Lotus Lounge, Washington, D.C.

A few nights ago, a young lawyer couple took me out for cocktails at a bar near their office. It's a newish place just off Franklin Square called the Lotus Lounge, and I hadn't realized it was there.

One enters the bar from street level, then descends to the basement of the building. The proprietors of the establishment have spent an enormous amount of money on architectural detailing on the huge space, evoking the feel of lotus blossoms everywhere, from the light fixtures to the bracket-shaped walls. A great deal of thought has gone into lighting design, as well, with lots of unusually colored lights being used for mood and accent lighting in the mostly subdued light space. We chose to sit in one of the seating alcoves opposite the very long bar.

Fortunately, it was happy hour. This is a very expensive bar with a lot of $14+ cocktails. With that in mind, though, I was rather surprised at what was missing from the bar. Now, we were sitting across from the bar and saw what had to be hundreds of bottles of liquor strung out on multiple levels running the length of the bar, but they didn't have any Citadelle gin and, most surprisingly, they couldn't make a proper Manhattan because they didn't have any rye of any variety anywhere in the bar!

The bar had an interesting presidential election going on. "Pick the POTUS at Lotus" had the full slate of Democrat and Republican candidates listed, and drinkers could "vote" by ordering the assigned cocktail for the candidate. Some were amusing. For Dennis Kucinich, you could drink an "Impeachment" (Stoli peach, Stoli O, and a splash of orange juice) because he wants to impeach VP Cheney. Bill Richardson fans can drink a cucumber margarita. John Edwards supporters get a Johnny Rocket (Southern Comfort, Grand Marnier, and cranberry juice). Hillary Clintonite people get cosmopolitans, allegedly because the drink is "pink and feminine," but I think it's because cosmos were the (now passé) vogue drink in gay bars. There's an Obama-rama for Barack Obama with Grey Goose vodka, Malibu rum, and cranberry, pineapple, and orange juices evoking tropical Hawaii and other jungle associations.

The Republican drinks were somewhat less creative, with a chocolate martini for Sam Brownback, an apple martini for Rudy Giuliani, a straight martini for John McCain, Jack and Coke for Fred Thompson, non-alcoholic fruit juice spritzers for the Mormon Romney, etc., etc.

They also have happy hour food specials. The food here comes from a sushi bar that specializes in all those bizarre and complex sushi rolls. They are also pretty expensive, compared to a normal restaurant with sushi rolls. The ones we tried were quite good, though, and full of flavors, so long as one isn't expecting something authentically Japanese. I can't recall everything we ate, but it included a "Joecito" roll with white tuna, cilantro, ginger, and jalapeño peppers, and a "Big O" with tuna, cream cheese, avocado, and crab stick rolled in Japanese bread crumbs and then fried.

The overall ambiance of the bar was rather odd and uncomfortable. I can't quite put my finger on it, but it just had that sleezy "gentleman's bar" feel to it, even though I'd say that over half of the bars patrons when we were there were female, including a couple of all-girl tables. I also get the impression the target clientele is nouveau riche people who think they can demonstrate their class and breeding by spending a lot of money on ultra-ultra-premium alcohols and cocktails.

Next payday, head over to Lotus Lounge just to see the place. It's pretty, but judging from the crowds (or relative lack thereof the Friday night we were there), the huge amount of money they spent on decor, and what I'll assume is enormous downtown monthly rent, I can't imagine that they'll last long. But, it's a fun place to experience, so go have a drink there.