The Red Hen in Washington DC is the Bloomingdale Italian neighbourhood dining room on First Street, with the rigatoni-fennel-sausage pasta that has run.
Signature: Rigatoni with fennel sausage, Wood-grilled meats
Order: The mezzi rigatoni with house fennel sausage; on the menu since opening and the room's most-ordered dish.
Tip: The Sunday family-style pasta night is the value slot; book the upstairs bar counter for a quieter view of the wood grill.
Showtime on Rhode Island Avenue is Paul Vivari's 2013 living-room dive, the Esquire America's Best Bars pick with a free R&B jukebox compiled by Vivari and the cheapest combos in Bloomingdale.
Tip: Cash only, $5 Natty Boh and shot combo. Live band Granny and the Boys plays regular sets led by the 81-year-old neighbor upstairs.
Boundary Stone on Rhode Island Avenue is the Bloomingdale neighborhood pub that reopened April 2021, a quieter alternative to Showtime two doors down with a long whiskey list and bar food until late.
Tip: Trivia and bingo nights through the week; the kitchen runs through to last call. Weekend brunch from 10:30 is the easier walk-in slot.