Sou'Wester

I'm a lucky girl: the good, important men in my life read this blog and even join me in my dining. Even better, two male blog-patron friends (and one of their lovely wives, I'm nearly certain) are willing to join me along the way as I embark on my now-aspirational 2011 conquest: trying all 100 restaurants on the Washingtonian's 100 Very Best Restaurants List. We've already hit many of them together and many I will probably venture into alone, but what girl could ask for better friends.

These friends joined me to commemorate DC Restaurant Week on Sunday at SW's most southwest (and inaccessible) address, the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, the only luxury hotel I know of that overlooks a parking lot rimmed with barbed wire, a CVS, and gritty train tracks reminiscent of some cheesy 1980s music video.

In the Mandarin are two restaurants on the list: CityZen and Sou'Wester, which was delicious. Sou'Wester is warm without oozing Paula Dean and dignified without evoking debutante balls.

We started with two baskets of corn bread muffins (with actual corn kernels in them) and flaky biscuits. And a whole rounded rammekin of honey butter. Not a bad start.

And then bloody mary's, which later turned out to be on the house because our food was.. slower than molasses in arriving (sufficiently Southern?).

Andy had the foresight to order oysters, which tided us over. The oysters were served on a bed of chilled rock salt, spiced with star anise and cardamom seeds, and with a side of bloody mary sauce. Big points for presentation.

Charmingly or unfortunately (I think it's great), our tastes aligned and we all sought to order the same thing (eggs florentine with egg white meringue and parmesan cheese).

I veered last-minute toward the arepas, because of the pork jowl lardons. Throw a French word in and I'm sold.

Two poached eggs, each atop a grits cake, with a tomato/lardon sauce.

Only 75 more restaurants to go.