Its decor is steely and restrained–you won’t forget you’re at the base of an office building–but Peter Smith has packed his restaurant with personality. On the plate, there are such whimsies as a deconstructed cheesesteak (curls of cheesy bread take the place of a bun). The often-crowded walk-in lounge offers terrific bar food, such as miniature hot dogs and bánh mì. And Gina Chersevani, the aproned cocktail guru who stands behind the bar, is as quick with a joke as she is creative with a shaker.
What to get: Half-smoke with white veal chili; nutty goat flatbread with walnut butter and goat’s-milk Gouda; tuna sliders on buttery buns; roasted-fig salad with ginger crumbles; a take on paella with shrimp, clams, and squid around a mound of savory rice pudding; Chef’s Choice burger with bacon, roasted tomato, and fried egg; Situation Rum and Recovery Blues cocktails.
Open Monday through Friday for lunch and dinner, Saturday for dinner. Expensive.
Ann Limpert joined Washingtonian in late 2003. She was previously an editorial assistant at Entertainment Weekly and a cook in New York restaurant kitchens, and she is a graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education. She lives in Petworth.
