Last date I was here: 09/06/2009
Restaurant: Eatonville (http://eatonvillerestaurant.com/)
Location: U Street
Total Rating: 4.65
Food: 5, Price: 4, Service: 4, Ambience: 5, Accessibility: 4
Summary: Eatonville, in the heart of the U Street corridor, has been receiving rave reviews since its opening a few months ago. Eatonville is named after Zora Neale Hurston’s Florida hometown and is full of bright, elaborate murals both of Hurston herself and of the Deep South, sparkly chandeliers, and even a porch with rocking chairs. Eatonville’s décor is loud and a bit over the top, but is ultimately successful, as it does truly evoke Zora’s world. Closest Metro is U Street/Cordozo.
The constant chatter about the crab cakes, po’ boys, hush puppies, and the Cajun mushroom loaf won me over, and we checked out the restaurant yesterday for dinner. Super tasty and comforting food, Eatonville loses a point on accessibility because they are not listed on Opentable.com in order to make reservations on line. However, even though they were a bit crowded we were seated upstairs without waiting. The upstairs has a more loungey vibe with club chairs and low coffee tables. A little tricky to eat off of, but offers a great bird’s eye view of the dining room below. I really enjoyed my meal and saw many other items on the menu that I would like to try. The hushpuppy was different than what I expected - the spicy creamy fondue sauce that drowned the rockfish was balanced by the crunchy hushpuppy exterior. I did not care for the fried leeks on top though. The macaroni and cheese is cheesy with a hint of garlic. My fried oysters were big and although I only had four with my salad, it was enough to satisfy. I would definitely come back again.
What I ate:
rock shrimp and leek fondue stuffed with creole sauce
Eatonville Mixed Greens with Fried Oysters
Eatonville Mixed Greens with Fried Oysters
with carrot curls, tear drop tomatoes, cucumbers, shaved onions and orange-shallot vinaigrette
♥Three Cheese Mac and Cheese♥
♥Three Cheese Mac and Cheese♥
Plus Keith ate:
Crispy Chicken Breast
with garlic mashed potatoes, braised collard greens and mushroom gravy
