dining out: granville moore's & atlas arcade

A year ago, I was boarding a train to Philadelphia with Tony, Jamie, Mike and Jen, kicking off a 30th birthday weekend celebration for Jamie that included dinner at Eric Ripert's restaurant, one too many beers, and assorted adventures befitting the transition from your 20s to your 30s. It was a grand and memorable 30th birthday celebration, a proper sendoff to Jamie's formative decade. 

Fast-forward one year, which means Jamie's 31st birthday is upon us. And, it seems to me, 31st birthday celebrations are as mature as 30th birthdays are grand. The five of us reunited for a birthday dinner at Granville Moore's, which was definitely the right locale for a grown-up birthday. 

Granville Moore's is one of the best restaurants on H Street. It's also small, and it doesn't take reservations on weekends, so it's not always easy to get a table. Maybe it was the rain that kept people at home Saturday evening, or maybe the birthday gods were on our side Saturday, because we waited just a half hour for a table. Which was just enough time to enjoy some Natty Bohs next door at the new Atlas Arcade. More on the arcade in a minute. 

The five of us held court all evening at a large table near the back of the bar. Candle light. Johnny Cash on the stereo. Food that didn't disappoint and unexpected beers that kept coming from a waitress who knows an impressive amount about Belgian beers. 

It's a Belgian restaurant, and mussels are its signature dish. Here are the bleu cheese mussels Jen ordered: 

And one of the many Belgian beer bottles that crossed our table that night:

I don't usually order dessert when we go out to eat, but, hey, Jamie only turns 31 once. I present the chocolate fudge tart that was the highlight of it all: 

<3

As I mentioned, while we were waiting for our table, the five of us ducked into Atlas Arcade, the new H Street bar where you can play classic arcade games while you enjoy your beverage. It reminded me of a smaller, slightly cramped version of Barcade, the appropriately named bar-and-arcade establishment in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn. For one thing, the aforementioned Natty Bohs set the hipster tone for the bar.  

And you know what? I like Atlas Arcade. No, I love Atlas Arcade. I played Galaga for the first time in maybe seven years. When Tony and I started dating in college, we went to see a lot of movies at the local movie theater, which had a Galaga machine in the lobby. We'd show up early to movies to get in Galaga time. He taught me how to play, and over the next three years, until I graduated and moved away, I got darn good at that game. So, yes, any bar that brings back those memories, you get an A+ from Jessi. I'm sure the nostalgia is the allure for a lot of folks here.

Here's Tony, Jen and the lovely Galaga machine.  

All that said, I have somehow lost all of my Galaga skills in the past seven years. Because I made it to the second level before getting 86ed by one of those little aliens that swirl down and hit you. Which just means Tony and I will have to go back to Atlas Arcade, so I can brush up on my skills.