Red Derby Takes the Cake

Maybe it’s the Midwesterner in me, but there’s something sublime and, yes, even reassuring about a bar owner who bakes a birthday cake for a customer and her friends (free of charge!). As it turns out, the Red Derby is just that cool.

My friend Janelle planned a birthday outing to the Petworth/Columbia Heights bar for this past weekend. Having never been there before, she called ahead to ensure the place could handle a group of varying size. The woman on the phone, presumably co-owner Sasha Carter, enthusiastically encouraged the affair and, much to Janelle’s surprise (and our group’s delight), promised to bake a cake! And deliver she did, with a yellow-cake-and-chocolate-frosting beauty.

Now, I’ve heard of VIP service to regular customers or friends-of-the-bartender, but to a totally new patron? That’s just above and beyond in my book. In the birthday girl’s words: “I’m not sure if it’s a sustainable model, but birthday cakes are an awesome selling point.”

Plus, the Red Derby definitely lived up to the awesomeness of its sugary surprise. The bar’s schtick is beer-by-the-can (and cash-only), starting with the requisite $2 cans of Schlitz and PBR and quickly upgrading to higher-brow brews like Sea Hag IPA and Dale’s Pale Ale ($4 each). The atmosphere is convivial but classy in an admittedly hip(ster), neighborhoody sort of way, with chalkboard menus and a solid selection of board games on the counter.

Since the bar is an easy bus ride up 14th Street from Logan Circle, I hope to return soon—and often.