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Welcome to Insatiable, a lively peek at the culinary scene in Midcity DC – the neighborhoods of Shaw, 14th and U streets NW, Logan Circle, Bloomingdale and Mount Vernon Triangle. To launch our new column, we decided to poke around U Street NW, which is always full of new places to eat and imaginative menus.
We recently fortified ourselves with a hearty lunch at Eatonville, 2121 14th St. NW (just off U street), a sprawling, 200-seat spinoff of Andy Shallal’s popular Busboys and Poets, located just across the street. Open since last spring, Eatonville pays homage to the hometown of African-American playwright Zora Neale Hurston, a “Harlem Renaissance” contemporary of Langston Hughes. (Busboys and Poets is named after that famous poet and playwright, who worked as a bus boy to support his writing.) Eatonville, Florida (a suburb near Orlando) was Hurston’s home town, and reportedly the country’s first, post-Civil War African-American incorporated town.
The restaurant’s funky, folklore-inspired decor features brightly colored murals–including a giant facsimile of a postcard from Eatonville. Another homespun touch -- diners are issued dish towels instead of regular cloth napkins.
Eatonville’s menu – crafted by North Carolina native Rusty Holman-- is Southern with New Orleans touches. A gumbo appetizer is a rich montage of crabmeat, andouille sausage and vegetables in a zesty broth. We were impressed to see the rice placed in the middle of the generous bowl, like they do in South Louisiana. Husband Peter’s barbecued rack of ribs–served with a mound of crunchy, herbed French fries, coleslaw and smoky baked beans-- literally fell off the bones. Eatonville’s Louisiana influence extended to the beer selection, which included Abita on tap! Lunch for two, with a drink apiece, came to $47.30 before tip. Service was friendly and professional. Eatonville is open daily, including for Sunday brunch. Call 202-332-9672 or visit www.eatonvillerestaurant.com.
Coming soon
After waddling out of Eatonville, we decided to check on the progress of Cork Market, the retail spinoff of the Cork Wine Bar, to be located at 1805 14th St. NW. Cork wine bar proprietors Diane Gross and Khalid Pitts plan to sell vintages from their popular wine bar up the street (1720 14th St. NW), as well as a charcuterie, artisan cheeses, olive oils, vinegars, breads, jams and spreads, and other upscale comestibles.
Presiding over the gourmet food will be chef Kristin Hutter, whom you might remember from her stints at Citronelle, Black Salt and Black Market Bistro in Garrett Park, Maryland. She told us Cork’s gourmet grocery would probably open around Thanksgiving. When we visited the site a couple of weeks ago, we saw workers laying wooden flooring and painting shelves. For updates, call Cork Wine Bar at 202-265-2675 or visit www.corkdc.com. (We reviewed Cork in the wine bar roundup in the August 2009 issue of The Hill Rag and DC North.)
Corner crepes
Coming soon to a street corner near you: Crepes on the Corner, 1801 14th St. NW (14th and S, which used to house the Garden District plant center, which has moved to 1740 14th St. NW). The future creperie will be the creation of chef Vincent Bradbury and Garden District’s Joe Carmack. Practically across the street, at 1736 S St. NW, look for Point Chaud Café, in the spot that used to be Circle Boutique. As of now, both spaces are empty and the website is being developed, but stay tuned.
Time to shop
With holiday shopping for foodie friends already on our minds, we visited a couple of nearby, upscale cookware stores: Home Rule, 1807 14th St. NW (202-797-5544), and Go Mama Go, next door at 1809 14th St. NW (202-299-0850). Both shops carry ideal culinary gifts: colorful dishes, glassware, cooking vessels, kitchen implements, soaps and candles (we bought some drip-less tapers at Home Rule for a reasonable $1.99 apiece). Home Rule also carries espresso makers and demitasse cups. Go Mama Go has more of an Asian bent (especially Japanese) with beautiful Cobalt, Kosiu and Spring Green dinnerware, as well as sushi and sake sets, woven place mats and chopsticks galore. However, the Western world is well represented with gorgeous Luna glassware from Murano, Italy. Visit www.homerule.com. |
