4. CityZen
So, I’ll be the first to admit that I cheated just a little bit on this one. But hey, when you get an opportunity to try a restaurant and not fork over the requisite million dollars (or whatever) I think it’s a pretty good deal. So when I got the call/invite to attend CityZen’s 5th anniversary party I jumped at it. And not only because I love the wood anniversary. (Hilariously, which I just got, the restaurant gave out wooden spoons as a gift at the party. Whether it was a stroke of genius or just dumb luck, we’ll never know.)
I made my way down to the depths of 12th street on a Sunday night, and to say it was deserted makes the Sahara look like Ocean City on the 4th of July. You’re not going to stumble on this place, but lucky for me, that meant plenty of street parking. (Suck it, valets!) The restaurant is in the beautiful Mandarin Oriental, a hotel I’ve only been to once before when I heard Matt Damon was staying there and I wanted to see if he was as pocket-sized as I heard he was. (ed: he is.) We were shuffled in to CityZen, which had been transformed into a champagne-fueled cocktail wonderland. All the tables had been taken out save for a few low couches in one corner, and I can honestly say I have no clue how tables would normally fit in there. It’s a very narrow room with a huge bar, so I’m guessing there are not a ton of tables on a regular night. I actually kept asking my friend if this was the real restaurant or just the bar. Mayhaps I was just confused in my champagne haze.
The reason I’m confident in putting a fat line through CityZen on my list is because of the food, ooohhh the food. Instead of a sit down meal, there were food stations set up with some of the chef’s favorite dishes. Well, here were some of my favorites of HIS favorites: first, a delicacy that probably only my parents and native Eastern Shore of Maryland/Lower Delaware folks will understand—scrapple. If you are like the majority of the eaters at CityZen and have no idea what scrapple is, click here, but only do it if you’re not squeamish. I happen to love scrapple in all it’s salty glory, and this rendition was pretty great. It didn’t have the mushy texture indicative of traditional scrapple, but this one was probably made out of foie gras or something so I’ll give them a pass. It was also served with seared duck breast, which is not exactly the textbook way to prepare it (I prefer syrup, thank you). Another favorite of mine was yet another dish evoking the Eastern Shore of Maryland—mashed potato sandwich. Well, not exactly. This was actually a rabbit confit and potato puree sandwich on a homemade Parker roll, but that’s just splitting hairs. It reminded me of a mashed potato sandwich on Wonder bread, and there is nothing wrong with that. The last dish that made an impression was the foie gras with apple risotto, which has no correlation to any sort of Eastern Shore food. It was the perfect fall dish. Don’t tell anyone, but I went back for seconds.
Along with the spread at CityZen, the folks at the Mandarin Oriental opened up Sou’Wester—the just-opened second restaurant off the lobby. Stupid name aside (why not just call it SouthWester? what’s with the superfulous apostrophe?) I liked the idea a lot. Where CityZen is dark and sleek, Sou’Wester is lighter and comfortable. The food was also a bit less inspired (chicken and dumplings with no dumplings, some other not so memorable dishes) but they had a Maker’s Mark Iced Tea cocktail that made up for it. They also obviously employed the interior designer who did Founding Farmers since Sou’Wester has the same “things pickling in back lit jars” motif.
Would I like to go back for a meal at CityZen where I actually sit at a table and eat food bigger than the size of my palm? Heck yes I would. But only if I could be guaranteed the Eastern Shore menu. Plus foie gras. Also plus bottomless champagne. Kthanksbye!
