Green Pig Bistro | Arlington, Washington D.C.

Eating in bookstores is usually verboten, but it's encouraged in Clarendon.

Wallpapered with pages from The Joy of Cooking, the Green Pig bistro houses three glass-fronted closets filled with a globe-spanning cookbook collection that includes a rare edition of Auguste Escoffier's Le Guide Culinaire.

Early on, the kitchen is crafting a story of its own, serving an excellent Southern- and offal-focused menu. Red pepper jelly cuts gooey fried rounds of pimento cheese ($5). A trio of ox hearts star on Reuben sliders ($7). A miniature au gratin spills over with steaming fries stuck together with melted Tillamook cheddar and a deluge of duck-liver gravy. The kitchen adds extra intensity by dotting the spread with foie gras cubes ($6).

Burger patties are made with two parts beef and one part bacon, each topped with "secret sauce" and a melting square of hefeweizen-spiked cheese ($14).

The indulgences should not end there: The house donut is split and stuffed with peanut butter ice cream, then finished with a web of hot chocolate sauce ($8). If that seems daunting, add a touch of sweetness with a house-made soda ($4); the current best is the sweet, springy strawberry.

Green Pig Bistro, 1025 N. Fillmore St., Arlington; or facebook.com/greenpigbistro