Uptown Literati: Lifestyle Gumbo: Eatonville, Florida

[Eatonville restaurant, Washington, D.C.]

A delightful new restaurant has opened up here in Washington, D.C. this week. Now, we have restaurant openings all the time in our fair city, but this one is particularly special: It's inspired by Zora Neale Hurston!

Yes, Eatonville, which opened on Tuesday, May 12 in D.C.'s U Street Corridor is named after the legendary writer's Florida hometown and features Florida swamp-certifed dishes like Fish and grits (served with the fish of the day, buttery grits and collard greens), shrimp and sausage etoufee, and of course lots of crispy chicken, mashed potatoes and Cajun fries.

I had a chance to check them out on Saturday night, along with two of my friends. We were planning to go to Busboys and Poets (a fantastic, literary U Street institution that I'll write about later, I'm sure), but saw Eatonville and thought it might be a great change of pace.

It was packed, and we ate outside until it began to rain. Then we were moved to a long, family-style table with other patrons who had got caught in the torrent. My food was great (I was a little afraid to order the fish and grits that I wanted, so I opted for the safe choice of crispy chicken and cajun fries. Greens were also in the entree, but never arrived with my food.) The wait staff was very friendly, and I will definitely go back to sample other dishes.

[Zora Neale Hurston]

Sidenote: I just purchased a copy of the first Hurston biography in 25 years, Wrapped In Rainbows: The Life of Zora Neale Hurston by Valerie Boyd. I'm just a couple of pages in, but I'm definitely on the fence. Boyd's writing is extremely poetic and flowery, but I wonder if that takes away from the fact-based nature of the genre?

If you are at all of fan of Hurston, please, please, please get yourself to D.C. to take a look at Eatonville. Even if you don't eat, the beautiful imagery (all inspired by Hurston's life and works) are enough to keep you entertained.

Eatonville
2121 14th St. NW
Washington, D.C. 20009
202.332.ZORA

Check out this video, from EatonvilleRestaurant.com. The restaurant is searching for a few countrified chefs and decided to catalogue their quest on their Web site. Here's episode 1: