Restaurant Review: Mulebone

Earlier this month we ventured out into Washington, DC for some happy hour and dinner action at Mulebone, which is located on 14th Street NW (right across from Busboys and Poets). Given its location, Mulebone is within a relatively short walk of the U St. Metro Station, but we drove and lucked out in finding a parking spot directly across the street from the restaurant (Simone almost cried tears of joy!).

We planned this #HappyTummyList adventure weeks in advance, but neither of us could have imagined that we would be reeling from the news of the vicious murders of Alton Sterling and Philando Castille that day. In many ways, this happy hour gave us a space to talk through these incredibly tragic events and support one another. It is really difficult to comprehend how and why these atrocities are happening in 2016. Seriously, #blacklivesmatter, y'all. But thankfully, Mulebone provided us with a great venue to enjoy some delicious food and drinks. And in much needed and fantastic news, we also got to cheers to Damien's besties Kevin and Kati who welcomed their beautiful son into their family earlier that day. What a joy and true blessing!

Damien's Review:

Mulebone is a large, beautiful restaurant with a pretty cool look and feel on the inside. Its decor and aesthetic reminds me a lot of Busboys and Poets. They also have some outdoor seating if you are looking for some quality people watching in DC. When we arrived, we were the only people there (our happy hour may have started a little early), so we decided to sit at the bar. Don't worry, though--more people came in over the course of our time there. We both ordered the Bourbon Punch, which was one of their seasonal punches. I am a huge fan of sweet tea (and bourbon), and this drink had a flavor that reminded me a bit of sweet tea. This drink is now one of my favorites--it combined bourbon, peach, mint, lime juice, cane sugar, and orange blossom water into a deliciously sweet but strong cocktail. We decided to order a few appetizers from their happy hour menu, including the Picked Fried Green Tomatoes, the Carolina-Style Pulled Pork Tacos, the Buttermilk Fried Chicken Skins, the Buttermilk Biscuits with Pimento Cheese and Local Honey, and the Skillet Mac & Cheese. That may sound like a lot of food, but all of these appetizers were small plates and we shared them. I'll let Simone tell you more about how they tasted!

Simone's Review:

I honestly think that happy hour is a necessary part of an enjoyable summer. I ordered the Bourbon Punch which was strong, yet sweet enough for me. I rarely drink Bourbon, but this drink was definitely good and refreshing. Damien told you about all of the appetizers we ordered, so let's talk about how they tasted! The Fried Green Tomatoes were really delicious and had a great crunch to them. Accompanying the tomatoes was a thick and tasty blue cheese sauce. We both love blue cheese, so we had no complaints and thoroughly enjoyed this dish. The sauce was definitely the perfect compliment to the tomatoes. The Carolina-Style Pulled Pork Tacos were good, but we were a bit mixed in our review of them. They were topped with a fennel slaw and served on corn tortillas. I think the tacos could have a little bit more flavorful, but Damien enjoyed them and liked all of the components of the tacos. However, the major down side of this appetizer was that they were pretty small and there were only two of them. The Buttermilk Fried Chicken Skins were interesting, yet good. The chicken skins reminded us a lot of pork rinds (anyone remember those?). The fries, mambo sauce, and honey mustard sauce that came with the skins were a nice touch. The mambo sauce was a little bit spicier than I remember from my younger days of eating mambo sauce from the carryout, but it was definitely yummy. The Buttermilk Biscuits with Pimento Cheese and Local Honey was a decadent, sweet, and amazing dish. The biscuits were perfectly made, and combined with the cheese and honey stood as the perfect blend of sweet and savory. They were some really delicious biscuits! Finally, the Skillet Mac and Cheese was the only disappointment of our happy hour because it tasted like all of the cheese (they used Smoked Gouda and Cheddar Jack) was on top of the pasta, and the Béchamel sauce was really lacking in flavor. I would definitely return to Mulebone for the Bourbon Punch and those biscuits.

Our Review:

Overall, we would give Mulebone a 4 out of 5. They definitely have put love and thought into their food and drinks, and the happy hour was well-priced overall. We really enjoyed all but one of our appetizers, and the Bourbon Punch was just top-notch. They have some other pretty tasty sounding cocktails as well if you are just looking for a good drink. In addition, the rest of their menu, especially their dinner entrees, looks great for sure. If you like Busboys and Poets (a true staple of the DMV area), we think you might also enjoy Mulebone. Until next time, go out and enjoy a great meal soon!