Eric Ziebold & Rachael Harriman Commemorate Memorial Day; (Tasty) Crabs Protest In Vain

SOUTHWEST -- Two long picnic tables complete with crab mallets. Tall pitchers of lemonade. Ducks and birds fluttering about. A young couple taking turns lulling their newborn baby to sleep. A freshly manicured lawn on a warm summer evening. Fried chicken. Hush puppies. Ice cream cones.

A Norman Rockwell painting? Nope. Simply the Mandarin Oriental, Washington, D.C.'s first lawn party courtesy of its Sou'Wester restaurant.

The first of many planned outdoor events on the lawn of the hotel, this particular party -- a Memorial Day Crab Pot -- kicked things off nicely on the warm Sunday immediately preceding the holiday with both a lunchtime and dinner seating.

Borrowing from Sou'Wester's Southern-inspired menu, the evening's meal consisted of Roasted Blue Crabs, Boiled Carolina Shrimp with Tomatoes, Skillet Fried Chicken, Deviled Eggs, Hush Puppies with Honey Butter, Ham Biscuits, Grilled Asparagus, Coleslaw, and Homemade Vanilla, Strawberry, and Chocolate Ice Cream Cones for dessert. Hungry yet?

In addition to the usual bar fare (beer/wine/water/soda), a special Memorial Day cocktail had been crafted for the occasion dubbed the "When Life Gives You Lemons" Homemade Limoncello. The drink consisted of lavender syrup, freshly squeezed lemon juice, and soda. A perfect thirst-quencher on a hot summer day!

While supervised by CityZen Executive Chef Eric Ziebold (winner of the 2008 James Beard Award for Best Chef Mid-Atlantic), the direct execution of the party's menu was skillfully handled by Sou'Wester's Chef de Cuisine Rachael Harriman that evening. And judging by the parade of clean plates making their way back to the kitchen, guests uniformly went home happy (and full). That (and the ice cream cones) must have brought smiles to the faces of Mandarin Oriental, Washington, D.C. General Manager Amanda Hyndman and her husband Bobby who were both guests that evening!

Indeed, the personal attention to detail that both Eric and Rachael displayed that night was one of the party's main highlights as far as I'm concerned. Both worked tirelessly alongside the hotel's wonderfully efficient wait staff helping bring-out new dishes, clear empty plates, answer questions, and even volunteering to teach the correct way of using a crab mallet (there were no takers for the latter; after all, who would be brave enough to follow Eric's lead in serving up a crab?).

In keeping with the warm weather that had descended upon D.C. for the week, casual comfort was the name of the game when it came to personal style at the party. Crisp white pants and cotton shorts blended with tees of varying originality for a decidedly familial vibe.

With their first lawn party a sold-out affair, we can't wait to see what Eric and Rachael have planned for party #2! It will certainly be tough to top the Marine One flyovers from this bash...