Shave and a Haircut -- $90

At Ben's urging, I got my hair cut yesterday at The Grooming Lounge, a "men's salon and spa" just up Connecticut Avenue. The place is touted as the perfect place for the modern man who isn't quite secure in his masculinity, with one publication calling the Lounge

a sophisticated place where a man can go to indulge himself to a haircut, hot shave, facial, or pedicure without apprehension of what the women in the spa thinks of him or his sexuality.

Yeah, I know how that sounds, and I confess my own fears dwelt on being surrounded by patrons too uptight to ask for anything but a company-man flattop. Such concerns were dispelled the moment I walked in and was greeted by a decidely non-heterosexual desk clerk. The surroundings were plush in a manly, Ralph Lauren kind of way, with leather and ESPN. Hot face towels were a nice touch, as was the neck massage following the haircut. The cut itself was fine, if not thrilling, though. So I think I'll keep looking for the right place for me, but maybe I will come back for a massage sometime.