Green Turtle

601 F St. N.W.

For some, the most wonderful time of the year happened a few weeks ago – during the arrival of family and friends, eggnog and gingerbread, and 2008 and new resolutions. This, right now is my favorite time of the year. Hockey is midseason, football playoffs are in full swing, college basketball has begun and college football bowls have finally resolved themselves. It’s the peak season for the Bar Belle as I search far and wide for some of the best sports bars in the greater D.C. area.

This week I give you the Green Turtle, which conveniently sits inside of Verizon Center in Chinatown. When I walked into the Green Turtle on Sunday I felt like a child entering Teletubbie land where big-bellied men wearing jerseys of all the colors of the rainbow giggled and cheered as their teams hit the big screen televisions. Although the bar is pretty large and spacious, it quickly filled. Just like the layout at McFadden’s, the Green Turtle displays personal flat screen televisions at each individual table so you can watch football while the obnoxious people behind you root on hockey. I happened to stop in on a very important day as the brand new menu was unveiled and boasted a new array of bar food ready to tackle even tinkie-winkie. I indulged in some cheap sliders to tide me over until halftime, but my eye was on the chicken wings for the main course.

While my friends and I opted for a table, I occasionally walked up to the bar for research purposes. I spotted a couple people sporting white mugs and I had to see what the deal was. Feeling a bit un-cool for not being in the loop, I had someone explain the importance of these mugs and a so-called “mug club.” The Green Turtle apparently offers this great deal where you can buy a 16 oz. mug for $35 and thereafter receive discounts on draft beer and other specials. The bar writes a number on the bottom of your mug and then hangs it in its appropriate slot while you are gone to make sure it remains in the bar and untouched. Next time you walk in to watch a game, the bartenders will have your mug down and full of your desired brew for a cheap price. Nice. I couldn’t pass on the deal, not to mention the cute mug, so I bought one. (I know how stealthy all you kids are so I’m going to keep my number a secret).

All in all the day was awesome. I made new friends, saw some amazing mullets and beer guts, ate my weight in meat, watched my team kick ass and guzzled some smooth Miller in my new Green Turtle. This isn’t the place to be if you don’t like the loud cheers and belligerent yells of sports fans, but it is the place to go if you want to make friends with other enthusiasts and venture outside of Foggy Bottom. The bar is large, the food is good and relatively cheap, and the people are great. It’s an elementary school lesson we all learned so long ago: the tortoise always wins the race.

Bar Belle Rating: Four of four bells.