Southern Dining at Sou'Wester

Last night we went to Sou'Wester in the Mandarin Oriental for dinner.  I have been to the Mandarin Oriental a number of times for dinner because my absolute favorite dining experience is, hand down, CityZen.  We decided to try Sou'Wester because the chef from CityZen, Eric Ziebold, opened Sou'Wester in 2009 and I absolutely love his food.  

We sat outside on the patio to enjoy the fall weather in DC.  Their patio overlooks the garden and last night, there happened to be a wedding in the garden.  So we got to eat and watch the wedding cocktail hour which was quite entertaining.  It was fantastic ambiance, very romantic.

The bread that they brought to the table was cornbread, in keeping with the Southern style of the menu, and it was delicious.  It was warm, spongy and melt in your mouth.  We ate two baskets of bread, it was that good.

Made with fresh corn!

For an appetizer, I ordered the Creamy Corn Soup and my husband got the Pork Fritter.  The soup was good--simple and creamy.  I think it could have benefited from roasted red pepper or some other spice to add a little more flavor, but it was a solid dish. 

More corn, please

The Pork Fritter was absolutely fantastic.  It was served with pickled garlic over a bed of  roasted peppers and eggplant.  The blend of flavors was perfectly balanced and the presentation was unbelievable.

I love you, Pork Fritter

For dinner, I ordered the Chicken-Fried Softshell Crab which was served over shrimp and tasso ham jambalaya with a spicy tomato emulsion.  It was a great dish, the crab coupled with the jambalaya was so yummy.

Crab, shrimp and tasso ham come together for a cool twist on jambalaya

 We also ordered two side dishes, the hush puppies and pimento mac & cheese.  The hush puppies were excellent--crispy, warm soul food. 

how can you say no?

 The pimento mac & cheese was underwhelming, it sort of reminded me of Kraft macaroni and cheese.  It could definitely use some improvement.  Like a cheesy, breadcrumb crust.

I need a little pick-me-up

Overall, Sou'Wester was delicious, Southern food in a romantic atmosphere with attentive service.  I would definitely go back again and am super excited that they have a Sunday Jazz Brunch, I can't wait to go back for that!