Of all the celebrity chefs to alight in D.C. over the past two years, Art Smith has perhaps the most interesting career path. Smith has served as personal chef to former Florida Gov. Bob Graham, won James Beard awards for his Chicago restaurant TABLE Fifty-Two, become a bestselling cookbook author and — most notably — served for 10 years as the personal chef to Oprah Winfrey.
In September, Smith brought his reputation to the new Liaison Hotel on Capitol Hill with the opening of Art and Soul, a Southern-influenced restaurant that gives our legislators another worthy spot to refuel while they’re working on the latest bailout.
The Scene: The décor is more Soho chic than Southern-fried. As you wander in directly from the contemporary-looking lobby, you’ll be struck by the curtain of wire mesh that hangs down between the bar and the dining room. And the focal point of the room is five large oil paintings of famous “liaisons”: Churchill, Ghandi, Martin Luther King, Margaret Thatcher and President Eisenhower. The place to sit? That would be in one of the tiny booths recessed into the far wall — a pleasant surprise of privacy.
The Pour: The bar deserves a shout-out for its cocktails, both for their purist nature (you won’t find sour mix in any of the drinks) and their creativity (like in the “Put Up” Martini, made with Vermont Gold vodka and an array of pickled veggies). Wine lovers will find more than 20 offerings by the glass, though most are mediocre. Few bottle selections run into triple digits, with most hovering between $30 and $70.
The Taste: While Smith tries to spend two weeks of every month in D.C., he’s delegated day-to-day chef duties to Ryan Morgan, a veteran of Ten Penh. Their menu hews closely to Smith’s Southern roots. You’ll find those same pickled veggies in the delightful “Put Up” salad. The Chesapeake Bay Fry features oysters, clams, shrimp and okra, and chilled local oysters get a lift from a pimento and corn mignonette. Plump shrimp wrapped in Virginia ham were letter-perfect, but the plate was done in by bland grits and an overpoweringly vinegary chow chow relish. As far as main courses, you can’t do much better than the juicy, bone-in pork chop with red-eye gravy and tobacco onions, though the ham-wrapped rockfish over crab risotto and the grouper with pesto and carrot-cider broth are fine choices as well.
The Touch: Service here is a mixed bag. On the one hand, the servers can discuss the menu chapter and verse. You should lean on them for recommendations. On the other hand, things can get very … slow … between courses and when it’s time to get the check. Predictably, the service seems to pick up when Smith is making his rounds throughout the dining room, as he is wont to do.
Don’t Miss: Smith’s hoecakes — cornmeal cakes served with a variety of accouterments. Pick from cured salmon with caviar and crème fraiche, blue cheese with grapes and onions or my favorite, blue crab with braised beef and brie.
Why You Won’t Go: Parking is a mild annoyance around here. Valet is available, but after dropping $160 on dinner with tax and tip, I felt somewhat fleeced by handing over another $12 for the privilege — even with validation.
Why You Will Go: For cocktails and late-night dessert at the bar. Try the butterscotch pudding with caramelized banana.
If you go
Art and Soul
The Liaison Hotel
415 New Jersey Ave. NW
202-393-7777
artandsouldc.com
Hours: 6:30 to 10:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., 5:30 to 10 p.m. Sunday to Thursday; 6:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., 5:30 to 11 p.m. Friday
Prices: Appetizers and salads $9 to $16, entrees $18 to $34
Bottom Line: Art and Soul fills a major void for capable Southern cooking on Capitol Hill.
