Capitol City Brewing has two other locations, one in Arlington and the other one in downtown DC, which in 1992 was the first brew pub established since Prohibition.

We went in for lunch and the immense bar was mostly empty. We took a booth seat downstairs and craned our necks around to take in what felt like a cathedral dedicated to beer drinking. Tall copper beer vats soared high behind the bar like fat church organ pipes, their tops almost reaching those of the railings of the gallery seating area upstairs.

After a short wait, a server came to take our drinks order. As we enquired about the current list of beers on tap, we were puzzled by the fact that the server was unable to address us directly and instead seemed more comfortable looking off to the left and into the distance. When he left we realized that he’d been reading off the list of ales from a blackboard located above the entrance. We wondered how educated the Brewery staff actually are in the pints they serve. Strangely enough when the same guy returned to take our food order he still had a tendency to look off in another direction. We both ordered fish and chips and thought perhaps he was new and shy, or had an unfortunate crick in his neck.

We had a fairly long wait until our meals arrived and when they did, we were struck by the mediocrity of the food. I’ve tried a variety of fish and chips in my time and generally would expect the dish to be capably prepared at pubs and breweries but at Capitol City the fish and chips were so bland that I didn’t even clear the plate. It was also at this point that the service took a complete nosedive and we had to wait an interminable amount of time to get the bill.

If you want to check out the local DC brews, then by all means come to Capitol City and spend some time at their bar. I would, however, strongly recommend that you don’t waste any time eating here as there are many other restaurants in the city that are far more worthy of your time and attention.

www.capcitybrew.com

On the day we decided to do the stuff on the Mall, we had this map of the sites. In one corner there was an ad for a place called Capitol City Brewing Co. What caught our eye is that you got a free glass with every entree. My lovely assistant and I have a bad habit of collecting glasses everywhere we go, and even though I am usually completely against eating anywhere that I find advertised on a map solely for tourists, the lure of a free glass was far too much for me to fight. Plus, it was close and we were starving after our many hours at the Capitol Building.

The restaurant we went to (there is another one downtown) is located right next to Union Station, in the building that houses the Postal Service Museum. The restaurant is cavernous, with enormously high ceilings. The main eating and bar area is on the ground, but there is also a balcony area that runs along one wall overlooking the rest of the room. In the middle of the restaurant are the large copper vats used for brewing the microbrews they serve. They were quite striking. I just love the look of highly polished copper.

Unfortunately for us, on the day we went, the kitchen was down. Right when we walked in, the hostess apologized and handed us a cut-down menu of appetizers and soup. We all saw something that we wanted, so we decided to go anyway. The good thing about the lack of kitchen was that there was hardly anyone in the place, and I imagine that on a Friday at 12:30 it is normally crowded.

The food we had was good. Instead of bringing rolls to the table, they bring wonderful chewy pretzels. Yum! It was a good start. I ordered a cup of spectacular Crab and Corn Chowder ($3), and I literally scraped the cup clean. I also had an order of spinach-and-artichoke dip served with tortilla chips ($7). It was good but very rich. I wasn't able to finish it. My lovely assistant had a pulled pork barbecue sandwich served with fries ($8) that we all thought was great. None of us ordered it, but they did walk by with a huge plate of jambalaya ($12) that looked (and smelled!) wonderful. That might be worth a try.

If you go, don't forget to try some of the locally made beers. It is a brewery after all. I had the Amber Waves Ale, which was a little bitter for me. My companions both ordered the seasonal Pumpkin Ale, which is served with the rim dipped in honey and cinnamon. It was excellent but a little messy. Our beers were $4.50 for 12 ounces.

If you find yourself around Union Station at lunch, this is definitely worth a try.