Baby Wale
1124 9th StreetThe trip to Washington DC from West Michigan is a long one. With a few stops, it took us a little over 11 hours.
We got to our hotel in Downtown Washington DC right around 8:00. We got settled in to our rooms and decided to go find dinner. The clerk at the hotel gave us a list of nearby places. I found one that looked pretty good and was only a couple of blocks away so we headed there.
Baby Wale is on 9th Street near M Street across the street from the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. The restaurant is described as “an industrial style pub.” It’s along a very busy street in what looks like old row row style mixed use units.
The restaurant was open until 10:00 and we walked in just before 9:00. We didn’t really know what to do. There were a few people sitting at tables and a couple at the bar. The bartender never stopped her conversation to tell us to take a seat or wait.
We walked towards the back where the waiter was cleaning up. He said his shift ends at 9:00 but the kitchen is still open. He suggested we sit at the bar because the bartender would be serving us. We were meeting four other people so we really wanted to sit at a table but as we tried, the bartender told us to come to the bar…so there ended up being six of us spread out at the bar.
The dining room isn’t very big and it definitely has a popular look right now. The restaurant is very polishedly unpolished. The plaster is broken off the walls in places exposing the brick. There are retro style concert posters on the walls which are lit by hanging bulb lights over the tables.
The bar is huge. It runs most of the length of the dining room. My co-worker and I sat down in the middle of a large empty area to wait for the people we were meeting. The bartender set down drink menus then asked if we wanted food too.
I was pretty excited to dive in to some DC beers. Baby Wale doesn’t have a huge tap list but they have a couple of local beers to choose from.
I picked the El Dorado Imperial Pale Ale from Wyndridge Farm in Dallastown, PA…so not DC but still something from the East that I haven’t had. It was a delicious, refreshing IPA after a long day of driving.
I didn’t look at the menu too closely before we left so I was in a weird place for me. There are no sandwiches on the menu. There were still several options that I thought sounded good but it was the Charcoal Grilled Flat Iron Steak that caught my attention. The steak was grilled perfectly with that crunchy, salty crust and a pink, slightly cool center. It was showered in a shallot sauce and served with crispy shoestring fries on the side.
The steak was delicious. I almost never order steak at restaurants (outside of breakfast) so this was kind of a treat, but honestly, it’s not a decision I would make consciously. I’m more of a burger guy and Baby Wale is much fancier than that.
My bill for dinner was just over $40 before tip. I really enjoyed my meal despite the confusion over who was going to serve us where. It just doesn’t make sense to me that the kitchen is still open for an hour but the waiter’s shift is over. As I would find many times throughout this trip, I was a little out of my comfort zone at Baby Wale. I love the feel of this place and I really enjoyed my dinner but the menu is a little fancier than the places I usually pick.
SW Michigan Dining 