Jan 11, 2008  |  By: ZACK ROSEN  | COMMENTS     

Like Dr. Jekyll, the Northwest Washington neighborhood of Adams Morgan has two distinct faces. The visage of Mr. Hyde comes out on Friday and Saturday nights when 18th Street, the main drag, gets clogged with obnoxiously drunk frat boy stereotypes. At all other times of the week, though, Adams Morgan serves as a pleasantly eclectic and deceptively gay pastiche of the different cultures that make D.C. hum.

“Adams Morgan is like the nexus between Mt. Pleasant and Dupont Circle, and it’s so close to Columbia Heights” says gay resident Kenneth DeGraff. “Adams Morgan gets a lot of foot traffic that lingers and stays and attracts people that find it magnetic.”

The neighborhood got its name from two local elementary schools, the all-white John Quincy Adams and the all-black Thomas P. Morgan, which were desegregated and combined into one school district in 1955. The neighborhood is still a comfortable blend of different cultures. One stretch of Columbia Road is nicknamed “The Barrio,” due to its Mexican and Salvadoran restaurants and vendors, and African craft stores and Turkish restaurants can be found next to predominantly white bars on 18th Street.

A SUPRISINGLY STRONG represent-ation of gay culture can be found in the area as well. Duplex Diner, 2004 18th St., N.W., is the neighborhood’s go-to gay hangout, and next door at L’Enfant Café, 2000 18th St., N.W., Karl Jones, proprietor of Taint, runs Dimaunchery, a low-key, semi-weekly Sunday night of Belgian beer and iPod DJ sets supplied by the regulars.

Alternative gay night Feint used to be held at 18th Street’s now-defunct Staccato and lesbian party promoters A Different Kind Of Ladies Night have held events at Adams Mill. Even the much-loved coffee shop Tryst, 2459 18th St., N.W., serves as an informal queer gathering spot.

“Tryst is more where the lesbian and trans folks hang out,” says Kendra Kuliga, who’s also D.C. drag king Ken Las Vegas. “I was just there this morning with my girlfriend. We were totally cuddly and kissy on the couch and I totally didn’t feel any weird vibe about it.”

There’s also no dearth of gay-owned businesses in the area. Michael Rinehart, the studio proprietor of Design Within Reach, 1838 Columbia Road, N.W., says that his shop has “a large gay clientele.” Lesbian couple Laurie Maurin and Denise D’Amour moved their environmentally conscious, “global green style” shop Hoopla to 2314 18th St., N.W., from Capitol Hill because they thought “the audience was great for what [they] had to offer,” says Maurin.

Hector Zarate, who is also a promoter of Latin gay night Fuego, owns Peruvian gift shop Tora Mata, 2410 18th St., N.W. Zarate echoes the sentiment that in Adams Morgan, diversity is no big deal.

“It’s never asked, never told and never advertised, but it’s very well understood that if you’re a gay man or a lesbian and you’re in a relationship [you can safely express it],” Zarate says. “Couples walk into the shop holding hands and it’s not an issue … even though you don’t see rainbow flags on businesses, [the neighborhood] is very open, very inclusive.”

A BOLD EMBLEM of Adams Morgan’s diversity is its dining scene. A short walk up 18th Street opens up a globetrotting wealth of gastronomic possibilities. Meskerem, 2343 18th St., N.W., holds some of the best Ethiopian food outside of U Street; La Fourchette, 2429 18th St., N.W., and Bardia’s New Orleans Café, 2412 18th St., N.W., offer completely different takes on French-inspired cooking; and Alberto’s, located at 2438 18th St., N.W., serves giant gourmet pizza slices that will make you a regular.

Brunch options abound as well. The Diner, 2453 18th St., N.W., boasts a dependable menu, but the nearby Asylum, 2471 18th St., N.W., makes its breakfast a little more interesting. Though its biker bar décor may initially seem foreboding, Asylum’s full vegan menu, particularly its vegan huevos rancheros,  makes it one of the most appealing brunch spots in the city. The general vibe of Asylum is friendly, but hungover patrons should be warned that the jukebox is often commandeered by a large clique of metal-lovers who spend endless hours at a corner-table air-drumming.

Still, despite Adams Morgan’s daytime charm, many gay D.C. residents will still judge it by its radically different nighttime character. While Kuliga simply steers clear of the area on Friday and Saturday nights, DeGraff has found a way to get some objective enjoyment out ...