Following a Top Chef Master's Trail - Brunch at Art & Soul

A recent weekend of much brunching included a visit to the Art & Soul, suggested after a friend watched this WETA hour long documentary of Washington metropolitan area breakfast restaurants.  Located in the Capitol Liaison Hotel, not far from Union Station, Art & Soul, a southern influenced restaurant has a chic, polished atmosphere.  Chef-owner of Art & Soul, Art Smith, has served as personal chef to Oprah, and to former Florida governors Bob Graham and Jeb Bush.  *For fans of Top Chef, Art Smith participated in Top Chef Masters. The décor of his restaurant is a mix of red and black and the walls have large modern red and black portraits.  There are four-top and two-top tables and a row of cosy white leather cube like booths along the wall with room for three people.

The menu tracks chef-owner Art Smith’s specialty in southern cooking with one special flare, not seen often on southern menus, a health section (only at breakfast).  You can expect to see staples of southern brunch, such as Chicken and Waffles, served classically with chicken gravy or kicked up with a maple syrup.  There are omelet and frittata options served with mixed vegetables and goat cheese, delicious sounding lemon yogurt pancakes and smoke salmon hoe-cakes on the menu.  The “Art Start” menu includes quinoa granola, oatmeal, a breakfast bar and an egg white omelet with cucumber tomato salsa and avocado cream.  

At the start of the meal, you are presented with a warm basket of freshly baked cinnamon biscuits with a drizzle of white icing.  I ordered the egg white omelet with salsa and avocado cream.  This was my first (in now what might be a long line) of egg white omlets.  The eggs were fluffy and flavorful and the fresh salsa was delicious.  My fellow brunchers ordered the chicken and waffles (with classic chicken gravy, as recommended by the server) and the Chesapeake Benedict.  Both loved the flavors of their dishes and agreed that Art & Soul is worth a revisit.

My tips – make a reservation if you are going after 11:00 AM as this is when the restaurant appears to start reaching capacity for Sunday brunch.  As for the “Art Start” menu at brunch, while its online for breakfast, they apparently don’t offer it unless you request it for brunch.  

Domku – Polish/Swedish/Danish Morning Joy?

Yesterday I was treated to a birthday brunch at Domku by some of my close friends.  Though I’ve had brunch at Domku four times, I have yet to review it.  Domku is a Polish-Swedish restaurant, which is a both unexpected and expected combination.  There is little geographic reason for there not to be more connected cuisine between Scandinavia and Poland/Baltic areas of Europe.  In the 1300 and 1400’s Polish cities were closely linked to Scandinavian cities in the trading union known as the Hanseatic League.  While the Swedish Empire that lasted from about 1600-1700 mostly focused its power in Scandinavia and the Baltics, its hard to imagine how Polish cuisine could not be impacted from its strong neighbors influence to the North and East.  If you travel in the Baltics, especially Estonia where nationalism is strongly felt, you will often seen references to the Hanseatic Lague and its history in the region.  The reason for that is the same reason that we often do not see Eastern European and Scandinavian cooking linked today – the Eastern Bloc and Soviet Union has severed our mental notion of the connection of Eastern and Western Europe and these countries are keen to let us know that they are European – not "Eastern European" or "Former Soviet Bloc" countries.

Enough history for this morning, Domku does a really nice job of melding the cuisine of the “East” with that of the “North.”  Their menu includes Borschts (more typical of Ukraine, Russia and the Baltics) and lots of dishes featuring smoked salmon.  Trendy foods make their way into the menu such as Israeli salad.  Norway is represented through large flat Norweigian Pancakes served with toppings such as tomatoes, mushrooms and gouda cheese or cardamom scented waffles.  Salads and other dishes with herrings and beets also dot the menu.  A major plus of the Domku menu is its either intentional or unintentional emphasis on healthy food and portions.  In the evening (and at brunch, if its your thing) cocktails are served.  I’m always especially to have one made with Zabrowka Vodka.  They also have a large selection of Aquavit’s, flavored with herbs and spices – great for a night without a car.

My favorite part about Domku is the atmosphere.  The walls have quirky (Polish maybe?) art and hanging lights.  There are a variety of types of places to sit – bar, vintage couches, old wooden tables.  I love quirky put together places – and this is one of them.