The Beacon Bar & Grill opened a while ago and we had an awful experince the first time, but since they hired a new chef and I met him recently, we decided to give it another go. I think we will call it quits for now (or maybe try only the brunch next time) at this large hotel bar and restaurant at the corner of Rhode Island Ave & 17th Streets.
We took Samuel for an early dinner on Saturday and the place was deserted, except for some bar fliesm at 530pm. It was still deserted when we left an hour later. For the most part Samuel was happy with his standard PENNE with TOMATO SAUCE accompanied by yummy French Fries, if they were a bit too salty. He also loved the undulating colored lights up the stairs behind the bar, if that's worth anything. I wanted the Crispy Duck Ravioli for a starter, but was told they were out of it, so opted for the one big hit of the meal, the EAST COAST SHRIMP TOAST which was basically a bruschetta-like toast with three tasty shrimp, mushrooms, sauteed spinach and a yummy light cream sauce on top. Will asked for the CRISPY CALAMARI and the BBG Burger as a main course and when they brought my shrimp they brought his burger, forgetting the appetizer! It took a couple of minutes to straighten this out, but we were quite confident that when the burger returned later it was the same one with quite lukewarm fries.
I enjoyed a glass of ALICE WHITE 2004 Australian Chardonnay with my shrimp, which took almost 10 minutes to get from the not-at-all-busy bartender 10 feet away, and switched to an awful TYRELL's 2003 LOST BLOCK Pinot Noir from Australia that clearly suffered from being open too long and not being stored properly. There was only alcohol and no fruit at all in the wine!
When Will finally got his Calamari it was quite good as was the tasty "Chesapeake" remoulade, but it was not really crispy...it was nicely breaded and yummy, but not "crispy" which nobody minded, but that was the description on the menu.
Will's burger was mediocre and the fries nowhere near as good as Samuel's and my BLACKENED CHICKEN TORTILLA SALAD with Romaine, Pico de Gallo, Corn Salsa and Cilantro was nice but nothing to rave about. Sam enjoyed a huge scoop of RASPBERRY SORBET and we asked for the bill. It was all wrong, as we were charged for Sam's fries and drink which are supposed to be part of the Kid's meal. Someone from the staff apologized that our server, Anna, was in training, we paid, left and decided that Beacon is not blooming.
