B. Smith's at Union Station features a combination of Cajun, Creole and Southern cuisine. Located in Washington, DC's Historic Union Station, B. Smith's grand Beaux Arts style dining room with its 30-foot ceilings, period chandeliers and turn of the century elegance, is a national landmark and has been called one of the most beautiful dining rooms in America. Head Chef James Paige's specialties of the house include Swamp Thing - a mixed seafood dish over southern style greens in a mustard based seafood sauce; Grilled Lamb Chops with mint-flavored au jus; Fried Green Tomatoes and Spicy Cajun Jambalaya. In it's own separate space, the bar at B. Smith's serves as a gathering place for Washington's political movers and shakers, celebrities and people who just want to have a good time.
The restaurant features live, traditional jazz on Friday and Saturday nights as well as Sunday Brunch. Event planning is our specialty, Catering facilities are available for 12 to 500 people.
The History of Union Station's Presidential Suite
In the early 1900's and before Air Force One, the President and his family traveled across the United States aboard luxurious railroad cars. Like the 40,000 other daily travelers in Washington, DC, they boarded their train via Union Station. But prompted by the assassinations of Presidents Garfield and McKinley, the directors of Union Station felt is was unsafe for the president to board his train through the general terminal and instead commissioned construction of an adjacent Presidential Suite, the room that now serves as the dining room.
The Presidential Suite, though ornate in architectural detail, was originally sparsely furnished with wicker and rattan furniture to insure clear visibility of the President and First Lady by their security detail. In 1939, the room was refurbished more luxuriously, somewhat as you see it today, to receive the King and Queen of England.
In the years that followed, the Presidential Suite was used to welcome dignitaries visiting the U.S. Capitol building, located only a few blocks away. In 1988, the Suite was opened for the first time to the public.
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