McLean restaurant makes this one topic of conversation off limits
The main industry in the D.C. area is politics, so it’s only natural that politics would be talked about when people are out for a meal or a drink. But honestly, it’s sometimes nice to think about getting away from the stress.
You can do just that at a restaurant in Northern Virginia.
At Neutral Ground in McLean, they won’t throw you out for bringing up politics, but the news and opinions they would rather hear you talk about revolve around pretty much anything else. Don’t even think about asking them to put a news channel on the TV at the bar.
“This was meant to be … a neutral space to meet in this chaotic political world that we all tend to be sucked into this area,” said David Guas, the owner and chef at Neutral Ground. “Regardless of our jobs, our employment, it’s hard not to get caught up in it just because of our proximity. It absorbs us.”
Guas is a native of New Orleans, and he came up with the term Neutral Ground through its use down there. He said, in particular, certain areas of the town were considered neutral ground — and would be off limits to violence and rivalry for new immigrants looking for work.
Operating in McLean, he said customers have included politicians, pundits and others whose names are either loved or reviled depending on your political affiliation. He hopes his restaurant will be especially hospitable to them, or anyone else whose life can be consumed by news and politics.
“The general idea is we jokingly will even interrupt conversations,” he said with a laugh.
But he said it’s done lightheartedly, keeping with the theme of the restaurant. He said the staff can usually tell if a guest wouldn’t take the suggestion the right way, and in that case will let it go.
“We don’t literally police people because that would be counterintuitive to the concept,” he added.
At the same time, sometimes a break from the craziness — perhaps with a stiff drink — would be appreciated by the customer too.
“You need to be told sometimes to take a break,” Guas said. “We don’t know what to do with ourselves in moments of downtime anymore.”
“This is your opportunity to just come into our island and just be isolated for a little while,” he added.