Art and Soul is the restaurant owned and operated by Oprah Winfrey’s former chef – Art Smith. It’s located in the Liason Capitol Hill Hotel in Washington, D.C. They call their cuisine modern regional with southern accents. I call it gourmet southern cuisine ‘cause my family is from the south and I don’t remember the food LOOKING this good…

Atmosphere: The lobby of the hotel and the bar of the hotel are positioned as one. As I waited for my guest to arrive, I found myself just relaxing right into the environment. I could have sat there all day. The decor is a mild version of metallic glamourous with mirrored and glass surfaces. Very lounge-like. Really liked it. A for design, function and comfort.

Food: I did not have steak. Yes, I was fine. In fact, I had the fried chicken. My friend and I have this obsession with finding the best gourmet fried chicken in the city, so, whenever we see it on a menu, we have to try it. Kinda goes against my rule about ordering things at a fine dining restaurant that you can get through a drive-thru window – Pizza, fried chicken, burgers – but, its the only exception I make.

Good thing I made that exception, the chicken was great – one of the best we’ve had. All of the food was great. The sides, the bread, the desserts. Food gets an A as well…

Service: This was the stand-out. From the time I walked in and was delayed due to my guests’ battle with traffic, everyone was gracious and accommodating. The Hostess even saved a booth for us. Once we were seated, our server was very friendly and very attentive. The manager also came over to see how we were enjoying our meal. Every bit filled with southern hospitality. A++ for service.

The final word on Art and Soul: They obviously get an A. I was skeptical at first when I heard Oprah’s chef was opening a restaurant that would feature dishes from his southern roots. There are already several restaurants in Washington, D.C. that specialize in gourmet southern cuisine, why another one? But, having been to all of them, I can say with great assuredness, Art & Soul is a welcome addition to the category.

I see why Oprah has/had such a battle with food. If this fool was cooking for me, I’d likely be on a series of diets as well. And running and doing yoga…

Good for lunch or dinner. Just plain good.