B. Smith's

dining room

OVERALL: 5 Stars

Oh, the south! Being from Texas, this location reminded me a lot of home. But the similarities ended with the menu. Otherwise, the place was sophisticated and had plenty of DC history to support its claims.

Food Quality: 5 Stars -- Buffet's are fun because you can pick and choose from several different options. The first thing on the line was fried fish, chicken and greens. The meat was delicious, with just enough grease to make you feel a little guilty. Macaroni and cheese, sausages, gumbo, jambalaya followed suit. A salad bar was laid out, as well as an omelet and waffle station. The food was placed in random order; the breakfast food was the least accessible when going to the buffet, when I think you should start out with eggs and croissant. 

Mimosa/Champagne Quality: 4 Stars -- Included in the meal price was champagne or mimosas. Halfway into the meal we challenged the waiter into mixing us some other types of champagne concoctions from a list of juices he had rattled off as we sat down. Pineapple, grapefruit, cranberry. Pineapple was my favorite. The grapefruit was a little bitter.

Service Quality/Refill time: 3 stars -- Our waiter's name was Beau. He certainly seemed to love his job. He could have been a little bit faster with the refills, but thats always limited by the bartender. As he realized we were there for the booze, he began to pick up the pace. 

Atmosphere: 4 stars -- The historical location definitely impressed. Our waiter gave us a well practiced scenario of the Presidents who had passed through and why the space has been designed and decorated as it had. There was a live pianist, trying to class it up a little, but I think he could have practiced a bit more.