Pass through the bustling, airy lobby of the West End’s Fairmont Hotel and into the hushed, earth-toned elegance of Juniper, where chef Ian Bens’ multi-dimensional menu accentuates regional American cooking. The restaurant’s spacious dining room, with its 20-foot ceilings, decorative columns, mirrored walls, lush upholstery and crisp, damask linens, engenders the kind of sophistication you’d expect in a luxury hotel. Open vistas give way to a serene courtyard garden -- the perfect spot for al fresco dining. Bens weaves honey, cultivated on the hotel’s roof, as a theme throughout a menu that emphasizes locally sourced, seasonal ingredients. So in the early spring you might find a cunning succotash of butternut squash, hominy and haricots verts underneath Juniper’s signature crab cakes. Before dinner, Bens may send an amuse-bouche such as a bright asparagus soup topped with crème fraîche or crispy pork skins sprinkled with habanero powder and accompanied by lime wedges. Appetizers of roasted golden and red beet salad with cracklings or delicate pork meatballs resting on lightly caramelized onions and mustard sabayon are good ways to start, but you also can’t go wrong with a selection of Chesapeake oysters or well-chosen American artisan cheeses and charcuterie. For entrées, the Pineland Farms strip loin with house-made steak sauce and cippolini onions is full-flavored and perfectly cooked, its grass-fed qualities shining through admirably. Yellow fin tuna loin, encrusted with Ethiopian spices and lightly seared, benefit from the chef’s light touch. Side dishes are à la carte and not to be missed. Deep bowls of caramelized cauliflower with raisins, capers and curry, wild mushrooms sautéed in olive oil and Belgian-style fries garnished with fried parsley and rosemary are all standouts. For dessert, make a beeline for the honey-themed beehive tasting or the warm, chunky, house-made chocolate chips cookies, a comforting and fitting way to end an American meal.