The Raven

After another failed attempt at practicing my Spanish conversation skills at Dos Gringos, my new alum buddy and I headed over to the Raven for drinks. He has raved about the Raven ever since I first met him. I’m glad that I finally checked it out and I’m quite sure that I’ll be back very soon.

For the record, my favorite dive bar in the area is the Quarry House in Silver Spring. It also has a long history, dark, wooden interior and a jukebox.

But, the Raven takes the label "dive bar" to a new level. There is no kitchen and the rumor is that the roaches swarm when customers aren’t around. Since IC told me that the place once boasted athletic rodents, I entered the bar unbelieveably cautious of what I would find within. It is a small and dark bar with large black and white photos of musicians and other notables of the old days (e.g. Hendrix, Dietrich, Marilyn, etc). The bartender, John, was very nice and the patrons—mainly locals and buddies when we arrived around 8/9 were older and very chill. By the time we left, closer to 11, the place was starting to fill up with late twenty- and early thirty-somethings and the music playing on the jukebox was a bit more constant.

It doesn’t seem like a hipster bar as noted in the WP review, but perhaps it turns hipster later in the night (ummm, I don't even know who hipsters are, but I sense that I don't like 'em). That’s not at all my scene, so I’ll only return to the Raven earlier in night, like on Saturday, when the crowd is all non-hipster locals and I can drop my quarters without having to wait an hour for my songs to play.

Also, for the record, I can't believe that tonic contains as much sugar as a soda. Vodka sodas are truly horrible. Geesh, I need a new signature drink!