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Stomping Ground - Cafe and Pastries in Del Ray from Chef Nicole Jones; Now Serving Dinner


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Stomping Ground has just opened on the Avenue in Del Ray, at the foot of the alley where Happy Tart is located. Hours are 7 am - 3pm. Biscuit sandwiches and baked goods available all day, breakfast items until noon, and salads from 12-3pm. 

 

The website says everything (except the Duke's mayonnaise) is made from scratch, using local and sustainable ingredients whenever possible.

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Stomping Ground has just opened on the Avenue in Del Ray, at the foot of the alley where Happy Tart is located. Hours are 7 am - 3pm. Biscuit sandwiches and baked goods available all day, breakfast items until noon, and salads from 12-3pm.

The website says everything (except the Duke's mayonnaise) is made from scratch, using local and sustainable ingredients whenever possible.

Anything with baked goods by Heather Roth (former pastry chef of Equinox, Citronelle, etc.) gets initialized in Italic in the Dining Guide.

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It merits italics. Had a sausage, egg and cheese biscuit on opening day. It was delicious. I'm already making plans for the fried chicken and pimento cheese biscuit. Hope they're ready for the farmers market crowds on Saturday.

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Anything with baked goods by Heather Roth (former pastry chef of Equinox, Citronelle, etc.) gets initialized in Italic in the Dining Guide.

Given that Heather is no longer in the area, she's either no longer at Stomping Ground, or she has one hell of a commute.

Has anyone been here lately? The website proudly touts the chef de cuisine (unchanged), sous chef, and pastry chef.

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Heather is indeed gone from the Grounds. There is a new pastry chef in place. They seem to be offering more options. They also are advertising for what appears to be evening servers and help. Could dinner be right around the corner? They currently do special dinners but their Facebook page said the evening hours were starting Dec 2015.

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I couldn't say whether Heather Roth is still the pastry chef or not. While the biscuit sandwiches are particularly good, I've never been that into the biscuits themselves. They stand up the contents of the sandwich, but I prefer a lighter, fluffier biscuit personally.

But that's not why I'm here today. I'm here to declare Stomping Ground at the top of the list for dinner in Del Ray.

I had previously gone to one of their special dinners over the summer - lamb shawarma. And it was a thoughtful (and very full) plate of super tender lamb, hummus, pita, and fattoush. Really delicious.

Now fast forward to the past weekend. They're doing dinner for real now. A full menu. They were having a 50 cent oyster special, so it was hard to pass up. Oysters were served simply, but were very nicely and cleanly shucked. My wife had a salad with 4 large head-on shrimp. I had a bowl of Anson Mills grits with a poached egg and charred broccolini. Both were delicious. Also, excellent value. Prices across the menu are a few dollars less than what you might expect in the city or even elsewhere in the neighborhood.

Service was very good and the atmosphere continues to be very casual, so no surprise that it is still a great place to bring a young kid.

Easily on par with Evening Star, and most everything else in Del Ray is far behind especially since Reserve shut down.

This will certainly start to be our go to for early dinners on a whim with our 1 year old now that the Front Porch is closed for the season.

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(The title for this thread needs to be updated to include dinner, as noted above by istuffmyface.)

Stomping Ground has a delightful dinner menu, along with a great selection of wines, beers, and ciders. Dinner service is available Wednesday-Sunday, 5-9pm. There is ample outdoor seating on the patio, along with the bright and airy dining room and  few seats at the bar.

My go-to lately has been the spring panzanella salad: a heaping portion of assorted fresh greens (chard, lettuces, mint, basil, pea shoots on one version), tossed with green peas and white beans, crusty bread croutons, and a tangy dressing, with a schmear of avocado and hummus as a base. Very filling and big enough to share. The pork belly nachos al pastor are another filling not so 'smallish plate', loaded with tender pulled meat, pineapple salsa, and lots of other goodies.

The coveted fried chicken biscuit is available in limited quantities for dinner. Friends have raved about the hanger steak, the pork burger, and the grit dinner. The menu changes to reflect the season and what's available. Soft shell crabs were a special last night. There are many interesting and creative dishes on the menu - light and more substantial. And then there's dessert - made to order, hot out of the oven chocolate chip cookies are pretty hard to pass up, but the rice krispy treats are a close second.

Chef Nicole is putting out some very good food, and Stephanie and Rachel are keeping things moving in the front of the house. It's definitely worth a visit at dinner, which will probably lead to many more!

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Went to stomping ground for a birthday dinner and we really liked it.  I wish I could have come back for the pig roast the next day (they brought the pig through while we were there).  We had a couple orders of biscuits, the grilled avocado, crispy zucchini.  I had the catch of the day.  Then we had doughnuts for dessert.  The biscuits were good, and I really liked all the vegetable starters, I wish they would cut the zucchini in half though so it would be easier finger food with the sauce.  My catch of the day was a large and very good piece of sea bass that I really enjoyed.  The doughnut holes were fine.  The staff was really nice, the drinks were priced well, it was really low key, I was surprised it wasn't busier than it was.  We really enjoyed it, I will be back again.

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