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Photo: Dan Chung
Off the Record at The Hay Adams Hotel: Washington, D.C.
Awash in scarlet, this 80-seat lounge has gilded coffered ceilings and highly polished wooden floors, as well as a reputation as a place to be seen but not heard, per its hush-hush name. The walls showcase cartoon portraits of Washington bigwigs, part of a vast private portfolio of Arthur Wood recently acquired by the Library of congress. The hotel has also commissioned collectible, take-home drink coasters with notable politicians, including recent presidents and vice presidents, perfect for preventing drink rings from libations like the Trumpy Sour, with whiskey, barrel-aged bitters, lemon, thyme and honey. And if you work up an appetite from all that lobbying and hobnobbing, nosh on an order of OTR crab cake sliders.