Café 1612

Looks like Café 1612 closed on 8÷3÷2009.
Damn shame.

With this update I guess my rating becomes a 3.5 which I’m okay with. I went back a second time for Friday night burger deal and had an alright experience. This time we went in a little earlier (about 7:30) and everyone grabbed the $ 8 burger deal. The long table when you first walk in is great for big groups. Once again though, first they didn’t know which beers they had on tap, then after they figured out which beer they actually had and we had all ordered, one of the three choices was gone.
The burger I actually think is really good, but the service this time was not as good and the second issue with the beer brought my opinion down a bit.
There are lots of boys coming from the gym just grabbing a smoothie and chatting with the staff, which is great, I just don’t like when it takes away from my service.
You can’t beat the deal, but I wouldn’t make a special trip here.

This place is great for lunch. I was looking for a quick lunch since I only wanted to take a half hour break and Café 1612 delivered. It also helped that there was a mimimal crowd on a Wednesday afternoon. The waiter came right over and took my drink and food order. I tried the chicken ranch wrap with a glass of iced tea. Their beer selection was very tempting, considering they and Capitol Brewing Company are owned by the same people. The chicken wrap had spicy southwestern-​style chicken with romaine lettuce, cheddar cheese, chipotle sauce and crunchy kettle chips on the side. It was delicious. The chicken had just the right amount of spiceness and the lettuce tasted fresh. The chips were a nice accompaniment to the sandwich.
The place has a chill modern lounge vibe to it that I liked. There’s plenty of seating but enough room where you don’t feel like you’re on top of each other. Even better than getting a great lunch is the affordable price I paid for it. I think I will come back and try their $ 15 brunch or their Friday $ 8 hamburger and a beer deal.

We still have off-​on experiences with the service, but our most recent visit on Memorial Day was positive. We had a very sweet and attentive server and our breakfast burritos were actually light and tasty. The scrambled eggs were really fluffy and perfectly cooked. Reminds me that most places do not know how to properly scramble eggs. For some reason the coffee was uncharacteristically bad, however. Blech, brown water.

I went to a mock service last night with a friend to check out the new menu that Emilie Stein created. Not everything is brand new… but the new additions are great! Emilie was just voted #3 best chef in the area as voted by Washington City Paper readers for 2009.
We had a 4 course meal and were very stuffed on the way out…
Soup course: I had the turkey chili and it has great flavor and texture, but is not spicy. My friend had chicken noodle soup and you could tell it was homemade! It’s even made with whole wheat noodles.
Salad course: We split a new salad… and it rocked! A Grilled Caesar Salad… ever heard of one? The Romain leaves are left whole and charred to perfection. Off to the side are 2 lemon wedges that have also been grilled and on top are 2 roasted garlic Parmesan crostinis. We thought there would be dressing on it (classic caesar) but we were wrong! We were told to squeeze the lemon on it and viola… holy cow it was great. My friend and I both thought of steamed spinach while eating it.
Main course: I had a ham and cheese sandwich… and it blew me away. Black Forest ham, smoked cheddar cheese, a cranberry chutney and a homemade mustard made with Amber-​Waves beer (from Cap City Brewing Co) all on sourdough bread… stunning
My friend had the chipotle steak panini… roasted garlic aioli, a red onion marmalade, and cheddar cheese on a whole wheat bun… sizzles your taste buds… both sandwiches were served with kettle chips… but you have options to substitute with vegetables, fruit, fries, sweet potato fries, or salad (extra cost on the salad). We opted to have an extra side of sweet potato fries… so good, so good!
4^th Course… for those of you who have been here before, you know they don’t have dessert… but now they do! We ordered a chocolate cake with homemade whipped cream. Not a cupcake, but kinda like one. Caution: no icing, just the whipped cream so don’t compare taste experiences. The other dessert was a fruit creation out of this world! Our eyes glazed over as the waitress spoke… her words were making us drool. It was mixed berries mixed with some concoction of lemon, sage, and the rest of the ingredients we were told never registered in our heads. The parfait was layered with the same homemade whipped cream (shazam, it good cream). Get ready to pucker your lips!
In a nut shell… this menu is a true hidden gem of Washington DC, not a diamond in the rough, but a brilliant blue diamond! Dollar for dollar, you are not going to eat anything better in DC.
Plus, the eye candy that is walking by you after working out is hot!

Oh Café 1612. I live close by so I’ve been going since I moved here (I used to go to the gym upstairs). I’ve tried breakfast, lunch, and dinner here. Now I only go for breakfast.
If you want a good place for a not so expensive breakfast order the egg sandwich. It’s only $ 3 (or maybe $ 4 now) and it’s just what I want in the morning. Don’t get your hopes up for any fancy shmancy coffee drinks. If you want a latte you’ll need to go to the Starbucks 50 feet east. Just plain coffee (if you’re lucky they will give you some soy milk).
This place used to be called Health Bar. Even as a casual client I could sense the drama. That’s sort of a strange thing to say about a restaurant right? Clearly something wasn’t working so about a year ago (not sure the exact date) they changed the name and made some changes on the menu.
The people that work there tend to be very friendly. You can call in your egg sandwich order if you want to pick it up on the way to work.

I’ve been here a few times over a couple years and I’m always happy with my food. On my most recent visit, my waitress was very willing to do a bunch of substitutions and I was content with my dish.
The issue ALWAYS is the slow service. Only go to Café 1612 if you can be patient and aren’t in a rush. Getting someone to realize you’ve sat down and need a menu can take quite some time. Once I ordered, my food came relatively quickly, but I didn’t get my water and OJ until I’d eaten most of my meal. Based on the snippets of conversations I heard around me, most people are substantially turned off by the lack of speed in the place and some leave before anyone acknowledges them. I’d recommend to Café 1612 to step up the speed of service!

U Street apparently offers a variety of decent early-​day eats, and Café 1612 certainly isn’t lacking in that department. Particularly considering they open at 0700 on weekdays, there’s plenty of time to get in and have something hearty and filling before crunching into the rest of your day, especially if your residence is nearby.
With a chill vibe, plenty of seating in a variety of forms (banquettes, tables, counters, and lounges), relaxed techno music playing in the background, and not a whole lot of other patronage, around 0930, I could see this as a great alternative to Busboys & Poets for snagging sustenance and being productive. I somehow managed to connect to an open wi-​fi connection, so that’s a bonus.
Being the breakfast burrito whore than I am, I saw one on the menu and immediately gravitated to it. I was particularly surprised to find out that they offer your choice of whole eggs, egg whites, or egg beaters, and I wasn’t charged extra for just the whites. Healthy and affordable, at seven bucks for a sizable burrito and a bowl of reasonably fresh fruit!
As far as my burrito was… the flavors were great. It had some savory sausage, sharp cheese, and bright pico de gallo all wrapped up in a soft, fluffy tortilla. The only disappointing factor was that it was a smidge soggy — I’m unclear where the liquid was coming from; perhaps the excess liquid of the pico? It –tasted– fine, even if my tortillas rapidly got soaked through sitting in the puddle of burrito juice.
As I understand, it also turns into a bar/​lounge later on in the evenings. I’d be willing to scope out the scene, but I’m more interested in popping in on a weekend to check out their brunch, and to soak up some of the sunlight coming in through the many large bay windows. Mmmm, brunch.

I just went to 1612 for the first time since it changed its name/​style/​approach from the Health Bar (or whatever silly name it was called). I was impressed. I had an omelet and a pancake on the side… both were delicious. We definitely plan to go back and sample other fare. Overall, I definitely encourage people to check it out.
Several cute queens mincing to and fro Results (1612 and the gym share the same building) also added to the experience.

They don’t have Pizza anymore :(… I was really disappointed. When I tried to order it, they said it had just been a temporary thing. I had a turkey burger with a really good side salad. It was good, but had been hoping for that Pizza. I still like my work out smoothies I get here though.

The Friday night burger special is no more but has been replaced with daily specials (Taco Tuesdays, Vegan Wednesdays, Rainbow Thursdays, etc), there’s a new chef, and the menu has been revamped and expanded with a particular eye to breakfast and weekend brunch.
I still visit for burgers and smoothies when I can’t be bothered to cook or walk more than two blocks and even if I don’t come in for a month, a server always remembers me and my order.
What ultimately prevents Café 1612 from a 4-​star review? I can’t escape the occasional gym scent that wafts in from Results and I can definitely do without the easy-​listening house music blaring from the speakers.

I dig. Mostly for the smoothies. And at $ 5, they’re a steal compared to the ones at Mint.

Looking for a power breakfast spot with guaranteed anonymity? Café 1612’s a place you’ll almost assuredly have all to yourself. Most folks pop in and jet out with smoothies and muffins.
We broke the trend and sat down for oatmeal and conversation. While my oatmeal wasn’t especially inspired, I dug the vibe of the place and will likely return with my laptop (and perhaps a colleague) for a working breakfast.
Also, if a little gym bunny eye candy with your morning fuel is desirable, you’ll definitely want to check this place out!

Okay kiddos, the place is changing… new manager, new cook, new menu. They are staying open later too.
While the prices are a little steep a lot of things on the new menu are worth it. They are also doing specials daily which includes Taco Tuesday and Vegetarian Wednesday.
Whatever your opinions of the place (past …Healthbar days… or now) make sure to let Jess the new GM know. She is very receptive and is really trying to change the place. Plus shes fun and boisterous.
She’s also coming out with a new signature drink menu. So far so good.

I went here with a girlfriend today to have a late lunch. The menu is slim pickins (esp for vegetarians). I got the 1612 salad which was the standard field greens, dried fruit, walnuts, two apple slices, blah blah, blah, it was ok, the dressing was pretty good, but not worth $ 8.50. My friend got some chicken sandwich thing which she said was ok and her smoothie wasn’t that good (she got nutty berry or something). They do have some yummy-​sounding smoothies on the menu, but I didn’t want one today. I probably wouldn’t go back, but the servers are really nice… slow, but nice. They came over and chatted w/​us a few times. I guess if it’s convenient for you and you like burgers/​drinks, then it’s a good fit.

This place just changed its name and focus from full service restaurant to bistro. It’s right around the corner and I really dug it. In particular, my pear chicken panini was tasty and a great texture. The big bowl of turkey chili was a steal for $ 5. The service was great (friendly/​attentive), including lots-​o-​iced-​tea refills.

Update 01÷15÷08: Changing rating to 2.5 stars. I no longer go to Health Bar. Oh and they changed their name to Café 1612. The food is still good but I don’t think I want to put up with the sloooooooow service anymore. It took them 45 minutes to get me my fruit bowl last time I went and that was the last straw.
This place is great!
I work out at Results, the gym attached to it next door, and I get a shake afterwards at the Health Bar sometimes when I’m too lazy to make my own. They have a large variety of shakes and if you ask nicely, you could substitute one kind of ingredient for another at no cost.
I have eaten at the Health Bar a handful of times as well, although mostly on half-​price burger nights. Their burgers are not expensive to begin with so when they are half-​price on Friday, it really is a good deal that’s hard to beat. AND they are healthy. I’ve had both the beef burger and the turkey burger, really really good. And you could get sweet potato fries instead of regular and they taste like heaven! Their hummus and whole wheat pita bread is also really really great. The hummus very creamy and the pita bread has a hint of sweetness to it. They also have a specialty martini drink that all the guys seem to get. I haven’t had one yet.
So if you don’t mind the occasional sweaty gym rat strolling in after a work out, this place is very chill to hang out.

Dreamy gym boyz and booze… what more could a guy ask for? Simple food is done very well in this fun neighborhood hangout. By the way… if my gym had a bar in it I’d be SO much more likely to go.

Where else can you go to a gym and drink?! I’d go read and have a couple cocktails while my beau was upstairs working up a sweat. This place is great!

Because of my undying love for getting wasted and busting a knee running back to the car in 25 degree weather, I have decided that this place deserves four stars. the fifth one was denied due to some extraneous factors which will be described later on.
So this place was a recommendation from a coworker of mine, for the fact that it’s cheap, it’s good, and a great place to start off the nite… so chang wang and i decided to head down to this lil’ joint to see what it’s all about, and to check out what U street holds for us semi-​spring chickens…
THE MUNCHIES:
the burgers are half price on fridays, and i had the veggie burger with fruit (although i think i ate all of chang wangs’ fries. it defeated the point of havin’ fruit). the veggie burger was pretty good, and for 3.50 it was fabooo. chang wang’s burger looked and smelled pretty good, and i’m sure the taste was quite nice.
THE DRINKS:
the martinis are about $ 8 here, and that’s a lil’ better than $ 10 in dupont, and alot better than tabaq’s $ 13. I got lucky since i had a good bartender who seriously hooked it up. let’s just say a regular nite for me usually needs at least 2 martinis and other drinks, but that nite, i had one martini and had sipped a glass of wine after that… and that my friends, is how good that martini was. it was nice for my buzz and great for the wallet.
MY BILL:
came out to 12.00 that nite. for a half price veggie burger and a $ 8 martini. that was a sight for sore eyes since usual outtings are usually 25 and up for me. and the fact that the night was young, i was definitely ready to walk around in 25 degree weather.
THE FIFTH STAR:
well, here’s the minor details that led to four stars, not five… one, the décor was cute, but the place is attached to the gym. so when you walk through one of the doors (the building door, not the side door). you get a nice WOOOF of the bleached-​smelly-​sweaty-​feet smell before you turn to your right and walk into the aroma of food and drinks. it’s not a big place, and it’s like 80 percent males, and because it’s attached to the gym, you have a lotta stragglers that come in after their workout to grab a togo dinner and head home. so, if you’re in sweats or a track suit, welcome in. if you’re dressed up, welcome too!.. so it’s not the typical trendy bar that you may expect. but from the name, health bar. what did you think you were going to get???