PS7’s

Do when I’m traveling I like to spoil myself with at least one awesome meal. After reading about the pull apart pork sticky buns in an Urban Daddy email, I knew this place was the place I would spoil myself. I came in on a Monday a little bit after 5PM. They have HH from 4PM to close here which includes half off Burgers and flat breads and a few drink specials. After treking all of the district and working up a crazy appetite I made my way to Ps 7’s.
I was greeted immediately which was great at the same time I was the only one there. By 7 I suspect every one was off from work because the lounge started to crank. I had the sticky buns that were off the hook. I love pork and I love sticky buns, this was the perfect marriage of both.
Next I had the Lil John Burger (half off on Mondays) and that was yummy as well. I wish the fries were a little crispier to give more texture and I definitely should’ve ordered it with bacon. Hello I love pork!
For dessert I had the Fried and Fine. Tasty as well, but I wished they were more like a beignet. The chocolate mousse shake that accompanies it was delicious.
After I managed to wolf all that down I was thankful for Jason the bartender in the lounge for all his recommendations. He was a step above friendly and extremely helpful. Kudos to Ps 7’s for topping off my DC trip!

I visited during the era where according to regulars, the drinks were «on the way down» thanks to Gina’s imminent absence. When the bartender has to pull their little black cheatbook from under the bar when you ask if they know how to make something, the best response to that behavior is to abort the action. I would never have ordered another Blood & Sand here. However, the Gnome’s Water was alright, and the Optimus Mandarin tasted like a splendidly boozy creamsicle.
Jennifer was an alright bartender, but I would’ve gladly accepted Jason’s service all night long. When a ready smile asks if you want it hard… all reason flits away and you agree to less runny egg. Burger was okay, but the flatbread was definitely the real winner, one of my favorites in the city.
RIP, PS7’s. Your interior was sexy enough that had you lasted a little longer despite the adjacent construction site, I would’ve thrown my birthday happenings here.

THE FRIED CHICKEN IS WHERE IT’S AT!!! I had the braised beef but I jacked the chicken from others: D I promise to get my own next time.
Food was great, atmosphere and space is great for small or large groups. Staff is attentive and professional. The location has plenty of street parking.

I just didn’t like the vibe of PS7’s.
Stopped in for a happy hour and the overall feeling just wasn’t doing it for me. I can’t point my finger as to why I didn’t get fully into this place but my visit was just a little off for some reason.
I had a little of the chicken and mushroom flat bread, nothing special, it was decent but not anything that I would be dying to try again.
Had an Old Fashion, not normally a bourbon drinker but it was good, I like how they use brown sugar instead of simple syrup. Also had a Manhattan, had a strong oak flavor probably from the bourbon they used. Both drinks were made well and were strong.
Service was okay, the bartenders were friendly enough but even with them I thought the interaction was slightly off.
I’m not saying PS7’s is a bad place but for my visit it just kept missing the mark. I may return one day but I doubt it, just really not my kind of place.

Happy Hour review only:
The good:
1. Decent HH beer selection. Bell’s, Schlafly, etc.
2. Not loud, easy to converse
3. Service. Prompt and friendly.
4. The free popcorn
The hit-​or-​miss:
The flatbread. I really like the goat cheese option. I’ve had the chicken and mushroom a couple times. The first time it was ok, the 2^nd time it was so bad my friend and I returned it because we couldn’t bear to finish it. I can’t remember the last time I’ve done such a thing. To their credit, they were very understanding and had no problems with our request.
The disappointing:
It would be nice if they had at least one cocktail on their HH special list (kinda like Dickson on U st does). Just my one suggestion.
Overall, it provides a decent HH. If you plan to meet just 1 – 2 people for HH, it is a good option. It’s too small of a space for a big group to meet for HH though.

300+ reviews and counting for PS7. It’s a popular establishment and reviewed to death.
For the Chinatown area in DC, contemporary American food gets REALLY expensive and this is about as good of a bargain as you’re going to get.
I know there are people who are trying to keep this in the dark… but I’m gonna let you guys in on a little secret. There is a
certificate that will drop the cost of your meal by 50% and the voucher exists at every tier (from $ 25 certificates all the way up to $ 100. That kind of discount does not exist for this caliber of a restaurant in the Chinatown area. This is one of those Unilocal mishaps where they forget to provide a link to
when the certificates exist. I bet if enough people knew about it and used it, PS7 would yank the coupon off the website.
So for 50% off you’ll be sampling Kobe Steaks, Seared Duck Breasts, and Pork Loins which will run you about $ 14-​$ 16 pretip and pretax. Considering that the dishes here are a tad shy of being a 4* Unilocal rated dish… the discount justifies a very attractive quality/​price ratio.
To the comment on the drinks, PS7 has won several accolades in the area and ranks in the top 20%. My favorite is the cucumber based gin called the Gnome Water.
All that for 50% off folks. You can’t complain. Find the coupon on the
website and buy it. the time is ticking…

**Warning: this is primarily a hot dog review.**
And now I’ll probably have every person who’s actually from DC annoyed that I just called a half-​smoke a hot dog. I know there’s a lot of pride in DC’s native dog, made from half pork and half beef and then smoked, but any way you smoke it, it’s still a hot dog…
***3.5 stars***
On a quest for the best hot dog in DC, my partner in crime, Paula, and I set off on Suzy D.‘s Hot Dog Crawl 2012. By the time we reached PS7’s we were nearing the end of our journey, but were super excited to try the award-​winning People’s Half-​Smoke.
PS7’s won the «people’s choice» award in the 2011 Half-​Smoke challenge, and has had it on the menu since [footnote: Firefly (
) won the judges’ award]. One order comes with two full-​sized house-​made half-​smokes with white veal chili, aged cheddar cheese, chives and dijon mustard ($ 12). For bar food, it’s really something else. The flavor of each element is very strong and the textures very rich. The butteriness of the bun and sharpness of the cheese, combine with the meatiness of the half-​smoke and veal chili to create a powerful explosion of taste, highlighted even more by the dijon, which comes on the side. This is by far the bougiest and most adult-​like chili cheese dog I’ve ever had, and a little bit goes a long way. Paula and I split an order, and even then, one full chili-​loaded dog was plenty; the fatty meats and greasy bun and cheese make it pretty dense.
We were joined by Justin for this stage of the Crawl and sat at the bar to sample PS7’s contribution to the competition. It’s a nice space for sure, and there was almost no one at the bar in the middle of the afternoon in the middle of the week. Though they’re known for their cocktails, nothing goes better with hot dogs than beer. We perused the beer menu, which was disappointingly short, but that afternoon they were out of my first choice so I ended up with something quite unmemorable. Justin ordered the OMFG Dip (porchetta, carmelized onions, gruyère, country bread, smoked jus; $ 12) but said the quality of it had gone down substantially since the last time he’d had it.
The name here intrigued me a bit… seemed so cryptic. Peter Smith is the chef and owner and the address is 777… hence, PS7’s. Though if you want to be grammatically correct, there shouldn’t be an apostrophe if it’s meant for the 7s to be plural (sevens), unless it is PS’s 7s (Peter Smith’s Sevens), and then it’s in the wrong place. Ironically, on the menu the «Peoples [sic] half-​smoke» doesn’t have an apostrophe. Maybe they ran out of them since it was used too frequently in «PS 7’s» instead.
Happy hour is Mon 4-​close and Tu-​Fri 4 – 7, but neither the half-​smoke nor any of the cocktails are included. Burgers are half priced on Mondays, and the pork belly banh mi is listed under burgers. Looks tasty, and for $ 6 I would certainly be willing to go back again to try it.
The People’s half-​smoke didn’t win an award in my Hot Dog Crawl, but represented the middle of the pack well and it was a nice treat to have such a dolled up hot dog.

We came to PS 7’s after walking around trying to find a place to go to after many places in Chinatown-​Gallery Place were closing (was a little before 11pm on Sat 5÷19÷12). We parked down the street from it and were just about to go home until we saw someone go in. Luckily their bar area was still open! So we went directly to the bar (they also had the Lakers/​OKC game on) and were greeted by Jason and Brinden (who are friggin awesome and hilarious– they were cracking jokes all night)! We only asked for drinks since we had already had dinner and their kitchen had already closed at 10pm.
I requested a drink menu to see what they had to offer. The first thing I saw was the SMASHBERRY, but sadly they didn’t have one of the ingredients. So I then asked for an UPSIDE DOWN GREYHOUND and I am sooo glad I did. It’s almost like a margarita but with Gin. It’s rimmed with salt and sugar giving it an edge. If you don’t like grapefruit than maybe this drink isn’t for you, but I think it’s worth a try! My bf ended up with a similar drink, but I don’t think it was on the menu– it was a vodka base.
Since PS 7’s is on Washingtonian’s top 100, we decided to take a look at their dinner menu. My bf asked Jason which dish was their best and he recommended the duck (for next time of course). He then went into how all the burgers are made with Kobe beef, yummy! I will def be back on a Monday night when the burgers are ½ priced. I looked at their happy hour menu, but didn’t really see much for food-​other than the burgers special. All of the plates I saw on the lounge and dinner menus sounded delicious and can’t wait to go back to try them all! Will be back especially for the laughs and jokes offered by Jason and Brinden!

I never made it out for dinner, but Happy Hour is always a great idea. $ 3 Yuengling, $ 6 Prosecco and Barbera: yum.
I always end up outlasting Happy Hour, but staying around anyhow, chilling on the couches in the cool-​kids lounge area and sucking down those fancy cocktails like they’re going out of style.
I’ve forever been a fan of those hand-​crafted cocktails – and truth be told, have probably tried each of them – but I’ve been told the 100-​calorie cocktails are pretty tasty, too. Way to look out for the weight-​conscious ladies, PS7!

Our dining experience here was underwhelming from beginning to end. It was one of those frustrating times where the promise seemed so good, but nothing quite delivered.
On the outside, you could walk right by this place and not realize it. No fancy building or entrance. And there was even a large, dead rat outside the side entrance door. Inside, it was sorta bland and set-​up kinda strange. Definitely not what I would expect based on the prices.
When the menu arrived, I was a tad upset as all of the things I picked out on their website menu as wanting weren’t actually on this particular dinner menu. In fact, nothing on the menu put in front of me sounded enticing or worth the monetary risk. And I could tell that the rest of our group felt the same way. Never a good sign.
I finally settled on the petite hot dogs — opting to have this appetizer as my entrée. The rest of the group settled on various different entrees — no one particularly excited about their selection. When our dishes arrived, no one was raving. They didn’t look that great, and they didn’t particularly taste great either. Don’t get me wrong — everyone mostly ate what was in front of them. It was just severely underwhelming.
And then just repeat that whole scenario all over again for dessert.
The service was ok. Again, a bit underwhelming. Totally pleasant and ok attentive, but not stellar.
Even having a
gift certificate for this place couldn’t make up for the disappointment. I doubt I’ll be back.

Alright, so I started a new job in DC this week and I’m thinking my lunch outings are bound to improve 10 fold — no offense to Alexandria.
Anywho, I took a nice little walk and came upon PS7s. Happily, I dragged my co-​worker in, because I’d been meaning to try it. What a nice surprise inside. Large, open, modern, with a friendly host.
Yes, they had restaurant week going on, but my delicate little companion said it was way too much food. Trying not to be the piggy I am, I said, «Oh yeah. Totally.» I thought, damn, I guess I have to eat more bread. HAHA. It’s a good thing cuz the bread was really good.
But, still being the piggy I am, I ordered the Primanti Brothers sammich (soppressata, fried egg, provolone, pepper slaw, french fries on fresh sourdough) all for the low price of $ 9. Seriously? I get to sit in this place and eat a sammich for only $ 9?! LOVE.
The sandwich was good (just GOOD), but huge. I could only eat half of it. The bread was good and toasted, but I had an issue with the soppressata. It was SUPER salty and, with the provolone, it was a bit much after a while. I did like the slaw and the thin fries on it. It definitely was a more pretty/​refined version of a real Primanti Brothers sandwich, from what I see on TV anyway.
Here’s the thing. I was still happy with the service and food — and judging from the menu, there are many more things for me to sample, so I’m coming back to PS7s. I mean, I AM closeby, after all.

Serving sizes here are perfect … for a young rabbit. A very rich rabbit, too.
Friend and I shared two entrees: It’s almost $ 30 on this duck entrée I inhaled in three bites! I mean, really?! Yes, it was tender and suffused with flavor (so I can’t complain about taste), but only two stuffed duck confit pasta bows. The swordfish was wonderful (also about $ 30), too, but, again, I finished it so fast that I barely remember what the side was (mango/​spinach salsa?). We had to eat TWO servings of the free bread to feel somewhat satiated.
Luckily the Situation Rum drink kept me buzzed for awhile so I forgot how hungry I was. Then we decided that we still had plenty of space to fill for a dessert. I almost laughed when our server handed over our «proper pear» dessert – I kid you not, a mini tower of cracker, (cheese?), pear sorbet. And we still had to split this thing! So yes, eat here because it’s tasty. BUT… PS: It’s expensive and not filling!!!

Quick dinner with some friends.
Atmosphere:
Contemporary & modern. My type of setting.
Beverage:
Brooklyn Lager — Very good.
Food:
OMFG Dip (sandwich) — This was OMFG! Porchetta, onions and gruyère cheese on a toasted country break with jus for dipping. Yowza this was DELISH! This sandwich is off of the lounge menu.
Service:
Fast & friendly.
Tip:
Ask to see the lounge menu, which offers lots of good choices, including the OMFG Dip.

It’s like Blue Duck Tavern and Proof had a baby! A sexy chic baby …
«What does that mean?!» You say.
I’m glad you asked.
The décor of PS7 is minimalistic like BDT and overall just feels very zen and like Proof because they have a great wine selection and an impressive menu.
Veal loin anyone?
It’s kind of like the best of both worlds and not as terribly expensive as BDT. My date had the roast chicken breast which was beyond tasty. It sounds so simple but it’s seriously seasoned to perfection. I opted for the scallops and butternut squash carpaccio and it was pretty perfect too and just what I needed on a chilly night.
I can’t remember what we drank, which is unfortunate because it was really well paired, but I can say that our waiter was very knowledgeable and once he knew what we were ordering the recommendations flowed just as smoothly as the wine.
For dessert we had banana fritters which were okay but not quite what we expected. For some reason I was thinking it would be more like banana foster (because I was told it would be …) and that it was not but meh, it wasn’t bad.
All in all, it was good company, good food, and good wine. I’d come back.

The g.H. Cazerac cocktail was well made, strong, distinctive flavors, heady bouquet, but the absinthe flavor was MIA; the gnome water was refreshing and delicious; the Pete’s pickled martini was outstanding as was the Mexican switchblade. It turned out to be a boon that my date was running late.
The starters were excellent. The tuna sliders were great, but the pork belly special was fabulous. The date had the steak and cheese entrée and I got a taste of it. A great blend of flavors from all the components of kobe bistro filet, bresaola, cheese roll, beech mushrooms, and onions. The venison cannolli special entrée that I had was a bit of a disappointment. The overall dish was good, but I found the venison flavor was drowned by the cream sauce.
The date had the apple strudel made with warm apple and date strudel, cinnamon chili ice cream, green apple sauce. I thought the cinnamon was sedate when it should be more prominent. The Squitch Squash consisting of butternut squash pie, figs, butterscotch pudding, crème fraiche ice cream was much better balanced. It was a really balanced sweetness with a creamy squash blend.
The Duckhorn Decoy was a very good pairing with both entrees. Heady currant and vanilla bouquet with moderate tannins and cherry finish.

I’ve been to PS7’s for happy hour a couple of times, and I’ve always liked the food I’ve tried then, so I was excited to see what it was like at lunch. We ordered the OMFG sandwich (porchetta, caramelized onions, gruyère, country bread, smoked jus), along with the Philly Style flatbread (slow roasted pork, broccoli rabe pesto, pecorino, sesame seed) and the Autumn Flavor flatbread (butternut squash purée, spiced pepitas, pickled cranberries, V.A. ham). Everything was really tasty — I especially liked the Autumn flavor flatbread — it was really unique, and the mix of flavors was great. My friend had a French press coffee, which smelled great, and which she said tasted great. The service was also really good — our waiter was very friendly.
I also used the 50% off coupon from Scoutmob, which was an awesome deal!

Damnnnnnnnn … I wanted a bday dinner and they freakin delievered. From the moment I set foot into this upscale chinatown restaurant I was greeted with a smile from the host, and the cocktail extroadinaire (aka Gina) took amazing care of us. The bar was really nice, and made conversation with your crowd or random strangers fairly pleasant.
She didn’t even give me shit when I ordered a Cucumber Basil Mojito (how Florida I know). The service was excellent, and attention to detail was superb. No peanuts in the dish, no problem. here’s a list of everything even remotely related to peanuts.
We got a lot of funky dishes, but what took it over the top was the Kobe beef. Cooked to perfection!
Even though I came with a 50 off 100 coupon, I would gladly pay full price coming here again.

The GF and I had been to PS7’s on several occasions for both food and drinks, but for some reason it had never really struck the proper chord with us. However, based on our most recent visit on a Wednesday night, I’m going to have to reassess. After our dinner at Cedar, we decided to go to PS7’s for our «dessert». Gina Chersevani, the First Lady of the burgeoning DC cocktail scene, is definitely one of the leading innovators in original hand-​crafted cocktails. While she’s eminently qualified to do classic cocktails, her mixological strength is in her truly original, hand-​crafted concoctions. While she wasn’t behind the bar this particular evening, the bartenders knew how to follow her lead.
I started with the insane Sav U’R Cereal, a wildly imaginative drink consisting of cereal milk, Old Overholt Rye and St. Elizabeth all spice dram, which seems like something out a mad scientist’s fever-​induced nightmare, but works in an amazingly successful way! This drink was amazing, but its sweet, creamy richness definitely makes it a drink that you really can have only one then move on to something else. The GF started off with the Salted Caramel, a house-​blended rye, Cynar, vanilla, and Himalayan sea salt drink which reminded me a bit of a Payday candy bar in liquid form. Delicious!
My next selection was the g.H. Sazerac, PS7’s take on the classic, made with Old Overholt Rye, Kübler Absinthe, and shiraz syrup. I’ve had many a sazerac in this town and, sadly, this one was not one of the better ones I’ve found. The g.H. Sazerac lacked the anise aromatics that I’ve come to expect from absinthe or herbsaint as well as the light floral aromatics that come from Peychaud’s Bitters which didn’t seem to be a part of their recipe. The shiraz syrup added the requisite amount of sweetness, but it didn’t make up for the missing aromatics. The GF finished with the Mulberry Street, a Bulleit bourbon-​based cocktail with house-​made Limoncello and pickled cherries. It was nicely-​balanced with the bourbon-​y smokiness and tart lemon. The pickled cherries were winners, too! A very nice drink.
While we were waiting on our second round, we had an order of their «Mac n’ Cheese?», 3 pieces of crispy fried macaroni and cheese wrapped in bacon. Sweet mother! I think I’ve found my future cause of death… This «heart attack on a plate» is simply unbelievably good and so very, very «bad». This is the Jenna Jameson of bar bites. I want more.
Yes PS7’s, you’ve earned my respect and a return visit in the very near future.

Change + Consistency = The reason why you keep coming back.
Head to the lounge… greeted immediately by warm and friendly faces. It’s early and I grab two seats.
«Hi! Welcome and what can I get you to drink?» I love this phrase. The only other phrase I love even more is, «Bowties are cool»
I dive into the daily seasonal punch. Bourbon, Orange bitters and then the Old Time Beets. Ok, it’s not like it sounds. It’s Bluecoat gin + beet +vanilla reduction + orange bitters and believe it or not… it’s the beet juice that does it right. It adds that beautiful purple color, but you get that light hint of sweetness but it’s never overpowering. The Vanilla reduction along with the gin smoothes it out nicely.
I love that fact that they have a sense of humor or just love a play on words. Get the Banh Minis! The Vietnamese pork sandwich which very well be the national sandwich is reimagined with their own flair. Wonderful pork belly with cucumber relish, julienned carrots and drops of mustard with hoisin sauce. Great take on a clasic… though, there could have been just a wee bit more of a vinegary touch to it.
The Salami Jalapeño Poppers comes out black and is such a great contrast to the buttermilk dipping sauce.
Most lounges keep it real simple and don’t change, don’t evolve to suit changing palettes and still make it fun. For one of the most eclectic bar menus and happy hour drinks. I’m glad that change is good.
And for a change… go there! You won’t be disappointed.

This is just for brunch.
St.Valentine’s Day and Lunar New Year day are on ²⁄₁₄ this year. I wanted to go for brunch… but most well-​known restaurants were already fully booked for brunch. Then I found PS7 still having available seats for brunch on opentable website. Maybe because this place is usually closed on sunday and didn’t indicate that it would be opened on this Sunday on their website. Since their website didn’t have update on brunch, I didn’t get to see the menu till I got to the restaurant.
The manager and the server were attentive. The menu offered a few egg dishes like egg benedicts, omelet, and some meat dishes like burger, pork in pastry with egg and fried chicken. and butternut squash soup, yogurt with granula. There was nothing really intriguing or interesting for me. so I just chose fruit with crème fraîche as the starter and fried chicken with gravy as main dish. Big mistake. it was just small bowl of fruits (mainly grape, cantalop and honey dew…). The fried chicken was OK. one cranberry scone and corn bread with cream cheese frosting came as complimentary and there were better than what i ordered. Since I wasn’t happy with my choice, I got their dount from the dessert menu as well.
Five small donut covered with cinammon sugar in a paper bag. cute concept but not wow-​donut…
Overall it was OK but I don’t think I will go back there for brunch if they open again for special occasion.

All I have to really talk about here are the tuna sliders. You need to get them. I said I wasn’t hungry… but made a liar of myself by eating 3 of them. Oops. They were delectable. Wonderfully fresh, full of flavor tuna on parker house rolls.
Can’t speak for the drinks since I was days away from surgery but somehow I was unable to obtain a glass of water after asking 3 times. Oh well. Maybe I’ll be back.