Tim: The Casual Pint

 Disclaimer: Andrew had to bail last minute for this outing, but FCB must go on. 

This week, our special guest, Chef Donald Link-in-Bio, chose Wild Tacoz, but as the day drew near, it was clear the weather would not be optimal for uncovered outside dining. I quickly scrambled to find a restaurant with adequate coverage that was also new to us, leading me to The Casual Pint Falls Church. I had never heard of it before, but it seemed chill, and I was hopeful that I had maybe discovered a new go-to spot. Spoiler alert: I absolutely had not. 

Now to be fair, I will note that we visited during a transition time as Virginia was lifting Covid restrictions, meaning a sudden influx of customers with limited staffing still. There was one bartender/server working at the time. But also to be fair, that does not excuse everything. 

I arrived about 5 minutes before Donald, and spent the time looking at the typical chalk drawn board of beer options. There were many, and I thought I was doing a normal thing, but that did not stop the bartender from making me very uncomfortable by heavily sighing and gasping at me. She went so far as to exclaim to no one in particular about the wet footprints on the floor. But that was my bad, as I had forgotten to remove my shoes before entering. Eventually the bartender provoked me into ordering something and told me my friend I was meeting was never going to come. Now, on paper, pretty funny, but in reality it was less than welcome. Donald arrived five seconds after I ordered a drink, and she immediately barked at him not to order the same thing as me. Donald scrambled to order something, disoriented by the impatient provocations of the bartender. He also ordered a giant pretzel that is a happy hour deal, scolding me for not doing the same. I told him I planned to order one to go for my wife. The bartender, dropping some substantial eaves, interjected that she can put the order in for happy hour price but say not to make it until we are ready to leave, which was actually really awesome of her. Truly an emotional rollercoaster of a journey with this particular individual. She also was very eager to offer recommendations off the beer list, but it was hard to tell if it was due to enthusiasm about the offerings or more impatience to get us to just order something quickly. 

After Donald ordered, she told us we are good to go and she will bring Donald's stuff out to us (again really giving off the get the hell out of here vibe). I had asked if it was cool to sit outside, and received a lecture on how it was a wind tunnel out in the breezeway and we would get soaked, and she did not recommend it. Now it was a bit chilly and breezey, but the rain never came close to us, and later on when she came out to check on us, she lamented about how every time she came out, she was jealous because it was so hot inside. My eyes rolled into the back of my head, and Donald invited her to join us, which she abruptly declined. 

When we first sat down, I sipped my beer, which was quite delicious (I forget what it was). As Donald and I caught up and time ticked by, we realized the bartender probably forgot Donald's beer. He went inside to check, and moments later he came back with a giant pretzel, but no beer. Donald relayed that he had been scolded for leaving earlier without his beer. Eventually she arrived with his beer asking for us to be patient as she is the only server. We respond amicably and decide to forgive and forget. Which did not last long.

I quickly got one more beer for the happy hour 20 percent off right before the cut off, disappointed to find the deal does not apply to flights. After a while, Donald and I went back in to order our food and flights. I made the mistake of asking for a recommendation between two options, one being Nashville Chicken Sandwich. Before I could finish asking, she ejaculated, "CHICKEN." At first, I thought it was because that was somehow the obvious choice, but she then made it clear she did not have time to talk through options and wanted us to hurry up and order. Donald saddled up beside me and ordered the Nashville Chicken as well. I would say Andrew was rolling in his grave at such a slight against the FCB ethos, but who am I kidding, he would have probably done the exact same thing. 

The food arrived not too long after we had sat down with our flights. We looked at the sandwiches, at eachother, and back at the sandwiches. These weren't no Nashville Hot Chicken sandwiches.  Donald could not even see chicken on his, and he thought it was just a BLT at first. Guac oozed out the sides, which coincidentally Donald had just been discussing how much he despised. There was maybe a teaspoon of sauce on the bread, but it was not like any Nashville sauce I had ever tasted. We both decided to try them anyway, and I definitely have had better sandwiches at Panera or even like the ready made section of a grocery store. Despite us both enjoying our full pints well enough earlier, each beer in our flights caused us to progressively cough and gag more and more. I'm not saying the bartender used our flight glasses as a toilet, but, I'm also not sure she didn't.  We both agreed Number 20, whichever one that was, was on the enjoyable side of tolerable. 

I did get my pretzel made right when we were ready to leave, so ended things on a high note. However, I still had a sour taste in my mouth, and it wasn't just from the Gose I had drank. (A little joke for the beer boiz our there). 

Overall, just a really not pleasant experience through and through. Naturally, a lot of our bad experience was related to the service that day, but also the food and drinks did not really provide any motivation to ever return. If you want to pick up some to-go craft beers, this might be a good spot for you, as their walls are lined with cans you can buy. However, why would you not just grab some Michelob Ultra's or seltzies at your nearest grocery store?  

I hate writing a bad review, because I just really don't like bad vibes. I love everyone at The Casual Pint, especially whoever manages their social media. They just out there trying their best, like all of us. But also, I would recommend pretty much going anywhere else, or even just staying in. 

Service: 1/5 (She came in with the clutch with my to-go pretzel, but not enough to make up for the rest)

Atmosphere: 3/5 

Food: 2/5 

Drink: 2/5

Bathroom: N/A

Overall: 2/5