American Ice Company Bar / Restaurant

U Street Corridor, Washington, DC –

Concrete floors, old wooden booths, and exposed brick walls dotted with stuffed game highlight the no-frills approach at American Ice Company, where the focus is more on select microbrews and gloriously sloppy barbecue.

Located just up the street from the famous 9:30 Club music hall, the Ice is a favorite stop for many concertgoers, who crowd around the long wooden bar to study the list of craft beers before heading to their show.

Polished hipsters settle into bench seating to enjoy brisket served on paper plates and drafts pulled into Mason jars, while groups of laid-back young professionals perch on steel barstools around a long table, devouring fat servings of ribs.

The often clamorous conversation floods the dimly lit space throughout the evening, which only intensifies once the nearby shows get out and the danced/tranced/moshed/sloshed-up fans charge back in.

A tall concrete wall and steel gate, meanwhile, insulates a large patio from the street, attracting everyone outside to meet and greet over more meat.

American Ice Company may be a bare-bones joint, but its handful of taps and piles of barbecue nonetheless make it a surefire hit with patrons in need of a draft to savor and a bone to pick.