There are only a handful of places in the greater DC area that you can go to to get great craft beers on tap. And there are fewer places you can get both great beer and great food. Make it easily accessible to my every day life and the number of places gets drastically low. And there’s only one place around that I will pass every day (whether I’m going there or not), I can get great beer and food, and one of my closest friends is now the bar manager.
This picture is from the FireWorks FB page, so credit goes to whomever their photographer is (I couldn’t find his name).
FireWorks, an upscale pizza and beer joint, is opening in Arlington. Today, I think, being their first official open-to-the-public day. My wife and I were fortunate enough to be invited to their soft opening event on Friday, and were really impressed with the place.
So look, this place is literally right next door to Amanda’s office. It’s a block away from mine. Mike, Ali’s husband, now works there. Many more of our friends live or work within 15 minutes of the spot. In all honesty we’d probably start going there somewhat regularly just from those details alone. But there is so much more icing on this cake, I just had to share some words about it.
Let’s start with the beer. The moment you walk in the door you know these people know and love their beer. There is a large open windowed room to your immediate left where you can see all the kegs that are currently tapped. The keg lines run up, out of the room, over your head, and back down over to the bar through heavy industrial metal pipes into two rows of beautiful draughts. On draught, you will find offerings from Allagash, Bell’s, Duck Rabbit, Founder’s, Lagunitas, New Holland, Stone, Victory, and the likes. On top of that, they have over 100 bottled beers to choose from, and beer to go – they even sell and fill growlers there. If you’re a craft beer drinker of any sort, these words alone should get you in the door – and if you’re not, then this is the kind of place you need to go to if you’d like to become one.
But as I mentioned, it doesn’t end with the beer. The food was fantastic. The menu is primarily specialty pizzas, but they don’t neglect their appetizers and also had a pretty decent sandwich list. I started my meal with a wonderful spinach, duck, and spiced pecan salad with orange vinaigrette. They’re not taking short-cuts with their ingredients either, sourcing much of the produce, cheese, and meats from local and sustainable purveyors – I recognized many names off the menu including Cherry Glen Farms (cheeses), Baker Farms (hams and meats), Fields of Athenry (produce), and more.
Long story short, this place is doing it all right. And dessert? Three words.
Chocolate stout cheesecake.
Having this kind of spot move right into your life like this is certainly a gift. But truth be told, on behalf of my wallet and my waistline, I can’t help but be just a bit scared as well.
