Description: Manned by James Beard Award–winner Jason Wilson, Crush occupies a century-old house on Madison and 23rd, where Capitol Hill, Madison Valley, and the Central District meet. Inside, the charming, old-fashioned rooms contain the surprise of spare but ritzy decor, with everything both very clean and very white: table dressings, countertops, bare walls, and Verner Panton's famous '60s-mod molded-plastic chairs. (With no back legs, these are the furniture equivalent of heel-less platform shoes—all gaped arches and thrilling danger.)

What else: The back patio involves foliage, gorgeousness, and a clientele of the moneyed, older, and formal variety. You might want to tone down the seamy dialogue, shear the neck beard, and leave your "Beauty Is in the Eye of the Beerholder" T-shirt at home.

Happy hours: Sun, Tues–Fri 5–6 pm.

Happy-hour drink specials: $5 select bottled beers (Racer 5 IPA, Hoppin' to Heaven IPA, more), half-price wine (rotating selection may include $6 Louis Bouillot Crémant de Bourgogne), and $7 specialty cocktails (the Little Red Dress has vodka, berry liqueur, and fresh lime and pomegranate juices).

Happy-hour food specials: Fancy small plates with fresh/local ingredients prepared with a mix of modern American and French techniques, such as $8 salt-roasted beet salad with whipped ricotta and grapefruit, $9 salmon croquette with pickled fennel and sauce ravigote, and $11 rabbit rillettes with cherry/pistachio compote and Dijon aioli.