Art & Soul, located just inside the Liaison Capitol Hill Hotel in
Washington, DC, is Chef Art Smith's first restaurant in DC. Chef Smith,
better known as Oprah Winfrey's former personal chef, opened this new
restaurant as the first Southern restaurant in the nation's capitol,
serving the gamut of traditional but modernized comfort food. The
space—indoors and out—really lends itself to gatherings and parties.
Bold touches of red throughout as well as basic black accentuate the
sophisticated atmosphere. I think it helps show off the traditional
Southern food in an even more modern light.
While I was in DC with Destination DC,
I had the pleasure of staying at the Liaison Hotel and dining at Art
& Soul on my first night. I was joined by two other bloggers, Cathy
from Gastronomy Blog and Olga from Mango Tomato,
as well as writers from other parts of the country. The best and most
surprising part was that Art Smith himself was there to have dinner
with us. It was truly an experience to be savored and remembered.
Our evening began with Southernized hors d'ouevres and cocktails. First
luscious and creamy fried mac 'n cheese balls. Then small hoecakes with
smoked salmon and caviar. Fried chicken with gravy that were served
between bite-size biscuits came next. Finally seared tuna atop a fried
green tomato with green tomato relish. I never imagined Southern food
could work as such elegant finger food. The salmon hoecakes were my
favorite. I've never even heard of a hoecake before, but the mini
pancakes had such great texture and worked well as a vehicle for the
salmon.
The cocktail menu looked very good. I could hardly make my choice. I
ended up choosing the Potomac's Dawn. Since the Potomac is the name of
the river nearby, I figured why not try a locally inspired drink? It
was made of mango, tequila, and rimmed in chile pepper. Other drinks on
the menu included the very popular snow cone cocktails, which are
basically glasses of shaved ice with the cocktail poured over, pretty
fun.
As we waited for our food to arrive, Chef Smith presided over the
dinner table, sharing stories about his travels. It was very easy to
have a lively conversation with Chef Smith. He is a very humble and fun
host. For starters I ordered the traditional Southern favorite of
shrimp 'n grits, which I've never had but always have wanted to try.
The shrimp was nicely grilled and came with a coarse grits, bacon, and
chow-chow relish. I was pretty pleased with the shrimp. And I
surprisingly still had room for a main course.
For entrées, many ordered the crab three ways, which the Chef had
highly recommended, but since I'm not a fan of soft shell crab, I
ordered the crispy fried whole rockfish. I found it hilarious that the
server asked "with or without the head?" I didn't bring my camera for
nothing, so definitely I had to have it intact. The fish looked like a
monster and with the dirty rice and andouille gumbo, it looked like it
had emerged from a swamp. Even if it didn't look that great, the subtle
flavor and tender flesh of the fish was wonderful. I massacred the
monster in no time. Others had ordered the grilled grouper, scallops,
salmon, or rib-eye, which all looked enticing.
Dessert soon followed and I could hardly wait. I have a sweet tooth and
as we know Southern desserts are some of the sweetest, so I was hoping
for the classics. And the classics was what we got. First came the
Bourbon pecan pie, which turned out to be the airiest and least dense
version I've ever had. I was in love. My other favorite was the
chocolate terrine, a cake that had everything right going for it. We
also had a terrific cheesecake, cinnamon bun pie, and a selection of
baby cupcakes that included the famous hummingbird cake, which as the
Chef said is so called because it's so good that it makes you hum.
Southerners are known for their cakes and a mini red velvet cake, for
which I have soft spot, was also among the babycakes.
I could not have had a better first night in DC than my experience at
Art & Soul. It was the perfect introduction to Southern food and
hospitality. The restaurant is a great place to visit even if you are
not staying at the Liaison Hotel. But if you are than you might also
consider trying out the room service, which all comes from the
restaurant. The breakfast menu features the chef's healthy favorites.
If I'm back in town I might just stop by for some hoecakes and a slice
of that terrific pecan pie.
Art & Soul
415 New Jersey Ave NW
Washington, DC 20001
202-393-7777
Joseph Erdos is a New York–based writer and editor, but above all a gastronomer and oenophile. He shares his passion for food on his blog, Gastronomer's Guide , which features unique recipes and restaurant reviews among many other musings on the all-encompassing topic of food.