NNTP-Posting-Date: Sun, 12 Jan 2003 01:47:06 +0000 (UTC) X-Newsreader: Forte Agent 1.93/32.576 English (American) Xref: usenet.INS.cwru.edu dc.dining:21811 Today (Saturday) my wife and I took Metro to the Pentagon City area to do some shopping. Finishing that around 4:30, we decided to have an early dinner at Sine (with an accent on the "e"), an Irish pub in Pentagon Row. We were seated at a quiet table next to the fireplace. It seemed quite cozy. The sound system played Irish music at level that was loud enough to listen to but not so loud that conversation was difficult. While I don't usually like music in restaurants, I enjoyed this. However, after we had listened to three or four of these, we realized that we'd been sitting there for a good ten minutes without anyone so much as taking our drinks order. We were totally alone in that particular room, and there weren't even any staff members to flag down. After listening to one more number, we put on our coats, picked up our shopping bags, and walked out. My wife handed the hostess the menus and told her why we were leaving. Upon leaving the restaurant, we stood outside to regroup and discuss where we would eat instead. While we were doing this, a man came out of Sine, introduced himself as the manager, and apologized. He offered a us a free meal if we would give him another chance. Since it was still pretty early, we agreed. The service was considerably better this time. We both had the Guinness beef and vegetable stew, which turns out to be a sort of shepherd's pie made with beef tips. The meat and the vegetables were very tender, and they had clearly started the stew early in the morning. To drink we both had imperial pints (20 oz) of Boddington's Ale, a nice medium-weight pub ale with a touch of sweetness to it. It was good pub food. The draft beer list has about a half dozen good selections on it, both imported and domestic. It was a pretty mixed experience. The atmosphere was pleasant. The food and beer were good, but not exceptional. If the manager hadn't come out and apologized, I'm sure we would never have gone inside there again. As it is, we probably will. Dav Vandenbroucke [email removed]
Washington, DC