Temperance Hall

I hear my loyal fans are clamoring for more updates, so I thought I would take this opportunity to rave about the grilled cheese sandwiches at Temperance Hall.

Temperance Hall is the only bar in my new neighborhood, Petworth. It's very much a yuppie bar, meant to cater to the gentrifiers, like me. Many argue that, despite this, Temperance Hall has successfully integrated itself into the neighborhood, and has a more mixed clientele than any bar in DC. I'm not ready to pass judgment on whether or not that's true, yet.

But I am ready to talk about the grilled cheese sandwiches. They're amazing. Let's start with the bread. The grilled cheese I've had in the past has either been on normal white bread or (and this is surprisingly good) on rye bread. At Temperance Hall, it's on semolina bread with seeds on the outside, which adds a really delicious sourness to the sandwich. The cheese itself is really high quality cheddar mixed with jack. The sandwich also has tomatoes, which, for me at least, isn't always a good addition, but in this case, they perfectly cut the grease, and are really well-grilled themselves. On top of all that, the sandwich has mustard. I don't know what it is about that that makes it so good, but it's just this amazing tang that really brings the sandwich to the next level. It's fantastic.

The menu also has a delicious $1 starter of spiced peanuts, but the rest of the appetizers seem kind of pricey. Emma had a veggie burger last time, which was good, but maybe a little bit pricey. I have yet to work my way through the rest of the menu (I keep getting stuck at the grilled cheese), but there seems to be a good variety of reasonably-priced vegetarian and meat entrees.

Temperance Hall is also very proud of its drinks. Its draft beer is good, but a little pricey--$6 seems like a lot, even though the beer is fancy. They have cheaper bottles, like $4 Yuengling. They also make classic cocktails, including sidecars and sazeracs. I didn't try either, because I went for the French 75 to be different. I wasn't that impressed, though--it tasted pretty watered down. Rachel has told me that the sidecar is really good, though. Maybe I'll try that next time.

Temperance Hall is only a couple blocks away from me, which makes it really easy for there to be a next time. Having an amazing grilled cheese sandwich that close is definitely one of the best things about my move.