Cooking by the Books: Andy Shallal of Eatonville

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IT'S NO SURPRISE that when Andy Shallal decided to open his new restaurant, Eatonville, he turned to literature for inspiration. After all, Shallal made his mark with the Busboys and Poets eateries, which pay homage to former Washingtonian and literary legend Langston Hughes.

The muse for Shallal's current venture, across the street from the original Busboys and Poets on 14th Street NW, is Zora Neale Hurston and her hometown of Eatonville, Fla. The author — once a student at Howard University — permeates the walls of the 250-seat restaurant, from the massive murals of her life and work to the Southern classic eats such as hush puppies with rock shrimp and leek fondue, and crab, shrimp and andouille gumbo.

» EXPRESS: How did you choose Hurston as your inspiration?
» SHALLAL: I had studied the Harlem Renaissance during college, and I wanted to find someone who lived in and had a connection to Washington. Hurston was an obvious choice.

» EXPRESS: How did you bring her verve to the restaurant?
» SHALLAL: She was the life of the party, so I wanted the space to look lively and gregarious. And she wrote a lot about the porch at Eatonville where the townspeople tell stories, so we put in an area [with rocking chairs] for people to have drinks.

» EXPRESS: Where did the murals come in?
» SHALLAL: One of our servers at Busboys and Poets, Chanel Compton, is part of an artist collective, and she helped us bring in artists to paint the raw space during construction. We said they had 48 hours and the ability to paint anything. We wanted to have a theme as well, so we told them the story of Hurston and Eatonville.

» EXPRESS: In choosing the chef, you opted for a reality TV-style contest. Why?
» SHALLAL: We put an ad in Craigslist and got 220 applicants; we didn't know how to decide. So I looked at resumes, interviewed people, and chose 10 to bring back for the chef competition. I wanted to see how they'd work under pressure and the range of their abilities.

» EXPRESS: What made you select chef Rusty Holman?
» SHALLAL: He worked for a wealthy family in Spain and had to create menus for the same people for three and a half months while staying creative. That really impressed me.

» EXPRESS: Did you feel the process was successful?
» SHALLAL: It was a lot of work and money because we gave prizes to make sure chefs kept coming back. But it ended up being an extremely useful approach to hiring a chef. We also had great judges [including Carla Hall from "Top Chef" and Mike Curtin from D.C. Central Kitchen].

» EXPRESS: What sets Eatonville apart from other restaurants around U Street?
» SHALLAL: We are introducing something new to the dining experience called food and folklore, by creating a story around the dishes. We're also reminding people about the contributions of Hurston and others that lived in this area. We're honoring the community and lifting it up, rather than covering it up.

Written by Express contributor Danielle O'Steen
Photos courtesy Jay Wescott