Foodies who keep an eye on the local restaurant scene will know this: Eatonville has opened to a certain amount of buzz and acclaim. And it’s no wonder: a sibling — perhaps the more controlled cousin — of the hip-centric Busboys and Poets (also owned by restaurateur Andy Shallal) and exactly across the street from each other, Eatonville walks just on the other side of the fine line marking haute from hot cuisines.

Definitely more upscale than its rather eclectic and shirtsleeves relative, Eatonville is nonetheless a casual place brightened by neon-vivid murals of both author Zora Neal Hurston, whose hometown was Eatonville, Florida, and of various other wildly contemporary images. The restaurant’s name, Eatonville, also reflects what inspired the food served up in this bustling newcomer: If you are not up on your American history, Eatonville was founded in 1887 by a group of former slaves in Orange County, Florida. Thus it became the oldest African-American municipality in the United States. And Hurston, herself, attended Howard University before moving on to her life of arts and literature.

Back to the restaurant: While it may enshrine the name of a town, and honor one of its more famous citizens, it’s also on its way to becoming the go-to place for real, solid, down-home Southern and soul cooking. Whether you drop by for lunch — midday business is growing, confirms the waiter — or head for a food-and-friend-filled evening here, you’ll find that the identical lunch/dinner menu brims with nostalgia food — some of it with a contemporary twist — at its finest.

Starters include two Southern classics: hush puppies and gumbo, and odds are that this chef’s version of gumbo is a perfect stick-to-the ribs solution to cheering up the day. Brimming with flavor, though a tad salty, the thick soup is chunky with andouille sausage, crab, and bits of shrimp, and with its peppery base, will awaken any lazy palate. My friend, whose husband is a New Orleans’ boy, gave her stamp of approval. In retrospect, we should have added on an order of hush puppies, but the menu description — “rock shrimp and leek fondue stuffed with Creole sauce” — suggests that these go beyond the deep-fried cornmeal and scallion dumplings of granny’s kitchen.

My friend stayed on the light side, turning the roasted golden beet salad with candied pecans into her entrée. For me, fried catfish on jalapeño grits and greens, a knockout dish. Even the lure of an oyster po’ boy or a crab burger wasn’t enough of a temptation. Good choice, too: perfectly crisped fish fillet, and creamy grits sparked with just jalapeño enough heat to keep the drinks glass empty.

But should you crave other Southern stalwarts, you’ll find plenty to keep you eating and drinking through the day and long into the night: fried green tomatoes, the oyster ‘po boy, crispy chicken with mashed potatoes, shrimp and crawfish étouffée, and a Cajun meatloaf. Gilding the lily, you can add on an order of collard greens, three-cheese mac and cheese, and/or some sweet potato and andouille sausage hash.

Management offers a Sunday brunch menu that culls some of the entrée items from the main day menu, and adds some comfy breakfast fare, including a buttermilk biscuit with country ham and Creole mustard hollandaise, a baked egg with creamed spinach and a biscuit, and scrambled eggs with tomatoes, chicken andouille sauce, cheese, and a biscuit…definitely not the stuff for folks who subsist on cold cereal and fruit in the morning. And, as an added bonus, you can end your meal with an order of the silken chocolate pie topped with real whipped cream, not that stuff squirted out of a can. It’s chocolatey, creamy, and utterly decadent. In case your sweet tooth needs first aid, other dessert choices include a blackberry-peach cobbler with vanilla ice cream (obviously seasonal), and a challah bread pudding with a rum and butterscotch sauce.

Probably the only negative is Eatonville’s acoustics. At a recent lunch, the restaurant was only partly filled, yet conversations echoed up to its ceiling two floors above where partiers can find a lounge. At night with crowds in full conversational mode, the racket must be deafening.

However, you can simply forego your own chatter and just keep eating. After all, there’s much to love about Eatonville. Even better, there’s much to love about its food. Enjoy!

Eatonville • 2121 14th St. NW; (202)-332-ZORA. Hours: Lunch, Mon.-Fri., 11:30am-2:30pm; Dinner, Sun.-Thu., 5-11pm, Fri. & Sat. to midnight; Sunday brunch, 11am-3pm. Entrée price range: $9-$18. www.eatonvillerestaurant.com.