Category: Adventures in Eating

We were on our way to Warsaw, VA, for the District 15 training, and driving down the road on Route 3 (Kings Highway). It’s coming on close to 2:30 pm, and we haven’t eaten since 8 am. Since neither of us had ever been here before, we used our trusty Android GPS to get a lead on a place to eat. I pull up a listing for a bakery/restaurant, but what the phone GPS shows and the road appeared to have were two completely different fish. I’m watching the arrow on the phone move up on the map to where the restaurant is supposed to be on the side of the road, and–well, there was no restaurant on the right side of the road. So we kept on going, and the next thing I knew, we passed this building with a window that announced “burgers and ice cream.” Well, we go up to the next left turn and come around back to the restaurant. It’s called “Uncle Dave’s” and features American/Greek/Italian food. When you walk in, the first thing that catches your eye (or should) is a white board listing the specials of the day. Forget the burger (but the menu is extensive), and go for the specials. I had moussaka with garlic pita bread, and Gary opted for the gyro. Both came with a bowl of soup (the offering that day was chicken with rice and lemon or Maryland crab soup), we both chose the former. Talk about hitting the spot. And the moussaka, while not a towering structure of beef, potatoes, and bechamel sauce, was worth every bite and then some. Gary’s gyro was right up there, as well. Dessert was home-made baklava, and we got talked into having it with a scoop of moose tracks ice cream (Hershey’s). Needless to say, we got an extra square of baklava to go to eat at the hotel in Warsaw.

We will definitely be back.

Yes, a new appetizer at Applebee’s. We checked out the location at FairLakes, and ordered this as an appetizer. Wow. Two long “fried” soft pretzels and a cheese sauce for dipping. The cheese sauce was fantastic, the only thing I can compare it to is a Swiss raclette, or even a fondue. Freshly made because you can still see the shreds of cheese before you mix it up to melt even more.

And I thought the pretzels at the restaurant in Clifton was at the top of the list. I may have to go back to re-evaluate.

Yes, you read right. Steakburgers and frozen custard treats called concretes. Freddy’s on Lee Highway is worth a stop for sure. This Kansas-based chain took over the old KFC building near the Outback Steakhouse, and we decided to stop there for dinner last night.

Yes, it’s definitely family-friendly, but the line moves. You give your order, you get your number, and you find a spot to sit and wait. And the food is worth it. We got the original Freddy’s double burger–two nicely cooked flattened steak burgers on a bun, with your choice of condiments. The fries are thin and crisp, and there’s something called “Freddy’s sauce” which you can have on your burgers or you can have in a small paper cup for dipping the fries.

And the concrete. If you haven’t had frozen custard in or from St. Louis, you are in for a treat. I had the chocolate concrete with hot chocolate sauce (not realizing that Gary snuck in a brownie). Yum. Yum. More yum.

Time for a nap.

Crawfish etouffee in Falls Church and some of the best fried green tomatoes I have had the luck to eat. You can also get a bucket of head-on shrimp, with a choice of three sauces and three degrees of hotness, or you can go for crab legs, mussels, oysters, crawfish. They had jambalaya, but I was warned it might be rather spicy, so I settled for the etouffee. Boy, was it good. Worth a return trip.

Imagine feeding seven people for $44 bucks, of which 5 had a meat and threes, as it’s locally called in the South. Each platter was about $5.50–imagine a chicken-fried steak, coleslaw, potato salad, boiled cabbage, and a griddle corn cake almost the size of the plate for that price. Or said steak, baked beans, mashed potato, (can’t remember the third side), and the incredible corn cake. Salmon patty. Pulled pork barbecue. NO ROOM for dessert. Good home cooking, small-town feel, friendly service. Ignore the decor, the company and the food are what count.

Leaving ‘bama to go back to DC, so we decided to chase down a cache off the Trace which we didn’t get last year. Went to the Trace Visitor Center in Collinwood, and a sign caught my eye. Dragonfly. Hm. Well, since we were both in need (search?) of a cup of joe, and it was cold, why not check this out. Wow. Not only can you get coffee (in our case, large cups of mocha and a brownie made with Ghirardelli chocolate), but you can also pick up local artisan crafts (knit scarves, women’s tops and jewelry), but you can also get girly nail polishes and antiques! First time I have ever seen a blue carnival glass pitcher–my family has the standard carnival glass trays and pitcher. The owner of the Dragonfly gave us a little history into how he ended in this spot four years ago. Worth a second trip, and a third…a great way to start the day!

Gee, which one first?

Burger King in Annandale, at John Marr and Columbia Pike. Chicken tenders to go were not fully cooked.

T&A truck stop outside Knoxville. Don’t ever get the cheeseburger and the southern fried chicken sandwich in the travel part of the place. Couldn’t tell where the bun began and the chicken ended. THAT was not a natural chicken, I don’t care who you are. We were still feeling the sandwich effects at 7 pm, and we ate at 1.

Chili’s in Harrisonburg. And you thought chains couldn’t screw up.

Four of the best days ever spent away from home…yes, we ran away from home, and we had a blast!

Leaving DC on Wednesday night, we encountered traffic on Route 17 outside of Fredericksburg, where everyone was trying to hop on to 95 southbound. We passed them all, and ended up having dinner at the Shoney’s in Tappahannock. Boy, do I enjoy eating there. Not just because the food is good, but because the servers are among the friendliest in town. But back to the food. Fried chicken that was warm, but you know it’s damn good chicken because it was good cold (it makes up for the cold fried chix we bought from the Giant deli a week ago and the “hot” chicken tenders from the Burger King drive-through in Annandale–never again, said the Raven). This Shoney’s had the breakfast special on their Wednesday night buffet, and let me tell you, a french toast stick dunked in chocolate pudding can give Don Churro’s a run for the money. Not quite the same, but good close.

Then we arrived in Williamsburg at 10 pm that night. We saved our appetites for the Thanksgiving brunch at the Bourbon Street Bar and Grille attached to the Clarion Hotel. It was okay, but I had hoped they would have gumbo and rice as part of the deal. No dice.

Friday’s was THE trip to Chincoteague–should have known, however, than to stop at the McDonald’s on the way out, we were at Virginia Beach, near the hotel we stayed at when we did the Challenger baseball game a couple of years ago. The server at the counter was–well, no interpersonal skills here, and he was even rude to his manager. However, there was a grand ray of sunshine to follow. At Chincoteague, we were directed by the owner of the Carodan Yarn store to AJ’s on the Creek. Seafood bisque or stew (a cup each) and seafood scampi. BIG scallops, shrimp, and blue crab meat. Freshly baked bread. No room for dessert. Worth every bite and then some. Added bonus was 19 GCs collected during the course of the day.

Saturday was breakfast at the Capital Pancake House a few blocks from the hotel. Corned beef hash/eggs/grits for my buddy, my standard bacon/eggs/hash browns/grits for me. We braved the W’burg Premium Outlet mall to get gloves for Gary and a gift card for Patrick, and a quick trip to L’Occitane en Provence for me. We were still too full to eat at the Mexican place in New Town which we tried last year, so ended up settling for delivery pizza in the room while watching the ‘Bama-Auburn game. Not bad.

Sunday, we got up early to do some more GC’ing, and ended up at the Kilmarnock Inn. Wow. We had originally considered the buffet, but ended up with blue crab benedict for me and blue crab omelet for Gary. Words fail me. These were better than the buffet could have ever been.

Dinner was at the Mexican restaurant in Haymarket, one that we had really driven past every time we were passing through Haymarket or there to get gas or be at a softball game. Very, very good. Don’t know how we could have ignored this. I introduced Gary to the art of putting a small spoonful of black coffee over the flan, which was quite hefty (ergo the coffee). ‘Nuff said.

Now we’re home, it’s 10:15 pm, and I’m waiting for the laundry to finish before going to bed.

More will be coming…and separate entries on the places we visited to follow.

There is just something immensely satisfying about eating at Don Churro’s. Especially when it’s not planned, just a spontaneous thing. After a couple of quick P&Gs coming from the gun show at the Dulles Expo Center, we were on the way home when I told Gary I’d treat for lunch. Ah, bliss.

Tacu-tacu, plantains, churros with Nutella and caramel. Coffee to beat the band, the best pisco sours ever. Time for a nap.

Another one we found by pure accident! Seafood and made-on-the-premises key lime pie. Yum. All you can eat crab legs on Sundays, but I don’t think we could have done that justice. We both got the seafood sampler: lobster, skewered shrimp, and crab cake with salad and your choice of one side. Worth the trip and the price.