BlackFinn

Where: 1620 I St. NW

ID’d: No

Belle Rating: 2 of 5 bells

Whenever I show up to a bar with a huge line out the door, I’m already turned off. Most times that means it’s crazy busy inside, and I’ll never manage to wade through the deluge of sweat and hormones to reach my prize of liquid libation.

BlackFinn proved me wrong.

Surprised we were even let in, my friends and I snaked our way through the giant, dripping, swaying mass of flesh to the back bar and secured a spot.

BlackFinn is a typical D.C. bar by day, with dark wood floors and some booths, and a wild nightclub by night, with giant flatscreen TVs that project the music videos of whatever song the D.J. is playing. The music was a mesmerizing mix of standard bar music like Lady GaGa’s and Rihanna’s latest hits, and great ’90s tunes like Britney Spears and some rap.

In an attempt to avoid the miscellaneous guys using their all-too-creative pick-up lines, my girlfriends and I stuck to the bar. Luckily for us, we got to enjoy many shooters that somehow appeared in front of us, courtesy of the very cute bartender.

My main impression from BlackFinn: It’s a fancier version of McFadden’s. It has cleaner, nicer furniture, better service and the people who attend dress up more. I was never ID’d once, which is probably why I felt so much older than most of the girls in line. Don’t expect to be picked up by a cute guy, but do expect to belt your heart out to some “…Baby One More Time” and throw back some delicious shooters from the delicious bartender.