Photo by Alan Zilberman.
By DCist Contributor Alan Zilberman
Barracks Row has had several new restaurants over the years, but The Ugly Mug remains an unchanged institution. The dive is known for its unpretentious atmosphere, its friendly bartenders, and its generous drink specials. When I first moved to DC in 2006, The Ugly Mug was the first bar my then-roommate told me to check out, but I didn’t make there until fairly recently, so of course I had to check out its facilities. While everything is high quality, the bathroom needs basic improvements to its infrastructure.
+5 for an unusual urinal: The Ugly Mug has a water-free, no flush urinal. Flushing is an integral part of the bathroom process—arguably the most satisfying and/or necessary part of the process—and this space age contraption forces me to evaluate what I want from my bathroom experience. In an unintentional way, this urinal allows me to get a little philosophical.
-4 for limited options: The men’s room at The Ugly Mug has one urinal, one stall, one hand dryer, and one sink. I don’t care if there was no line when I arrived, but a bathroom needs more options for relief. There should to be at least a couple more urinals, or maybe a trough (I’ll end the long-lasting trough vs. urinal debate in a future column). Either way, bathroom lines get long as the night gets closer to last call and with these dismal options, supply cannot meet demand.
+1 for a public service announcement: Next to the sink there is an advertisement for Drivers Incorporated, a service in which a sober person will drive your drunk ass home in your very own car, so no need for a cab. The service never applies to me—I don’t own a car—but I appreciate a bathroom that values safety.
-3 for coat hook placement: There is half of one coat hook that’s facing the urinal on the stall wall. This is a terrible place for a coat hook—I don’t want anything touching me while I pee, especially if the coat/backpack belongs to someone else—and a broken one only compounds the problem. Coat hooks should only be in stalls, where they can sometimes be very necessary since I want the maximum ease of access when I sit down. Plus the single coat hook just looks kind of sad, or maybe lonely.
+3 for hand dryer: It’s no Dyson Air Blade, but I enjoy the raw power of the XLERATOR hand dryer. It’s a blunt instrument, not especially refined, but it gets the job done with efficiency. Also, I like seeing how the blast of hot air contorts the skin on my hands.
Overall Score: +2. This is a clean, decent bathroom, but its cleanliness is immaterial when there’s a line out the door to use it.
