Dan and I, being such debonair socialites, hob nob with the cream of the crop, the foam on the latte, the princes among men.  Our friends are distinguished members of the talented elite, and to celebrate our general greatness (along with our friends’ successful publishing of their latest game for the iPod, Little Red Sled), we decided to meet up at Old Town Alexandria’s Brabo Tasting Room for drinks and merriment. Did I mention that our friends are uber talented and that they actually admit to knowing us?  Yes, yes, we’re that special.

Atmosphere:  You enter Brobo Tasting Room, and the first thing you see is a giant wood burning stove.  High ceilings, white tables, and metal accents, along with the wood burning stove provides an air of modern coziness, fashionable but intimate.  There are a handful of sit-down tables, a bar, and a stand-up table in the middle of the room, encouraging the feel of a cocktail party where people can take a glass of wine and mingle while grazing tasty goods.  The only complaint I had is that the high ceiling seemed to amplify the noise in the room, and it was hard to hold a conversation.

Food:  The Tasting Room offers a selection of wood-fired tarts (pizzas), mussels, sandwiches, salads and meat & cheese plates along with their selection of beers and wines.  The food was a bit of a hit and miss.  The braised pork belly tart was dripping grease and not enough flavor, and the meat plate was an unimaginative collection of similar tasting salamis (all too salty) that had everyone at the table sorely disappointed.  However, the mussels were a real treat.  We had both the classic white wine mussels and the tomato and parmesan mussels, and both had rich creamy broths packed with flavor that fully complemented their excellent complementary bread.  We didn’t try the sandwiches, but they looked large enough to feed two adults, and the cheese plates looked promising.

Service:  The service is casual and friendly.  The night we went was busy, so you might have to wait a bit for service.  It’s also a bit loud, so it’s hard to know if the waiter heard your order correctly or not.  In fact, we got an extra plate of mussles without asking for it, but they made sure we weren’t charged extra.

Summary:  Brabo Tasting Room is a great place for drinks and snacks, and you’ll be forced to have truly intimate conversations if you want to have conversations at all.  If you’re not in someone’s personal space, there is no way you’ll be understood, so it may be good if you’re on a first date, and you just want to gaze at each other while smiling and nodding.  Definitely try the mussels when you’re here, but stay away from the meat plate!

Restaurant information:

• Address: 1600 King Street Alexandria, VA 22314
• Phone: 703-894-3440
• Website: http://www.braborestaurant.com/
• Price Range: $9 - $20.