art and soul

considering that art and soul was a more-or-less random destination for us picked for convenience, i was pleasantly surprised at how good the cocktails and food were, and i’d be happy to come back and give them a try for dinner, or to sit outside on their pleasant patio. it’s definitely one of the gems for the union station area.

the service was excellent! unfortunately, the food was disappointing. my meal was tasteless. great concept...poor execution.

this place does not scream hamburger. it’s a fancier looking place attached to the lobby of the liaison capital hill hotel. but it does show up on a thrillist list of underrated burgers in d.c., and is co-owned by chef art smith  (who can be seen frequently on the food network)! it is located very close to the capital building and is apparently known for its fried chicken, which is what we’d expect from art smith. the burger normally comes with onions, pimento cheese, aioli, and bbq sauce. but bec

i don't live in dc but have introduced several locals to art and soul, they are now dedicated diners there. everything is exquisite down to the french fries. i revel in introducing people to this restaurant and watching their eyes roll back and groan from happiness about everything from the burger to the chicken thighs or the fried chicken.

in an event benefiting dc central kitchen, a collage of local chefs coalesced in the newly opened art and soul on new jersey avenue for a bread battle of buttery proportions. being the resident southerner at dcfüd, a purveyor of carbohydrates and a vapid believer in healthy competition, biscuit bash 2016 called to myself and many district dwellers for an array of biscuit-based noshes alongside local brews and craft cocktails courtesy of art and soul’s mixologist, lee bonds. all participants were allowed to exhibit their inner food critic, voting for the best biscuit rendition of the evening.

this is a very busy restaurant, lots of people there. my and girlfriend went at night for a date. the fried chicken is super crispy on the outside and seasoned to perfection on the inside, and very juicy. we ended up taking some back to our hotel and i ate this chicken cold, i never eat cold food. the spicy collard greens are fresh and they taste amazing with the jalapeño cornbread. i'm not a huge fan of mashed potatoes but this place is the exception. the price was decent as well this meal for two cost about $60 give or take but it was definitely worth it.

those who know me well know i love a dinner party. i truly enjoy having a table full of strangers exchanging stories and experiences. last saturday, my friend k and i had the opportunity to attend a saturday supper at art and soul restaurant. for starters, art and soul is one of my favorite restaurants in dc. it has a special place in my heart as it was the place the dutchman and i dined the night we got engaged. it also has a special place in my heart due to the amazing can baked cornbread served.

good upscale southern food from a celebrity chef (art smith). they do a good breakfast. they made the only red velvet cake i've ever liked. ever. i remember having good duck wings there. and fried chicken and fried green tomatoes. they did a great huge pork roll (porchetta) for an event once. you can't go wrong here. it is near union station.

pitiful service as soon as you walk through the door. hostess is lacking. clueless as to how to great people. mentioned looking my party and questions me as to which party i am here for. i clarify i am here to meet with just a few folks from work and she asks if they were in the bar. the bar, right behind her, was in full view so, no...they were not in the bar. i found my group and moved on.
she wandered around aimlessly and ignored requests for assistance to get service for our table, at which point she looked at her watch and walked away.
roman, the waiter, never checked in with our party until we waved him down. initial party of 4 was seated for 20 mins when 5th and final person showed up; waiter had never even offered to take drink orders while they waited. when he did make it over, he made excuses as to why he had not made it over. we communicated we are now in a hurry so we will order everything at once. roman did need to come back after not being able to read his own penmanship.
food makes up for the lackadaisical service although the tempo is ssssssllllllllloooooowwwwwww. we mentioned being in a hurry but that is obviously not their problem. here are pics of the food we are got...it was delish, and this restaurant's only saving grace.

come for the fried chicken. the "fried chicken for two" (essentially a whole fried chicken, so it easily feeds 3 or more if you order other things too) actually lives up to the hype. i'm not so sure the rest of the menu contains much worth bragging about. the food is pretty good, but nothing we ordered blew us away. also, it's in that unfortunate part of dc where everything feels like a tourist trap, even when it is just a decent restaurant in a nice hotel.

for starters, art and soul is one of my favorite restaurants in dc. it has a special place in my heart as it was the place the dutchman and i dined the night we got engaged. it also has a special place in my heart due to the amazing can baked cornbread served. hush puppies  we sat on a long table at the patio of the restaurant as we prepared to share our meal. the patio lights give it a whimsical feel, in the distance you can see the rotunda of the us capitol building. as the smoke of the bbq infused the warm air, we got to know our neighbors at the table: a family from northern virginia, a lively dc couple, a real estate developer, and a usaid veteran. we enjoyed the diversity of age, race, and professions.  we sampled the first course of pork rinds, deviled eggs with crispy ham and ground mustard, and hush puppies as we traded stories of food and travel.  

loved the crispy crunchy texture of the outside of the chicken, while the inside dark meat was tender and juicy. i could taste the subtle heat from the peppers, that really jumped on my tongue. this plate was not only nice to look at, but incredibly flavorful and easy to polish off.

on the ground floor of the swanky liaison hotel sits art and soul.  the restaurant is owned by fsu alumnus, and hamilton county native art smith.  from our perch on the 7 th floor the location was perfect and we invited our friends, and recent transplants to dc, michael and tanya to join us for dinner. after making us presentable we made the short elevator ride down to the lobby.  art and soul flows into the bar and entryway of the liaison and allowed people to move freely between all three areas.  upon giving our name to the friendly hostess we were seated.  the restaurant was sleek and modern with touches of southern shabby sheik.  polished metal, clean lines, and modern lighting were mixed with chalk boards, touille printed drapery, and my favorite element, a wall covered entirely in dry beans. our waitress appeared with menus and immediately noticed our fidgeting kids.  crayons were produced and she offered to put their meals in right away to give them something to occupy their tim

amazing staff and dinner - summer menu pork chop was great!!

terrible meal for the money!!. way over price and quality is mediocre at best. portions for the soup were scant and almost literally no soup with no flavor. salmon was over cooked and a very small, tasteless piece. salad was a decent size, but tasteless. to top it all off, the waitress was rude, slow, and not friendly. they brag about having authentic southern cuisine, but that's not the case. who in the south would ever put english peas in shrimp and grits? don't waste your money here and there are plenty of other good choices in dc.