Best Bar around us---1

MCCXXIII 1223 Connecticut Ave NWWashington DC, Telephone: [phone] Known as Twelve Twenty Three and ideally located in the heart of the Dupont district, DC's 'Premier Champagne and Caviar Club' is not easy to get into. Drop names or dress in Dolce and you might make it past the velvet rope. Once you do though you're in a classy inner sanctum that's well worth the wait. The dimly-lit bar has large cream couches that must be reserved in advance if you want to sit, but why not head for the VIP lounge which can be accessed with a few well-chosen words. There's a packed dance floor out back where DJs spin hip-hop, house and trance, while at various bar stations every cocktail known to man is being boldly built. Sure, it's a plastic-flashing designer-wearing kind of place, but regulars are fun, friendly and surprisingly unpretentious.