early to reminisce all the big milestones of the year and recall all the victories and eventual defeat of their beloved football team. For the fourth year in a row, the Bengals were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, but still, there was a lot to cheer for.  Muriel Bowser took the oath as the Mayor of DC, Hillary Clinton announced her campaign for President, and weed was now legally flowing in the city.

Revelers danced all night

Merrymakers danced with abandon while the DJ spun a percussive house mix.  They sang “Raise Your Glass” by Pink and “Don’t Stop Believing” by Journey while Ivan Aguilar worked behind the bar concocting stylish cocktails and pouring sparkling wine like a magician.

Ivan Aguilar shaking a cocktail

The crowd knew 2015 was going to be an even more amazing year.  The presidential campaigns would be heating up, and many were expecting Hillary to win the Democratic nomination.  D.C. restaurant scene would continue to flourish, and independent courier services like Postmates and Uber Eats were starting to gain steam.

So I was thrilled to have found the perfect spot to celebrate New Year’s Eve — What doors would open this year, and which ones would close?  Hopefully, the one resolution that I could stick with this year would be to drink less alcohol.

“Hey we’re looking for a website redesign next year,” Jr stated. “Would love for you to join the D.C. Jungle.”

“I’m a die-hard Falcons fan but, I love the energy, and would be thrilled to join the team,” I replied.

“Great what are your prices?”

“We start at $1,500 and work up depending on the number of pages and photos.”

“Sounds great. Looks like you’re having a blast. So to make it even more enjoyable, we’ll pick up your tab.”

“Fantastic Jr., I’m sold. Tonight, I’m officially a Bengals fan.”

Screen-Shot-2022-05-09-at-10.41.19-PM
Screen-Shot-2022-05-09-at-10.42.16-PM
Screen-Shot-2022-05-09-at-10.41.33-PM
Screen-Shot-2022-05-09-at-10.42.26-PM
Screen-Shot-2022-05-09-at-10.41.49-PM
Screen-Shot-2022-05-09-at-12.46.20-AM
Screen-Shot-2022-05-08-at-11.01.46-PM
Screen-Shot-2022-05-08-at-11.00.02-PM
Screen-Shot-2022-05-09-at-10.44.14-PM
Screen-Shot-2022-05-09-at-10.43.58-PM
Screen-Shot-2022-05-09-at-10.43.13-PM
Screen-Shot-2022-05-09-at-10.43.28-PM
Screen-Shot-2022-05-09-at-10.43.43-PM
Screen-Shot-2022-05-09-at-10.42.57-PM
1_Screen-Shot-2022-05-09-at-10.42.16-PM
1_Screen-Shot-2022-05-09-at-10.41.19-PM
1_Screen-Shot-2022-05-09-at-10.42.26-PM
1_Screen-Shot-2022-05-09-at-10.41.33-PM
1_Screen-Shot-2022-05-09-at-10.41.49-PM
1_Screen-Shot-2022-05-09-at-12.46.20-AM
Ivan-Aguilar-shaking-a-cocktail
Screen-Shot-2022-05-09-at-9.05.29-PM

Related posts:

Boys & Girls Club
The Well @ Oxon Run Opens
Benihana

Filed Under: Festival, Food

Primary Sidebar

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • StumbleUpon
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

More to See

Boys & Girls Club

June 10, 2022 By chito

The Well @ Oxon Run Opens

June 5, 2022 By chito

Tribute to Two Brothers

May 29, 2022 By chito

Clarendon Food Crawl

August 9, 2014 By chito

Alba Osteria

September 30, 2014 By chito

Tags

African Amazon Arlington Baltimore Beach Belly Dancing Biden Canada Castle Coronavirus Drums Dumplings Ethiopian Florida Fort Freight Fundraiser Georgia Great Lakes Italian lake Lockdown midwest Nepal new york Niagara Falls Pizza Politics Postmates Ramen Running Shaw Spanish Startup St Augustine st patricks Sushi Tapas Thai Tornado Trucking Turkish Vietnamese Whiskey Wine

Most Popular Posts

  • Boys & Girls Club
  • The Well @ Oxon Run Opens
  • Tribute to Two Brothers
  • Benihana
  • MOAPIA Foodelicious Night

Footer

Recent

  • Restless Wind (1972-76)
  • Boys & Girls Club
  • The Well @ Oxon Run Opens
  • Tribute to Two Brothers
  • Benihana

Search

After I retired from the Navy, I attended George Washington University to earn my MBA. I left with a diploma, and with a food tech startup called RUNINOut. Our goal was to add as many restaurants, stores and attractions to the directory and after running it for five years, I felt I had oversaturated the local Washington, DC market. It was time to take RUNINOut on the road. In order for my startup to grow, I had to add more restaurants – that meant getting outside the Beltway and exploring the highways and byways in small town suburbia. I bought a truck and drove cross-country for two years. Here's my adventures in the Washington, DC area and beyond.

Copyright © 2022 · Magazine Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in