Serendipity Of The Black Squirrel

We took up residence near this little guy in Freehold, NJ. Having never seen a black squirrel before, and being naturally inquisitive, I Googled “black squirrel” to see if they are the same creature as the grey ones we’re more used to seeing (they are). But as luck would have it, the second link on the Google page was to the Black Squirrel Bar in Washington, DC, our very next stop. Even more fortunate, the Black Squirrel is just a couple blocks away from our favorite Korean restaurant, Mandu, where we had already planned to meet a friend for dinner. Another sign? Without question.

The Black Squirrel calls itself a “gastro pub,” which I guess is supposed to mean they have good food. We didn’t go there to eat, but we did sample a calamari and vegetable appetizer dipped in tempura batter and served with chipotle tartar sauce. It was a little salty, but certainly better than the standard pub grub. They also claim to serve Belgium’s best wheat beer, (it’s not). Fortunately, they have plenty of other options on the menu, including some fantastic beers made by Great Lakes Brewery in Cleveland, Ohio. We’d never heard of Great Lakes before, but a helpful bartender introduced us to them, and now we’ve added another place to stop on our to-do list.