Festivus for the Rest of Us – At Old Glory

Dec. 23 marks a much-known if little-celebrated holiday: Festivus*. For years, families around Georgetown had no place to gather for the airing of grievances, feats of strength and traditional Festivus meal. Well, thanks to , that is changing.

On December 23, Old Glory will host a $18, three-course Festivus meal featuring traditional fare, such as a "big salad," meatloaf and an M&M adorned chocolate cake. For those of us who will be out of town for the dinner, Old Glory has been offering a preview this month.

And, for my first public Festivus celebration, I dropped by Old Glory to see the tradition in its original form. Even though the Seinfeld Festivus was without booze, I amended that little detail to fit in with the atmosphere.

I began the evening with the Festivus Punch – a mixture of Captain Morgan, fresh pineapple, orange and cranberry juice. If not for the holiday, this is one to skip as the pineapple/orange/cranberry reminds me of cough syrup. Other Festivus specials, a Dewar's 12 Manhattan dubbed the "Kramer" ($8) and 16-ounce Rolling Rocks ($4), are available as well, and are the way to go. 

What makes Festivus at Old Glory unique is the airing of grievances, where guests can let everyone know how they have been disappointed over the past year. The bartender noted that each night during the month the grievance board is cleared, to only reappear at the Festivus dinner on the 23rd. When I was there, some were unique, while others ("Obama") were, hopefully, all in fun.

Either way, for this year's Festivus, Old Glory is definitely a place to stop by.

Though, a disclaimer: you will have to perform your feats of strength somewhere else.  

*Festivus is a holiday referred to in an episode of Seinfeld as the holiday celebrated by the Costanza family. If you have not watched the episode, the writer recommends doing so.