Bubbles Abound at Pop, Shaw’s Whimsical New ‘Fizz Bar’ | Eater DC

"Stepping into Brent Kroll’s newly minted “fizz bar” in Shaw (AtPop, 2108 Vermont Street NW), I found a 40-seat, house-party–style spot where every drink on-site is carbonated and served from a can or bottle. Opened December 17, Pop launched with about 50 canned and bottled selections — from over a dozen half bottles of Champagne ($28–$75) to beer, cider, hard kombucha, sparkling sake, seltzers, canned cocktails, sparkling wine, and pet-nats — and cocktails ($14) that pair a shot with a bottle of soda (absinthe with root beer; green chartreuse with grape soda; bourbon with Cheerwine). Kroll, Food & Wine’s 2018 “Sommelier of the Year” and owner of Maxwell Park wine bars, designed the colorful, pop-art–lined room (bottles and cans stacked to the ceiling and a garage-style door opening to a patio) to feel cozy, intimate, and upbeat — “an unbuttoned celebration any day of the week.” Chef Bart Hutchins has built a support menu that starts with the bubbles and skews crispy, fatty, and buttery: personal Detroit-style pizzas that rotate seasonally (pepperoni hot honey; Maryland crab and crab fat; pistachio with brown butter), Osetra caviar with chive donuts, foie gras chicken nuggets with fermented hot sauce, fried pickles with dill labneh, three creamy pastas, and fast-food–inspired items like curly fries, a Pop Burger with “animal sauce,” and a duck crunch wrap. Pop is already planning NYE festivities (a $132 ticket includes a personal Detroit pizza, a caviar “bump,” and four drinks), considering a membership-based “Fizz Club,” and is open Monday–Thursday 5 p.m.–midnight, Friday 5 p.m.–1 a.m., Saturday 3 p.m.–1 a.m., and Sunday 3 p.m.–10 p.m." - Emily Wishingrad