For the sake of journalistic integrity, I need to make a quick overture to this week‰’s column: I am not what most would describe as “cool.‰” If any of you are casting bets on the odds of me becoming a forecaster of the up-and-coming, I‰’d say you could put your life‰’s savings on it not happening. (I don‰’t even know how to phrase that in correct gambling terminology. That‰’s how uncool I am!)

However, I think I really might have found something ÌÊ la mode in the almost-open Georgetown club Malmaison. The latest venture by D.C. restaurateur Omar Popal, owner of Napolean Bistro and CafÌ© Bonaparte, Malmaison seeks to bring a new level of urban sophistication to the waterfront.

Popal stated in the December 2012 issue of Modern Luxury D.C. that “it’s going to feel like Williamsburg, Brooklyn, an edgy industrial place where poets, artists and musicians can come.” “Edgy‰” certainly isn‰’t the first word that comes to my mind when I think of Georgetown, but the 10-minute walk down a system of alleys from the nearest bus stop to the club‰’s location at the end of Water St. does help to inspire some sense of rough urbanity.

While Malmaison‰’s marketing team has been pushing the grand opening date for “early spring 2013,‰” the venue‰’s gotten its fair share of use in the past few months. French DJ duo Make the Girl Dance (Pierre Mathieu and Greg Kozo) played on March 23 at an event co-sponsored by the Alliance Fran̤aise, synching French electro-pop with Azealia Banks samples. Francophiles of all ages erupted in dance as Mathieu announced, “we‰’re taking over…you can do anything you like, you can smoke, you can drink and we‰’re going to make you dance!‰” ‰ÛÒ That‰’s cool, right?!

If simple booty dropping for the love of the French isn‰’t your thing, don‰’t be discouraged. Another one of Malmaison‰’s soft opening events was a philanthropy event that raised money for victims of Hurricane Sandy. Popal isn’t content with being only a club. Their “coming soon” poster announces the venue‰’s highlights as ‰Music, art, and pastries.‰’ I haven‰’t been able to conceptualize how these three things will fit together yet, especially if the Make the Girl Dance concert was an indicator of the club‰’s intended tone. But then again, I‰’m not innovative. What I can see however, is that this is an interesting experiment that everyone should watch unfold. I‰’m going to paraphrase The Social Network for a second here, and end on this: “We don‰’t know what it is yet. We don‰’t know what it can be, or what it will be, but we know that it‰’s cool.‰Û