The Early Word on Petworth Citizen

Petworth residents aren't the only people excited about Petworth Citizen. Given the bar comes from the owners of Room 11 and promised an interesting food menu to go along with its cocktails, plenty of people have been talking about it. But what's the verdict? Here's what the first bloggers, Yelpers and others have to say about the new bar.

The Complex Cocktail News: Fritz Hahn of the Going Out Guide has a preview. He says, "I had two drinks last night. The house punch, which will rotate daily, was a fire-and-smoke mix of tequila, grapefruit, aptly named Hellfire bitters and a dash of the house-made grenadine for balancing sweetness. Delicious, but I preferred the Kill Bill Vol. 1 – basically a rye whiskey Old Fashioned with a sweet-and-spicy ginger and sesame simple syrup. The wonderfully complex flavor seemed perfect for a chilly evening. Prices are excellent." [GoG]

The No Kids Menu News: A PoPville commenter's lament sets off a string of replies. TropicBird says, "Fail! No kid's menu! Another Looking Glass/DC Reynolds/Room 11 hipster hangout with no concessions to the huge number of people with kids in the burg. Oh well." That said, reviews on PoPville of the place are mixed. GAT complains, "Was so happy to see until until I got a Makers and Coke...$13 for a weak drink. I walked out defeated and took a nap." But Sknewt counters, "We went last night and were warmly welcomed. The service was excellent especially given how busy they were. It was fun meeting some neighbors. Nice people, great cocktails, cool renovation, super close to home?I love it." [PoP]

The Affordable Drinks News: Just one review so far on Yelp, and it's a rave from Claudia H. "I give it four stars, because it is an incredible addition to the neighborhood, the place looks great; it is really cozy; and I look forward to coming back. Also, I love that the cocktails are not over $10, and I really hope they keep it this way. The service was also great." [Yelp]

The Cozy News: UrbanDaddy writes, "You needed a place like Petworth Citizen & Reading Room, a cozy little joint where you could take the edge off." [UD]

About The Food: New Columbia Heights tries some items. "We had the whipped gorgonzola toast - a good strong cheese, not for fans of weak cheese - and two of the sandwiches. The Roasted Beet Sandwich, roasted beets, goat cheese, and pesto on a pretzel roll. It was a lot of roll, but very good. The Chicken Sausage Sandwich was outstanding, though, battered and fried chicken sausage on soft, fluffy white bread (possibly with the crusts cut off - it was hard to tell). Next time we'll get the hushpuppies, I saw some come out of the kitchen and they looked tremendous. For dessert, we tried the waffle s'mores. A hot fresh waffle with melted chocolate and marshmallows. Our server mentioned that there might be a nutella version coming soon." [NCH]

The Twitter Rave: @kateddc shares, "Killing the memory of yesterday's vegan mac & cheese w/ @PetworthCitizen mac & cheese w/ chorizo. Delicious." [Twitter]