Das Bullpen

I’m not a «real» baseball fan. I’ve realized that I rarely watch the games when I go to a game.
Recently, we’ve opted to just go to the Bullpen. No one buying tickets nonsense. For years we purchased tickets… We’d pre-​game with our group in the Bullpen, eventually make it to our seats, lose some people in our group to food or the inside bar. No more! I’ve decided to just go to the Bullpen now.
Benefits:
–Cheaper drinks: Did you know that ALL drinks are $ 5 after the 3^rd inning? (I had no idea…)
–Cheaper food
–Games
–You can still watch the game
–An easier escape route to the metro when it’s time to go
–Shaded or non shaded seating
–You will inevitably make random friends
Just a thought… :Go Nats:

Walk out of metro — cross the street — beer in hand within 2 minutes — genius.

This place, along with The Bull Pen, no longer exists. The two venues have been combined into a larger outdoor «beer garden» called the Half Street Fairgrounds. It is hard to completely hate this place, because the beer here is cheaper than in the ball park, and they do have a few food trucks, but the «ambience» sucks. Think «beerfugee» camp, because the entire venue is surrounded by stacked shipping containers. Who thought this would be an inviting place to have a few beers, the UN High Commissioner on Refugees? It is really hard to describe how lame the setting is. But the beer is cold, they have a decent selection, and tall boys are $ 6. So drink your beer and shut up. It is a reminder that far worse things can happen to you.

Home of this year’s Truckeroo (and TruckerBOO) event.
Sure, it’s «just a parking lot», but that leaves the user with plenty of space to set up shop. There’s ample room for games, tents, a bar, standing tables, picnic benches and a stage, with plenty of walking room for guests.
Another good thing is the convenience of it all; there’s a metro station (Navy Yard, green line) directly across the street, as well as several bus stops surrounding the area. (Metered) Parking is a breeze, which is always great.
Excellent idea. I hope more businesses decide to use this wide-​open space.

The guys that operate and manage DAS BULLPEN are nothing but low-​life two bit crooks. I can say that because as an event venue they can easy con or scam customers while all the blame goes to the event organizers who simply use/​rent the space which is unfair for the event organizers. Even I mistakenly blamed the event organizers.
I stopped by the Truckeroo event which is supposed to be free admission. They collect donations for «charity », but when I got there, they said a $ 1 admission was required or you can’t get in. Most people, including myself, drop it into the clear 5-​gallon water jug, cuz what shmuck that’s willing to spend money on over-​priced food can’t spare one buck for poor kids. It wasn’t just me that complained. Even the Washington Post’s Food Truck Tracker caught on. Scroll to the bottom for an excerpt from their website.
I recommend anyone who feels outraged by this illegal racket and a travesty to honest charities, to file a complaint with Consumer Protection at the Office of the Attorney General (
)
Even one of the Food Truck venders wrote to me privately and express their shock at the way the event was handled, and an apology for my experience although they had no reason to apologize.
Never going there again, even if it’s for charity. You simply can’t trust anyone that’s willing to steal from poor people and say you’re helping poor people! What a load of BS!!!
— — — — — — excerpt from the Food Truck Fiesta website — — — — —
TruckerBOO $ 1 Entrance Fee/​Donation Now Optional #Truckeroo
POSTED BY: KYLE ON OCTOBER 28TH, 2011 WITH NO COMMENTS
I just received a report (about 7pm) that the $ 1 entrance fee/​donation is now optional.
TruckerBOO Update: Closing Early (10pm), $ 1 Entry #Truckeroo
POSTED BY: KYLE ON OCTOBER 28TH, 2011 WITH NO COMMENTS
UPDATE: The DC Food Truck Association put out a statement regarding the surprise cover charge. A couple of updates for Truckeroo fans this evening! Navy Yard metro closes at 10pm WMATA is closing the Navy Yard metro station at 10pm, and since most of us get to and from Truckeroo via Metro, many food trucks may […]
TruckerBOO: $ 1 «suggested» donation looks to be mandatory #Truckeroo
POSTED BY: KYLE ON OCTOBER 28TH, 2011 WITH 7 COMMENTS
Just a heads-​up to Truckeroo goers: the $ 1 donation is looking like it’s mandatory at the entrance of Das Bullpen. The donation goes to the Greenleaf Recreation Center in Southwest DC. Note: Georgetown Events (the venue operator), not the DC Food Truck Association, is requiring the $ 1 donation «entry fee.» UPDATE: The DC Food Truck […]
FILED UNDER: NEWS
— — — — — – udpate from the OAG office — — — — — -
We suggest that you file a Consumer Complaint with our Office. We would like you to know that although this office does not represent individual consumers, it uses complaint information it receives to determine whether there is a pattern or practice by a business that warrants investigation or possible legal action by OAG. OAG accepts complaints from residents of the District of Columbia, and from people who have had problems with a business located in the District of Columbia. There is a Consumer Complaint form on our website.
or follow this link

Consumer Hotline 202−442−9828
Or, to contact us by mail; send to:
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This weekend we headed down to DC to check out a Nationals game and as always I checked out Unilocal to see where we would pregame at. It seemed The Bullpen and Das Bullpen were the 2 places and pretty much the only places in the area so that pretty much made my decision for me. Now I’ve been to a lot of tailgates and stadium bars and this one was not one of the better ones. First off I’m not sure why they call it Das Bullpen considering they had pretty much the same beers as the regular bullpen. Beer selection was very limited considering it’s supposed to be a beer garden and prices were a little lofty as well. The bar in general was also a little pathetic. It was basically just a parking lot with some fences around it and then they threw some tables, a bar, and a couple port a pottys. They did have some food, but it was pretty limited. Just hot dogs, kielbasi, and sausage with all the toppings. Food was good, but like I said limited. The one cool thing about this place was that they had cornhole. We all had a good time playing a couple games before we went to the stadium. All in all not a terrible bar, but Unilocal put it best «I’ve experienced better».

So for being something that looks to be just thrown up at the last minute, it was a find place to have a couple drinks while we waited for the crowd to get on the Metro.
They have better prices than inside the park and also have bagg-​o games set up that you can play.

For starters, it’s a parking lot.
It’s best just to get that fact out the way upfront. Both Das Bullpen and The Bullpen are «shanty bars» cobbled together on parking lots.
Das Bullpen has a greater selection of beer than it’s neighbor, The Bullpen, but that’s not really saying too much. All told, I believe they had half a dozen drafts available at the $ 6 price-​point, compared to the $ 8 drinks you pay when inside the stadium.
Also, Das Bullpen isn’t as cheesy as the The Bullpen: though the game of cornhole is still there, the whole thing seems a tad bit less, well, douchy then it’s sister bar. The focus here is the beer, and long wooden tables under the large canvas awning help this bar try to cement itself as a beer garden.
I can see this place being pretty neat on a hot summer day, and its easily the better bar near the Nationals Stadium. But Das Bullpen alone isn’t a destination. Those Washingtonians seeking a beer garden are better served by H Streets Bier Garten Haus.

So you’re probably thinking. why are you reviewing the bullpen with a German name? That’s because as of today, DAS bullpen opened. I first noticed it when i stepped outside the Navy Yard metro today against the Phillies. I sort of dismissed it and walked over to the regular «bullpen» on the corner closer to the stadium and wait for the rest of my friends to arrive. Afterall, there is live music, and cornhole! and just generally more lively.
After a while, I decided to go down to «das bullpen» and learned today was the first day in operation. It’s almost the same as the bullpen except there were no games. There was a lot more seating. More importantly, they had a bigger selection of beer than the horrible bud light and bud light lime selction.
Nationals Park has a great beer selection so this doesn’t surprise me at all that it would pop up outside the stadium. I hope it is successful