Joe H

Along with Charleston and Woodbury Kitchen. Has anyone been to Ouzo Bay? Or Fleet Street Kitchen?

I've never been to the Columbia original but they have an excellent restaurant in a 100+ year old building with great character in old town Warrenton that is a real favorite of ours'. Not sure how the Warrenton location came about but it is a wonderful destination for anyone travelling nearby.

Ian Boden's The Shack is a very different restaurant which is MUCH smaller. There are a total of seven tables with an absolute capacity of 28 people. A total of three staff, perhaps four at peak for the entire restaurant. Rose's Luxury has a total, I believe, of 79 seats (three bars all of which serve dinner totalling 21 seats, a table for eight in the back of the main floor, the table for 10 on the roof and the rest all two and four tops + a small five seat lounge area adjacent to the upstairs bar. I am guessing that total staff at Rose's may be 15 during peak operation. City Paper has photographs of almost every area while the restaurant was under construction. My whole point is that Rose's is a wonderful, considerate restaurant with excellent food once you are seated inside the door. But getting there, whether the absence of valet parking or the probability of a long line to get in without the opportunity for even an early reservation is a great deal of trouble much of which could be alleviated by the restaurant. Rose's choose not to do this. Enough.

I made the comment about the $1,000 prix fixe minimum for food + wine, beverage, tax and tip. As for Roberto's 8 or Table 21 a single person can make a reservation and pay for only him or herself. They do not have to guarantee all eight seats. And that is the difference for me: instead of a large picnic table Rose's could have put several tables accommodating two or four people on their roof and used them for reservations. Rather they elected to go the private "club' route. I thought they should have addressed the issue of the possibility of several reservations first but they didn't. If they had done this AND also accepted a limited number of very early or late reservations similar to Red Hen I would feel completely different.

Red Hen accepts very early (i.e. 5 or 5:30 depending on when they open) and very late such such as 9:30 or 10. Their website currently notes they are not accepting reservations through e-mail or social media but suggests calling for availability. Absolutely love Red Hen!

Welcome, Chef Boden!!! I don't think that some others recognize your name but your restaurant is The Shack in Staunton which I mentioned in another thread. It is an honor to have you on here. Also, congratulations on being a semi finalist for a James Beard Mid Atlantic Award this past year! Your restaurant is different. When we were there last Thursday night, at 5:45PM, there were a total of 14 people at the 7 tables. When we left around 7:30 the same seven tables hosted a total of 19 people. You literally have no room for no-shows. If one table of four doesn't show up it could be 25% of the revenue for one service. (six tables X 2 + 0 at the seventh table). On Wednesday and Thursday night you also do not offer the prix fixe menu you have on Friday and Saturday. Your's is a different kind of restaurant; for some, perhaps for many on those nights, your's is a very casual destination given to impulse, not to reservation. My criticism of another restaurant is based on the total capacity of probably eighty to one hundred including bar seats. I believe in that kind of situation there is an opportunity to hold a handful of tables for a very early reservation. If people do not show up, fifteen minutes after opening, someone in line (if there is one) could take their place. You are on a side street in Staunton. There is very little foot traffic-you are strictly a destination, I believe your situation is different. Plus, with 14-19 actual diners in the restaurant there is no possibility of having someone on a phone. You were the only person in the kitchen when we were there and both in the dining room were totally involved with diners. A larger restaurant is different. Again, an honor to have you on here! Here is the thread for Chef Boden's The Shack in Staunton.

Thank you, Rieux, really appreciate your nice words. I'll open a bottle of Hodder Hill tonight and toast you! .....several times.....

An excellent post.

Twenty or so minutes east of Staunton (twenty miles @ 60mph) is the Farmhouse at Veritas Vineyards. This is Afton/Crozet which is an extraordinarily beautiful setting. http://www.veritasfarmhouse.com/about/ I have not stayed at the Stonewall Jackson hotel in downtown Staunton but it is probably the best choice for the city: http://www.stonewalljacksonhotel.com/

Don mentioned Riverstead above which is the current home of John Shields and Karen Urie formerly of Chilhowie's Town House Grill. In their own way this is as unique of a world class dining adventure. Their pedigree is Alinea and Charlie Trotter yet they settled, for awhile, in far southwestern Virginia and built a cult destination that much of North America couldn't believe existed. Now Staunton and Ian Boden are in the mix. And Neil Wavra who drove the Ashby Inn and has briefly settled in Chilhowie with the Shields. I don't know where else on earth there could be two dining destinations like this, three hours apart. But they are there. Riverstead and the Shields are only open a few days a month with 14 seats in a literal farmhouse kitchen. Ian Boden's The Shack with seven tables (most of which are twos) is open four nights a week but only two feature his prix fixe signature. For the moment it's not about living in New York or Paris or San Sebastian. The argument can be made that the single place on earth to live-for those who live to eat-is halfway between Chilhowie and Staunton, Virginia.

Thank you, Don. It would be a perfect stop off with Staunton on a Friday night-get there at 4:30, 30 minutes ahead of the opening and Saturday morning the additional 190 miles to Chilhowie. On the Sunday back I would suggest stops at either Grace Estates (Virginia's most beautiful winery setting with an excellent $28 tannat), King Family (Meritage), Pollak ('09 Reserve Cab) or Veritas (Excellent Paul Schaffer petit verdot), all in the Afton/Crozet area which is halfway between I 81 and Charlottesville. If the weather cooperates this is one of the most beautiful areas anywhere. Grace Estates tasting room has been open less than a year. In a mansion on top of a mountain with a 30+ mile view it is breathtaking and otherworldly.

Tom wrote a first bite about this in the Post in early March. Esquire featured an article entitled, "Found: the incredible restaurant in the middle of nowhere that nobody knows about." Despite the distance this is a serious restaurant that Washingtonians should be considering for a destination. Simply, it is Rose's Luxury with seven tables and a total of one person in the kitchen: the gifted Ian Boden. I would actually suggest in the weeks to come this will be the most difficult table in America to find a seat at. An excellent video: My little essay about it: The early 19th century insane asylum, Western State Hospital, in downtown Staunton, is now a condo called the Villages. For its last 15 or so years it was a penitentiary. The small one hundred + year old graveyard with individual crosses on the graves of inmates is outside a building's window. Condos. The guard towers still stand. Across the street is Wright's Dairy Maid, a small town '50's hamburger and frozen custard stand that is still popular with families and teenagers camped out by their cars and sitting at picnic tables. A hundred or so yards from the guard towers which no longer need to be staffed. Whatever contrast the image of an American Graffitiish drive in across the street from a former institution for the criminally insane conjures actually doesn't approach the reality of sitting in the primitive, spartan Shack that James Beard semi finalist Ian Boden now holds forth in a few blocks away. He opened this three or four months ago after moving back to Staunton from his stay at Charlottesville's Glass Haus Kitchen which was built for him. This is, literally a shack. An outpost in a small town of character presenting itself as an affordable Charlottesville. But with a dinner destination that would be worthy of Barracks Row or anywhere in D. C. Or New York-where Chef Boden was trained. Open four nights week, wednesday through saturday, with a $55 four course prix fixe menu on weekend nights this is as extraordinary of a dining experience as I've had in America considering the setting. Rose's Luxury in a small, literal wood framed hundred year old shack. A total of three staff including the chef who stands alone in the closet sized kitchen. You are literally having dinner in his "house" even if it is a shack. And no reservations. First come first serve. They open at five. This is an individual expression of a man's passion who happens to be a world class chef. I would write about what we had but the menu changes every night and there is no telling what you'll find on it if you visit. I will say this: one of my wife's dishes included the hamburger mentioned in the above linked video. I took several bites. Perhaps the best explosively juicy first bite of a hamburger I have ever had. But that was only the start of an extraordinary small town adventure: flavorful textured ramen noodles with razor clams, rabbit gnocchi and three or four other dishes that I never expected to find in Staunton. If I had had them in D. C. I would still react the same: they were creative and delicious. Depending on traffic Staunton may not be any longer of a drive from Reston than downtown Washington. Even if it is, the Shack is certainly worth the effort. It may take a few years for panelists to make the pilgramage but he'll win a Beard award, holding court in his shack in Staunton. Chef Boden's twitter site: His tweets can build an appetite.

Rieux, in part because I know the area you are going to (but not the name Castleton...) I looked at some of your earlier posts on here and noted one from 2012 which discussed wineries in Santa Barbara. Ducard will be fairly close to you and it will have some character with decent wine. BUT, using Mapquest, if you are interested you are virtually equidistant from both Early Mountain (this is Steve Jobs' winery) and Glen Manor. Each are 30 t0 31.5 miles from you, each driving through gorgeous, interesting country to get there. If you have never had Glen Manor or RDV and enjoy good red you may want to consider either of these. The ride to Glen Manor will take you by Rappahannock and Chester Gap along with a number of others nearby. Glen Manor would be the destination. The winery is at the base of Skyline Drive which literally looks like an Austrian mountainside in back of it. Coincidentally, there are hangliders who fly off of the top of the mountain coming down it, almost to the bottom. It is dramatically beautiful. Glen Manor has two outstanding reds: 2010 Hodder HIll and 2010 Petit Verdot. They are $40 to $50 each and worth every penny. They also do tastings but this is one of the best wineries in VA and worth sharing a bottle if you are into wine. In the other direction is Early Mountain which closes at 4:00PM tomorrow (for a private party) and is open until 6:00 on Sunday. I believe there is entertainment both days. This setting is equally beautiful but the tasting room/building is spectacularly luxurious. They also sell light food. If you go and enjoy red I'd ask you to seriously consider the $45 RDV Red (their third label) which is excellent. Sperryville is interesting along with the area near the Inn. If you don't mind an hour's drive I am convinced the single most beautiful winery in VA is....Grace Estates near Crozet. This is a fantastic Georgian mansion on a mountain top with literal 40 mile views over three or four hillsides and valleys. The drive to the top of the winery is completely paved and surrounded by vineyards on both sides for almost the entire length. The tasting room is in the mansion and has only been open to the public since last Fall. The lawn in front of it is expansive with lounge chairs, picnic tables and benches that overlook the valley. They also make an excellent $28 tannat that is a remarkable value. My wife and I have now been to over 100 VA wineries and I believe this is the most spectacular setting of all (although Delaplane remains my overall favorite winery). Considering the tannat and the friendliness of staff (one just received her masters in enology from UC Davis) this would be my second favorite. Fifteen minutes away from this is the excellent King Family ('07 Meritage won the Governor's Cup and they have it-we were there yesterday), excellent Pollak (;09 cab reserve is a full bodied, mouth coating, jammy wine that you'll bring some of home), beautiful Veritas ($50 petit verdot second only to Glen Manor's '09; also an excellent port like wine which is better than King Family's good 7 which is a port like wine and similarly beauitful Afton Mountain where I loved the setting but none of the wine. If you really want to explore and have a story when you return have dinner tomorrow night in Staunton at the Shack. Yes, the Shack. This is Ian Boden who was a semi finalist for a James Beard Award for the Mid Atlantic. Tom Sietsema on the shack. We went Thursday night and it is worth the drive from D. C. let alone Castleton. No reservations, first come, first serve, seven tables total (yes, seven and they will be filled by 6:00PM) $55 four course prix fixe with limited but reasonable wine. Also a la carte-everything is reasonable. This is one of the most incredible and serious dining joints that I've ever been to. It IS a shack. It is also now known (opened about five months ago) with a national reputation. It IS that good. Ian Boden is a truly gifted chef and will be the only person in the kitchen for the 15 or 16 of the total diners who will squeeze into the 100 year shack. Staunton is also a town with a lot of character and a great '50's drive in called Wrights Dairy Rite which has been there since '52. It's across the street from the remarkable former Western State insane asylum which was founded in 1821 and recently, building by building, is being converted into....condominiums. The inmate graveyard with individual crosses is adjacent. All of this has stood on a hillside for almost two hundred years in dreary, dreadful red brick buildings which now are being sold as "Staunton's alternative to Charlottesville." The two guard towers are still there, too. With beautiful weather forecast you could have a fantastic weekend. You are literally going to be in the almost exact middle of all of this, all with beautiful countryside to drive through and a real adventure to pursue-if you decide to.

Never heard of this crossroads which just I just looked up and realized that yesterday we were only a couple of miles away from it. You're in the heart of VA wine country which would be a very real destination. (Ducard Vineyards has a great setting; Early Mountain for the fantastic ambience and view; they sell RDV's third label which is an excellent red but $45; still worth it. Outstanding setting and not that far from you. Early Mountain's own wines are not exceptional...) Also, the Bavarian Chef near Madison which is remarkably good basic German, honestly as good as much of what you will find in Munich. Negative; it is known and enormously popular. Warrenton is a half hour north and Claire's at the Depot are good destinations along with two wine bars on the main drag. Sperryville has a couple of places-both of which we have been disappointed in. We use to like Fore Street in Culpeper but it has fallen off in the past couple of years. If you're into wine seriously consider Early Mountain or Ducard. For dinner Warrenton or nearby (?!?) German which will be shockingly good. For sightseeing just drive west from where you are staying and get lost. Some of the most beautiful country on earth.

London: Rasoi from Vineet Bhatia (Michelin starred and the best creative Indian restaurant on earth-serious. With all due respect to Rasika this is a whole different level. You MUST eat exceptional Indian in London. This, Zayna and Spice Village will spoil you.), Lima (Pervuian is arguably the hottest emerging cuisine on earth-extraordinary representative that also has a Michelin star). Given the choice between Gordon Ramsey, Le Gavroche and Rasoi I would (and did) go back to Vineet Bhatia. Back to "Lima": I have friends who are in Lima, Peru as we speak and rave about Central which is ranked #15 in the world. It's chef started Lima in London and it has received an incredible reception. I have not been but trust their opinion of the original. Given the extraordinary hype of the London restaurant, take a serious look at it. This is their website: http://www.limalondon.com/ Paris: I haven't been in five or six years. Then, I had too many opinions but I am guessing a lot has changed. Parisian three stars are nightmarishly expensive (i.e. Gagnaire, Ducasse are around E 250-300 prix fixe + wine).

If you are coming back on route 9 there is not a lot but Grandale Farm would be a good option. Actually, with kids it would be a great option. Alternatively, a few miles out of the way is a better option, the Market Table Bistro in Lovettsville. Both would be perfect with kids and dressed casually. Harpers Ferry is another matter.

http://www.food.com/recipe/little-tavern-shops-hamburgers-404918 is an interesting link which publishes what is claimed to be the "recipe" and also has a comment from the person who apparently wants to reopen them. In September 2011 he said that the first one would be in Baltimore. I am guessing that it never opened and the website is out of date. Yelp has 25 or more reviews of the LT "Donut" shop in Laurel with only a couple of mentions of hamburgers. One person from 2012 said that they are exactly like what they used to be, made by the same woman and with several photographs that looked authentic. A second person said they tasted nothing like they used to.

Respectfully, but I don't think Little Tavern and White Castle taste anything at all alike. For a starter LT uses fresh hamburger that has the golf ball size beef smashed into the grill. WC uses a thin disc with holes in it that is frozen. Krystal, for me, is remarkably similar to WC. White Tower had a good hamburger, too, but LT-at Georgia and Ripley and Wisconsin and Cordell-were hamburgers that I grew up with. Just to throw this into the mix: McDonald's once used fresh beef (prior to '66 or so), as did Burger King, Burger Chef (Piney and Unversity with the most incredible neon sign), Merrill's (University and Carroll), Red Barn (Adelphi and Ballston), Golden Point and AutoBurger (Green Meadows). All of these were ten to fifteen cents each. McDonald's actually had a slogan "forty five cents for a three course meal." Later, perhaps in the early '60's, Geno's, Amechi's (both from the Colts), Hot Shoppes JR and Roy Rogers (competing primarily with Arby's) entered the picture. All of these impacted Little Tavern which became less of a family destination (especially with their image of tatooed countermen) while the others embraced the family image. When the first McDonald's opened in Hybla Valley in the late '50's my parents would drive there from Silver Spring on Saturday nights. This was before the beltway-45 miles in each direction. When we got there we stood in line which often wound its way out to the golden arches at the edge of the parking lot. Maryland's first McD was on the Rockville Pike where the same lines occurred. The longest lines were at the Adelphi McD which was heavily supported by MD students. I note all of this because LT was thought of as a second level hamburger to all of these, "affectionately" known as the Ptomaine Palace. I loved Little Tavern but it didn't compare to the original McDonald's and some of the competitors. If I had grown up in California I would say that McDonald's didn't compare to In-n-Out Burger which, to be honest, is the same "taste" today as fifty years ago while all of the survivors listed above have dramatically different hamburgers than they once did. (I actually heard an In-n-Out Burger commercial today on KNX which proudly announced that they are the exact same hamburger today as they were in 1948 when the first one opened in Baldwin Park.) My guess is that LT today would be thought of as a good hamburger-in part because so many fast food restaurants have become just that-fast food. Perhaps curiously, in Wichita where WC started in 1921-there are no surviving White Castles. I represented a Wichita company in the '80's and knew that city well. While WC became a midwestern and NJ institution it did not survive in Wichita. Today, with fast food hamburgers lacking flavor and juice, there is probably a market for LT. I would "buy them by the bag." Of course once upon a time in Wichita you could buy a WC "by the sack.'

Little Tavern looked like the Little Tavern that I grew up with but I believe the "buy them by the bag" hamburgers are nevermore?

Fascinating thread. I grew up in Silver Spring and spent a great deal of time in Beltsville/Laurel...even Bladensburg and a country and western bar called the Crossroads. I drove down route 1 a couple of weeks ago, through Laurel, for the first time in 25 or so years. It was breathtaking. It's not just that Laurel Mall is gone but rather that the entire area is being completely redeveloped. I remember the Laurel Little Tavern and the Tastee Diner both of which are gone. I also remember Gringada and, in the '70's, I would drive from Hillandale to Vienna to eat Mexican at Anita's while friends would swear by the Laurel dump. I never liked it and they were chauvinistic and couldn't believe that I liked a place in...Virginia. Virginia. I ended up moving to Virginia in '88 and left Bladensburg, Piney and Flower (now "Long Branch") and Laurel behind. From the Bay and Surf to the Beltsville Veterinary Hospital to Gringada I have a lot of memories. It was a very real pleasure to drive down route 1, it is a very real pleasure to read this thread.

Interesting topic since I spent $35 on a half dozen breads and cookies today. Related to several comments above: their chocolate chip cookie was a disappointment. My benchmark is the old YWCA chocolate chip. However, Bread Furst may have the single best cookie of any kind that I have ever had anywhere: chocolate chocolate chip. Deep rich, fudgy chocolate with huge rich, dark chunks. It's not just the texture of the cookie but the intensely chocolate flavor. I actually think I moaned with the first bite and with the second I turned to go buy more. There was only one left but it went to a good cause: me. I've eaten a lot of cookies in my life. I really think this was the best of any. There's going to be a lot of discussion about Bread Furst's chocolate chocolate chip cookies.

I have no problem confirming a reservation with a specific amount on a credit card and a 72 hour or greater cancellation notice. Prepaying an amount on a credit card is a direction we should be seriously discussing. It benefits those on both sides of the table.

This is the paragraph from Tom's essay which is linked in the first post in this thread. Let me bring up Red Hen's policy one more time: they accept a limited number of reservations for the first 30 or 60 minutes that they are open. After a certain time it is only first come first serve. Still, when Red Hen opens, there are tables available for walk ins of which they get a lot. And a line just like Rose's after a certain time. If someone doesn't show for a reservation then someone from the line takes it. I am not sure how long they hold it but my guess is that it is probably less than 15 minutes considering that others are waiting. But, at the end of the day, Red Hen loses little if anything by allowing a limited first seating which has several or more reserved tables. My first visit in October was with a principle of my old company. He wanted to go to the Capital Grille. I suggested he trust me and convinced him to meet me at 5:00 for a 5:30 reservation. He humored me and went along. By 5:45 Red Hen was full with severall people already waiting. My friend had a great time and a great memory. Afterwards he much preferred it to the Capital Grille, both for the food and for the experience. I could not have done this "business dinner" at Rose's. I returned to Red Hen two weeks later with my wife with another 5:30 reservation. She loved Red Hen, also. I didn't feel that I had asked for much. Red Hen also has valet parking on weekends which Rose's Luxury does not. For me, another small touch that makes a difference and shows consideration of the diner before he or she is inside the restaurant. Red Hen, for me, is accessible. Rose's is not. On my last visit I drove for almost twenty minutes in the rain through several neighborhoods looking for a parking space. A valet would have been nice. I can also enter Alba, Al Dente and Luca into these discussions-all which have parking, all have reservations and all are very friendly to diners. Alan Richman called Luca one of America's 25 best new restaurants for 2014, Esquire named Roberto chef of the year for the U. S. for Al Dente in 2013 (Joe Biden ate there last night, unannounced) and Alba is one of the hottest openings of the past six months. All three of these have excellent, imaginative menus at fair prices which attract large crowds.

My apology: I am trying to post a photo from an e-mail of Roberto with Joe Biden tonight at his restaurant and am not having any success.

I have raved about Rose's on here. I've had one criticism and that is the no reservations policy. For myself the rooftop table (s) is a response on their part to mine and others' comments. As for the ageism, Tom mentioned this in a tweet earlier today: "I smell ageism." If it were not for the $1,000 food minimum and the rooftop table (s) I would accept that they are just stubborn and live with it.