The Commodore. 220 N. Lee Street, Alexandria. The Commodore in DC—opening a second location in Old Town Alexandria today—calls itself a “five-star dive bar.” For owners Rob Van de Graaff and chef Steve Kim, that means it may be brand new, but it aims to have a certain comfortability “where you know the bartenders, you know the staff.” It means fried pickles and Miller High Life, but also a spicy bucatini and espresso martinis. “Dive bar” here also has a double meaning, because the place is nautically themed—from an old-school diving suit to a kraken mural. A Navy vet was the original owner of the Commodore, which resided in Logan Circle before relocating to Dupont Circle. The Commodore owners Rob Van de Graaff and chef Steve Kim. Photograph by flipsh0t. Van de Graaff says regulars who lived in Alexandria had been pestering them for years to open a place in their neighborhood. That was enough for the bar owners to search for a location in Old Town, where they ultimately took over the former Mystic BBQ Grill space. New to the menu is a full lineup of Chicago tavern-style pizzas. The pies are characterized by their thin, cracker-like crust, which Kim notes is ideal when you want to drink a few beers and not be too full. The dough is fermented for 48 hours then rolled out and “cured” in the walk-in fridge for two days so it gets super crispy and crunchy. The pies come in 12 inch ($20-$22) or 16 inch ($24-$26) sizes, cut into squares. Among the 10 different options: a “Chicago Classic” pizza with spicy Italian sausage and giardiniera and “Pigs in the Garden” option with prosciutto, pesto drizzle, burrata, pickled onion, and balsamic glaze. The Commodore specializes in Chicago tavern-style pizzas and fried wings come with a variety of sauces. Photograph by flipsh0t. The rest of the menu includes bar snacks like wings, chicken tenders, and panko-crusted pimento cheese balls with Nashville hot oil. You’ll also find burgers, subs, and pastas, including a Cajun seafood pasta. The bar has 11 draft beer lines plus one draft cocktail: the Navy Grog, a favorite at the DC location, with a house rum blend, orange blossom honey syrup, lime, grapefruit, and ginger ale. They also have a machine just to serve espresso martinis on draft, plus a selection of classic cocktails ($13-$14). The 6,900-square-foot bar is more than double the size of the DC location. One room with board games and arcade games like Street Fighter and Pac-Man is designed to feel like you’re in a ship, with rope hanging from the ceiling and buoys on the wall. Another room aims to have more of a dive bar feel with a custom pool table and dart boards, plus a massive mural of a diver fighting a kraken. Then there’s a main dining room with a bar and booths and a private room for events or weekly trivia. (They plan to do competitions twice a year, pitting the best trivia team in DC against the best in Alexandria.) In DC, a lot of the decor has been gifted by regulars, such as an octopus giving the middle finger with each tentacle. The owners hope to keep the same trend going in Alexandria. “I don’t think there’s a higher form of compliment than for us to get something like that. So we’re happy to display it,” Van de Graff says.The post “Five-Star Dive Bar” The Commodore Is Opening in Old Town Alexandria first appeared on Washingtonian. ...read more read less