We first heard of this restaurant from a review in Virginia Magazine and we are so glad we did. We found a quaint, friendly establishment where the wait staff goes out of their way to make you feel welcome and comfortable. On the two occasions we ate there, we had different staff members each time, both of whom were terrific.
The menu offers a variety of sandwiches and entrees, but the reason to eat here is the barbecue - beef, chicken, or pork!
The pork barbecue we tried is tender, tasty, moist, and not soaked in any kind of sauce. The sauce is added on top, sufficient and perfect, but not overwhelming.
And every morsel you consume confirms the fact that you are, indeed, in "hog heaven." Hush puppies are delicious (and we mean REALLY delicious) as an accompaniment to the barbecue.
The menu also offers many fresh seafood items.
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The dessert specialty is the "Houndstooth Derby Pie" and is perfect, served warm and chocked full of pecans, chocolate chips and bourbon. If you are of a mind, you may also order homemade brownies, apple pie, or cheesecake.
Owner Connie Cunningham also offers the "Houndstooth Feast for Four", a whole barbecued pork butt with three vegetables, hush puppies, and beverage. Call 804-537-5404 for hours as lunch and dinner are not served every day. As of August 24, the Hours were:
Lunch:
Tuesday - Friday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Dinner
Tuesday - Thursday from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Friday - 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Saturday - 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Sunday and Monday - Closed
The Restaurant in located at the corner of Routes 301 and 54 in Hanover. Take Exit 92 on I-95 South of Kings Dominion on Route 54.
Our Rating (Five Chefs is Highest) |
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Restaurant Three
Brewer's Alley - Frederick (MD)
(Located at 124 North Market Street in Downtown.
Take I-270 to Market Street in Frederick.)
A very good and popular restaurant in Frederick, Maryland, is Brewer's Alley (an American restaurant with generous portions) on North Market.
We've enjoyed outstanding luncheon offerings on two separate occasions and recommend them heartily, and we really savored their soup, the Bar-B-Cue, and their wonderful desserts - especially the bread pudding.
The Bar-B-Cue was tender, very fresh-tasting, and with a sauce that was tangy and just a bit sweet. The portion was very generous and included terrific fries. If you're lucky enough to be in Frederick on a warm day, and when their outside tables are available, your experience will be enhanced considerably. Downtown is usually very busy and people watching makes your experience even better. The service is personal and professional. We couldn't find a fault.
|  Brewer's Alley
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Our Rating (Five Chefs is Highest) |
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For Map And Directions to Brewer's Alley |
Restaurant Four
Red Fox Inn - Middleburg (VA)
(Located at 2 East Washington Street.
Take Route 50 from the DC area (26 miles) to Middleburg.)
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We've tried a number of restaurants in and around Middleburg, but we always seem to end up at the Red Fox Inn.
On our latest sojourn (March 12, 2005) to this locale, one of our favorite towns in the Commonwealth, we took time for a late lunch at the Inn. Even at 1:45 p.m., the restaurant was full and bustling.
Lucky for us, we weren't able to be seated immediately and had the chance to talk to the new owner. He had some wonderful stories about Middleburg - sorry, we won't repeat them, but they were enjoyable, especially coming from such a friendly host.
We ordered the beef bar-b-cue with French fries. Folks, this is one terrific sandwich. The beef, in strips and tender chunks, is never overwhelmed by the tangy bar-b-cue sauce.
The sauce itself is sweet as well as tangy, but not sweet to the point of surprise. The sandwich was plentiful and the fries hot and not over-salted. |
Our Rating (Five Chefs is Highest) |
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For Map And Directions to The Red Fox Inn |
Restaurant Five
Mealey's - New Market, (MD)
(Located at 8 Main Street.
Take I-270 from the DC area I-70 South of Frederick
Then on I-70 East to Route 75 and New Market.)
Check out the menu at Mealey's Restaurant. The atmosphere is that of an early tavern with several rooms for your dining experience.
Try the Caramelized Mt. Airy Pork, which is a tender shank of pork basted with a southern bourbon barbecue glaze, and is served with green beans and garlic mashed potatoes. This is a superb dish and ranks with the best Bar-B-Cue style pork we have ever had. (VERY SAD NOTE - Our latest visit (July 14, 2007) to Mealey's led to a discovery that this amazing pork shank is no longer on the menu. We made a personal appeal to the Chef to return this dish to the menu, but we aren't certain it will happen. We used a friendly approach this time - next time we may have to raise the bar - not a threat, a promise.)
This restaurant is comfortable and quiet (the acoustics allow for private conversations which are not loudly resonated all over the rooms). At the same time, the atmosphere lends itself to neighborly exchanges when appropriate. The delightful servers on earlier visits (Diane on our April visit and Tom on August 8) were an added plus, lacking the stiffness and formality which is generally off-setting, and proffering the menu selections with a charm that assures return visits. On our July 14, 2007 visit, we were fortunate enough to have Robin as our server. Dedication to their profession which is reflected in the quality of their work is another reason we love to return to this excellent restaurant.
During all of our dining experiences at Mealey's, we have found the service to be friendly and efficient. In spite of their location, this is a wonderfully sophisticated restaurant.
Our Rating (Five Chefs is Highest) |
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For Map And Directions to New Market and Mealey's |
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