The Reserve: Moe Hamdan's Finest, A+

Don't you hate those nights where your friends drag you out and you're just not in the mood to schmooze with people? I had one of these nights the other night. I had just gotten off work, smelled like a piece of sushi, could barely hold my eyes open, but my dear friend Jules is just so adorable and I couldn't say no to her. Knowing that drinking a Redbull or anything like that would give me a panic attack (those of you who are close to me know of my anxiety to be a very true thing), I sucked it up, blasted 'Bad Romance' in my car, and cruised to N street to meet Jules and some other friends. I was told we would be starting off our night at The Reserve, a relatively new DC hot spot on 14th and L in which I had attended the soft opening of months back. Made up of the majority of The Park's old employees, I already rated this place well in my mind, knowing that I would get to go, dance to some of my favorite crunk tracks and mingle with all of my former colleagues. But two weeks ago, former Park promoter and current Reserve owner Moe Hamdan decided to launch the venue's third floor, which reminded me of Le Pin Up in Paris only with a beautiful crystal chandelier instead of blown glass lights. This trip down memory lane to my paradise abroad in Paris immediately woke me up, and the Weezy blasting from the DJ booth definitely helped, too.
While there's many beautiful venues in DC (okay, many might be a little bit of an exaggeration but whatever), there aren't many that can bring in and maintain a great crowd. Well, Moe Hamdan, congratulations, you're one of the first clubs in years that I've actually seen be able to pull this off. With no riff-raff and everyone dressed to impress, you won't feel like you're wasting the new ensemble you bought at Cusp if you choose to wear it here. Plus, the third floor is very open with cathedral ceilings, so you won't have to take a break between dancing because you're sweating too much and getting flyaways in your hair which I usually am forced to deal with. Single ladies? This honestly has the most attractive crowd of guys I've ever seen under one roof in DC and you won't have to worry about being groped in the process. Wear your Sunday Friday best and you never know who you'll meet.
Like me, who found a cute Korean guy for my friend and ran up to him greeting him with the traditional "Anahasayo". Too bad he ended up being Japanese and I blew my friend's chances.
Needless to say, I highly recommend The Reserve the next time you're looking to club it up with some good friends and good drinks on your next Friday evening out. And if the chandelier gets stolen, it wasn't me.



The Reserve is located at 1426 L Street NW, (202)-628-8900. Dress to impress (which I don't need to say because anyone who reads this blog does anyway).