Buffets and Booze at B. Smith's
Posted by Erica Sietsma at 10/4/2007 5:36 PM 
Categories: Union Station, Special Occasions, Desserts, Capitol Hill, Drink Specials
Categories: Union Station, Special Occasions, Desserts, Capitol Hill, Drink Specials
B. Smith's was a restaurant I had never heard of (shocker) and nor did I realize who in the heck "B. Smith" even was! Luckily, her restaurant acts as a little autobiography of her with articles papering the walls in the bar and bathroom, so by the time we were sat, I was a B. Smith expert. We even got to hear Ann speak in Japanese as she translated an article about B. Smith from a Japanese circular - the woman is big in asia!Ann's Review:
We had special guests at last week’s brunch my Mom and my Aunt Sue all the way from Cleveland!! I wanted something that would feel “DC” but also good and not too “touristy.” Someone recommended B. Smith’s at Union Station so I thought we’d check it out. Who doesn’t love Union Station? The restaurant is in the “Presidential Suite” of Union Station where the presidents used to wait for their trains to travel around the country. It is a lovely room with a nice view out to the Capitol.
ENVIRONMENT: As far as atmosphere goes, this place is one of the nicest we have been to. (I was a little turned off by the pictures of B. Smith, a lifestyle guru and former model, that plaster the hall and bar area though.) Some of the decor was a little over the top and it is definitely not a "casual" dress. The brunch is buffet style with unlimited mimosas, OJ or champagne.
SERVICE: The service was great.
BOOZE: The drinks on the other hand, not so great. Dana got a bloody mary that was ok, but not up to DCBC standards.
The mimosas were not very memorable and we thought the champagne may have been flat for a few of them.
NON-ALCOHOLIC DRINKS: In an unusual twist for a buffet brunch place, the coffee was actually very good – even iced. We all gave the coffee high marks.
FOOD: The line for the omelet station was too long, so I went straight to the buffet tables to see what else was available. Happily, they had scrambled eggs, so I did not have to get back in the omelet line. It is generally a “southern cuisine” buffet, fried chicken, pineapple honey ham, roasted turkey, Lemon Pepper Catfish, southern style collard greens, cheese grits, country french toast, home fries, maple sausage, bacon and vegetarian sausage.
The highlight for most of us was the delicious, gooey mac-n-cheese. Incredible.
The shrimp pasta was also good and well-prepared.
I was not impressed with the sausage selection, but the table (and my mom) vetoed me and they all like the vegetarian, chicken and maple.
My mom was also happy with the roasted turkey and ham.
As brunch professionals, we paced ourselves through the meal...however, I slowly lost my stride due to the lure of the mac-n-cheese, but made a recovery via the fresh fruit and then was ready to hit the dessert table!
DESSERTS: The desserts here are quite lovely. Dana sampled the coconut cake and another that we can’t quite identify but it was some combo of lemon, white chocolate and white layer cake – huge hit with the table.
I had the cheesecake (not to be confused with key-lime pie), and I think I could have eaten the entire cake if that was socially acceptable - awesome. Erica noted that there was no chocolate anything on the desert table, but when we were walking out they we saw people with chocolate cake....so they must have an even larger variety of sweets that we saw!! If you have a sweet tooth – this is a brunch for you.
OVERALL: As noted by the title and the review, the booze ran as freely as the food, though neither were outstanding. Not bad and definitely a good value for the price, but nothing that stood out completely.
REPEAT: I think we are spoiled by the first buffet brunch we had at the Willard, and so far nothing has compared to that but B. Smith’s is a great place to take visiting friends or relatives – as demonstrated by the fact that every table seemed to pretty much reflect that situation.
It's been a while since I've had brunch anywhere! I live near Union Station and I must admit I've never been to B. Smith's. Maybe I should try it next time me and my partner friends decide to go brunching. Unlimited mimosas, flat or not, is a really nice perk...
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Thanks for the detailed review. Sounds like the food choice - with some Southern flair - is really interesting. Too bad they might fall prey to what a lot of good restaurants do when trying to accommodate a lot of people for free drinks with brunch - the drinks are coming out too fast and not made well.
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I like to go to B. Smith's. It's not super amazing, but it's unpretentious and usually a good value for the price. But if I want something better I'll follow your tip and go to Willard's!
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