The Getaway

So Jaclyn J. and I decided to do happy hour in her neck of the woods and she had been wanting to come try their happy hour out. I would always see this place packed anytime I drove by or went to the Dunes. So basically you walk down from street level and into the space. It’s small with a bar, a couple of hightops and booths. We sat at the bar. It’s a Tuesday night and it wasn’t too busy. People coming in and out ordering, eating and leaving.
Happy Hour 5pm-​7pm
$ 2 BEER: PBR, Rolling Rock, Miller Light $ 3 WINE: House Cabernet, House Chardonnay $ 4 DRINKS: Any Rail Cocktails $ 5 APPETIZERS: Wings, Goat Cheese Dumplings, Calamari, Dips, Plantain Chips
I must say their happy hour is pretty good considering the quality of food you get and drinks for the price.
Goat Cheese Dumplings were soo tasty! They looked like mini empanadas deep fried in something similar to wonton paper. It was a perfect harmony of crunch, rosemary, goat cheese and honey. I of course was torn between the wings and the Cheeseburger ($ 10 (Getaway Style with bacon & fried egg $ 12) Grilled natural ground beef, your choice of cheese, lettuce, tomato, and pickle on a brioche bun; served with your choice of sweet potato fries, thyme fries, or mixed greens) and it was half off burger night (Tuesdays) but they were out of the brioche so that simplified my choice.
The buffalo wings were good… I really wanted to try the chipotle bbq but I forgot to say that when I ordered so he assumed I wanted the buffalo. They sauce to wing ratio was perfect and the avocado ranch was good flavor wise but a little runny for my liking, would of preferred it to be a little thicker but I can make due. The fries were good but I didn’t get much thyme flavor coming through.
The bartender was great and funny and straight to the point and the music selection was great and upbeat. I had a beer and she had the white house wine and it was so cheap. Our bill came out to $ 20 and we were stuffed. We will definitely be back to try brunch and the other cool themed nights.

Went to Sunday brunch there with friends, and I had an ok time. There were only two waiters for the entire place, so I cut them slack on the fact that they were delayed in bringing us our food and drinks. I ordered a coffee that was so horrendous that we went to a coffee shop afterwards. In its place, I decided to get a mimosa. I even told my friends that I only wanted one mimosa because I’m doing Weight Watchers and one of those things is like four points!
The food was good. I got pancakes, fruit bowl, and their chicken sausages. It was really good, so I had no complaints with that. This is the reason I gave it three stars.

When we got the bill, the waitress had put two mismosas for me, and bottomless for my friend. I think that she got confused because of that. I had already forgiven the fact that she gave me a mango mimosa when I asked for a regular, but I don’t play with money. She argued for a bit that she remembers pouring me a second mimosa even though every time she tried, I would say no. She finally stopped when my friend said that I’m doing Weight Watchers. It took that for her to let it go.
I don’t think I will go again. I feel like that place has been two other places before, and it seems like they all have lousy service.
If you can deal with that, then the food is good.

A friend recommended The Getaway as a location for my 30^th Birthday party. On St. Patty’s day, after brunch, I called them. I spoke to Alejandro and he and I began exchanging emails. He was great. I told him what I wanted, menu-​wise. I told him the music wasn’t a big deal, as we really weren’t going to be dancing. I just needed good, strong drinks.
My party was June 8^th. Yes, I started planning suuuuuuuper early. After all, it was my 30^th.
Before ordering the invites, I emailed Alejandro a few times and heard nothing. I called and was told he’d get back to me. Nothing. So then I stopped by a week before my party and met the managerand had a drink and he said he’d have Alejandro hit me back. Nothing…
Fast forward to the day before my party and I’m calling like crazy. Nothing. I get up the day of and I’m calling again, like crazy, leaving messages. Finally, I get a call back. Alejandro says he thought I canceled. I have no idea how he got that. Luckily, there was no one booked in the space for the evening. BUT, the downside was there was no bartender for the space, so my friends were going to have to be running downstairs for their drinks.
When I arrived, the chairs and tables were all moved, as if to create a dance floor — which I didn’t want. I ordered food and it was slow to come. I mean, when it got there, it was tasty, but it was slow. Also, I asked about gratuity as I said I wanted to pay a certain amount for food. I was told there was no gratuity on there. Well, there was, so I had to factor that into the budget. That would have been nice to know up front.
All in all, my guests had a great time, but were annoyed that they had to go downstairs to get drinks. The Getaway tried to pull it together at the last minute, but this was unnecessarily stressful. Luckily, my friends kept me pretty drunk, so my frustration melted away.
The drinks were pretty inexpensive, the wings and empanadas were great, the space was pretty cute. I’d recommend having something there, but only if the staff fixes their communication issues.

I came here with a friend on a Sunday morning and was a little taken aback that they don’t even open until 11 — this seems kind of odd for a place that markets itself heavily to the brunch crowd. Nonetheless, it’s a perfectly reasonable, acceptable place to settle down with some french toast and mimosas. Let’s break it down …
Seating: We were seated immediately after arriving in surprisingly comfy metal chairs on their front sidewalk patio. Good for people watching, nice place when the weather is on your side. In fact, ALL the good seating is outside — they do have booths inside, but it’s sort of dank and subterranean. Much more «dive bar» than «brunch haven,» but can’t complain when there are other options available.
Service: Again, reasonable. The food arrived quickly and the waitress was very friendly. My friend and I both ordered bottomless mimosas, and while it took kind of a while to get the first refill, after that we were just given a pitcher and left to our own devices. Good enough.
Food: Delicious! A rather comprehensive list of fairly standard fare, from vegan burgers and crabcake sandwiches to french toast and scrambled eggs. It’s not going to blow you away, but it’s all pretty good. My top pick: the rosemary goat cheese wontons with honey glaze. Yum! The bottomless mimosas are generous with the champagne component and come in a variety of tasty flavors (I recommend the mango.)
Price: Maybe the only with I wouldn’t grade «just fine.» Yes, DC brunch is expensive, but this place is pricier than the food + service + ambiance warrants. A nice-​but-​not-​outstanding brunch for two in Columbia Heights shouldn’t be $ 80, EVEN IF we’ve ordered alcohol. Neither of us ordered anything with meat, and we shared a light appetizer. So there’s that. I see that they run specials on various things throughout the week, so that may be more of a draw and/​or better value for your money.
Overall: Pricier than it should be, but otherwise perfectly A-​OK. The convenience of location (a few short blocks from CH Metro) and delicious sweet potato tots will likely lure me back.

The only reason that it’s not one star is because I didn’t order my own food and drink… and really wasn’t in the mood to do so. But it’s nice to be asked.
To explain, I was only going to run in and out to touch base with two people who cancelled then kinda rescheduled a happy hour-​ish meeting in Chinatown due to bad traffic. I ended up in Columbia Heights running errands to salvage the early evening, and they decided to come in that direction. We met up here.
By the time I walked in, they were just starting their meal of really small empanadas and wings at a side table. The wings looked appetizing. However, the waitress disappeared shortly thereafter, never to return. I was just going to touch base with the diners and schedule a conference call because I wasn’t in the mood for a full meal, but she never appeared to ask if I needed anything. I ended up staying a lot longer than I had intended, but still, the waitress never returned. The ladies finished their meal and waited for at least twenty more minutes, and she didn’t show. By this time, I had been there at least 45 minutes. The two friends eventually had to go to the bar to close their tab.
When I found out that those really small empanadas cost $ 8, I was actually rather relieved that the waitress never showed up.

Went back a second time for trivia and had a much better experience drinks-​wise.
Ordered the old fashioned, which was stiff and tasty, which is what she may have said.
I think we’ll be back.

After our dinner, the gf and I had a few minutes to kill before the start of the Elite event next door at the Dunes. We decided to check out The Getaway after perusing their interesting sounding cocktail list. The Getaway is essentially two different bars, the upstairs a loungey space with leather bound couches and chair and a small patio for al fresco drinking and the downstairs a well-​appointed dive bar. We chose the dive bar.
Although we missed happy hour, The Getaway has some good happy hour specials on food and drink. We weren’t hungry, but the food seemed to be standard bar fare with a few twists and looked decent as described by the menu. We were there for the drinks, so I ordered the Hell is for Heroes ($ 8), a concoction purportedly made with Jim Beam bourbon, fig jam, fresh lemon juice, and bitters (I think Peychaud’s); garnished with a brandied cherry. I say «purportedly» since the drink was wholly unbalanced. The bourbon and lemon juice overwhelmed the bitters and any notion of fig. The brandied cherry looked and tasted like your standard maraschino cherry in syrup. Conceptually, The Getaway’s drinks are pretty interesting; unfortunately, the execution isn’t equal to the task. Still, the bar staff does pour a stiff drink and the $ 8 price was reasonable.
The Getaway falls squarely into the «neighborhood dive bar» category. It’s neither bad nor good, it just is. If I’m ever in Columbia Heights, I’ll readily go to The Getaway again. I just won’t make a special trip to get away at The Getaway.

Interior decorating is in transition, as though someone’s wife was like, «You need to get this crap out of the garage,» and voila, the knickknacks ended up on the walls and shelves here. Lighting upstairs is gently dimmed, and no stools at the small upstairs bar as of our visit. Fortunately there was a lounge option in lieu of the tables on both levels and on the patio. The couches are so comfy that I’m reminded of a recent sci-​fi/​fantasy novel where the desert ate creatures alive while they slept. The staff seemed to have difficulties deciding how loud the music should be, as the volume varied suddenly from track to track. Playlist made me generally happy: Spoon, Metric, Postal Service, Phoenix, stuff that always kept some body part of mine bopping along throughout conversation. Certainly a chill space.
My word, I’ve seen more conservative booty shorts at Hooters. Someone hand that boy some tanning spray for his legs! But service was truly fab. Our drinking needs were doted on regularly, and our server remembered Julia from opening night when they didn’t have the desserts she’d been hoping to try.
Drinks tended towards tragic. Paris Blues sent me running back for opening day champagne. Basil Manhattan was little more than an extra fee for the poorly integrated basil leaf. Dark & Stormy was neither dark nor stormy, and I quickly relinquished it back to the drinker’s grasp. Sangria was okay and pretty strong, Hell is for Heroes wasn’t too bad. The Porteno received mixed reactions from our group; I love grapefruit but the Campari was stronger than I’d have liked. As a St Germain fan, I expected to love Honeymoon Machine. Maybe the lewd mental images of a well-​performing groom built unreasonable expectations for the drink, but I was let down by the borderline boring cocktail. True Love gives me hope for their bartenders, though. Dana voiced our unanimous reaction best: «This is what true love tastes like.» A little heat and exotic fantasy in a tumbler.
Sweet potato fries were nicely crisp, though the avocado ranch dressing failed to move me. Sometimes misguided attempts at culinary creativity should remember that simple condiments are better than weird condiments. I’ve also had better fries, but I’d be okay to nosh on these again in the name of sobriety. Red velvet cake was excellent– moist, just sweet enough, and a great ratio of cake to icing. We were warned that the slice was generously cut, but that just made for multiple happy people at our coffee table. That day’s gelato flavors didn’t entice us, but I’d love to come back to try more of their food menu.

French Toast $ 11 (⁵⁄₅ NOMs)
Dam girl those are some hot toast you got, they were simply amazing!!! Above my expectations.
Chesapeake Eggs Benedict $ 13 (⁴⁄₅ NOMs).
Great dish for brunch with high quality. I’m usually not a big fan of asparagus, but this one was prepared very well. I thought I would still be hungry, but surprising their size is misleading (in a good way) and it filled me up. This is probably one of my favorite brunch places in town now.
Fried Green Tomato BLT $ 10 (⁴⁄₅ NOMs)
Now this is a new weird version. This is not your regular BLT, this is a more refine version :) Applewood smoked bacon, mixed greens, goat cheese and avocado ranch on a brioche bun, and regular sweet potato tots
Goat Cheese Rosemary Dumplings $ 9 (⁵⁄₅ NOMs)
It’s like a mix if sweet goodness with cheesiness. Lemon honey was a great addition!