Daily dispatches on the Washington, DC area's food, restaurant and dining scene.

What’s on the Menu at Blue Ridge?

By Elizabeth McNamara Published Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Restaurateurs Eli Hengst and Jared Rager, the duo behind Sonoma in Capitol Hill, have a new venture in the works. They’ve tapped chef and sustainable-seafood advocate Barton Seaver to oversee Blue Ridge, which will take over the Busara space in Glover Park (2340 Wisconsin Ave., NW). The restaurant, which draws inspiration from the Virginia Piedmont and its namesake mountains, is designed to look like a turn-of-the-century Shaker farmhouse with Amish quilts, reclaimed church pews, and communal tables from DC’s Eastern Market. Outdoors, you’ll find a wooden deck and dining area around a pond and Oriental garden. Echoing the interior, the outside space is decorated with rustic harbor sconces and big communal tables.

Blue Ridge won’t open until the end of the month (it was originally supposed to debut in January), but we got the first look at what Seaver plans to serve.

Lunch and Dinner Menu

Appetizers

Root-vegetable chips with charred-onion dip—$5
Deviled eggs with olive-and-herb spread—$6
Fingerling potatoes with pimiento cheese and bacon bits—$6
Country-ham-and-vegetable soup—$7
Crispy grit cake with mushroom ragoût—$6
Broiled oysters with spinach-and-ham béchamel and Herbsaint—$11
Hot shrimp dip with grilled bread—$8
Fried chicken livers with herb salad, caper aïoli—$7
Grilled calamari with basil-walnut pesto, potatoes, frisée—$9
Grilled asparagus with mustard sauce—$7
Arugula salad with lemon, Parmesan, apple, and mint—$8
Roasted butternut squash with poached egg and chorizo vinaigrette—$9
Selection of local artisanal cheeses—$14
Selection of house-made and artisanal charcuterie with pickled vegetables—$15

Entrées

Fried catfish with sorrel aïoli, chow-chow, and frisée-herb salad—$15
Grass-fed burger with chow-chow, house fries, and frisée—$12; with cheddar add $1; with bacon add $1
Grilled pork chop with red-eye gravy and Parmesan-potato salad—$18
Smoked trout Caesar salad with roasted-lemon dressing and Parmesan—$14
Grilled fish of the day with bacon collards and chopped-vegetable salsa—$18
Grilled trout with root-vegetable mash, crisp bacon, and pecan brown butter—$16
Grilled chicken breast with pecan/jasmine-rice salad, herbs, and honey-cider glaze—$14
Pork stew with white wine, rosemary, and grilled bread—$14
Grass-fed rib eye with herb butter and garlic fries—$21
Fried-green-tomato BLT with cream-cheese/pimiento spread, house bacon, and salad—$11
Chicken pot pie with rosemary potato biscuit and root vegetables—$13
Entrée for two—daily preparation—$18 to $25 per person

Sides (all $5)

Grit cake
Root-vegetable mash
Grilled broccoli
Parmesan-potato salad
Fried green tomatoes
Garlic-herb fries
Chow-chow
Bacon collards

Desserts

House-made pies: strawberry-rhubarb, apple-cardamom, lemon meringue, and blueberry—$6
Root-beer float or Coke float—$6
Sundae: choice of ice cream with house-made chocolate sauce and adult cherries—$7
Scoop of ice cream—$3

Brunch Menu

Appetizers

Bowl of doughnuts—$6
Bowl of brunch breads, pecan sticky buns, and sweet sage biscuits with apple butter—$7
Fried chicken livers with herb salad and caper aïoli—$7
Deviled eggs with olive-and-herb spread—$5
Oysters on the half shell—$2 each
Broiled oysters with spinach-and-ham béchamel and Herbsaint—$11
Arugula salad with lemon, Parmesan, apple, and mint—$8
Root-vegetable chips with charred-onion dip—$5
Grilled asparagus with mustard sauce—$7
Fingerling potatoes with pimiento cheese and bacon bits—$6
Hot shrimp dip with grilled bread—$8

Entrées

French toast with walnuts braised in syrup and butter—$9
Smoked shrimp in gravy on biscuits—$11
Quiche with spinach, goat cheese, and an herb salad—$10
Country ham and biscuits—$9
Crispy grit cake with mushroom ragoût and fried eggs—$8
Fried eggs with root-vegetable hash, house bacon, and a biscuit—$10
Eggs Benedict with crispy grit cakes and herb hollandaise—$9
Roasted butternut squash with poached egg and chorizo vinaigrette—$9
Grass-fed burger with chow-chow, shoestring fries, and frisée—$1; with cheddar add $1; with bacon add $1
Fried catfish with sorrel aïoli and pickled-vegetable salad—$13
Smoked-trout Caesar salad with roasted lemon, Parmesan, and croutons—$12
Bowl of smoky collard greens with poached egg and grilled bread—$8
Fried-green-tomato BLT with cream-cheese/pimento spread and house bacon—$11
Three-egg omelet with mushrooms and goat cheese—$9
Grilled chicken breast with pecan/jasmine-rice salad, herbs, and honey-cider glaze—$14

Sides (all $5)

Grit cake
Parsnip mash
Grilled broccoli
Parmesan-potato salad
Fried green tomatoes
Garlic-herb fries
Chow-chow
Bacon collards

Desserts

House-made pies: strawberry-rhubarb, apple-pear-cardamom, lemon meringue, and blueberry—$6
Root-beer float or Coke float—$6
Sundae: choice of ice cream with house-made chocolate sauce and adult cherries—$7
Scoop of ice cream—$3

Comments

Hey Maureen Spagnolo- you sound like a real whiner. Nobody is definitely eating you- otherwise you’d be much happier.

Posted by: Easy E, Jun 13, 2009 04:36:31 PM

GRASS-fed beef is earth-friendly. Locally sourced products are earth-friendly. Sustainable fish is earth-friendly. Using reclaimed and recycled building materials is earth-friendly. What else could an eco-conscious consumer possibly expect, besides deliciousness?

Posted by: anon, Jun 05, 2009 06:38:53 AM

While I can understand that vegans, especially, might wish to look elsewhere for dinner, the disparaging comments from other posters fail to recognize that Barton Seaver is probably going to serve smaller portions of protein sources (see recent profile by Jane Black in *The Washington Post*; thus, the lower prices) and lavish much attention on giving fresh, seasonal, unpretentious plant-based foods room on the plate.

The chef champions local farms and farmers markets and it is great to see a local restaurant convey a sense of place that is not just about crab cakes.

Healthful? Ascetic, puritanical approaches to nutrition prevail in our culture along with the belief that self-denial is central to a good diet. Eating should be a pleasure. This menu offers wonderful indulgences and a variety of vegetables and grains. Nothing wrong with a bit of frying every now and then.

Posted by: Elizabeth, May 26, 2009 06:21:16 PM

While I can understand that vegans, especially, might wish to look elsewhere for dinner, the disparaging comments from other posters fail to recognize that Barton Seaver is probably going to serve smaller portions of protein sources (see recent profile by Jane Black in *The Washington Post*; thus, the lower prices) and lavish much attention on giving fresh, seasonal, unpretentious plant-based foods room on the plate.

The chef champions local farms and farmers markets and it’s great to see a local restaurant convey a sense of place that isn’t just about crab cakes.

Healthful? Ascetic, puritanical approaches to nutrition prevail in our culture along with the belief that self-denial is central to a good diet. Eating should be a pleasure. This menu offers wonderful indulgences and a variety of vegetables and grains. Nothing wrong with a bit of frying every now and then.

Posted by: Elizabeth, May 26, 2009 06:04:40 PM

Oh shut up you damn veggie tree-huggers! Meat rules oink oink oink

Posted by: Herb, May 26, 2009 04:37:25 PM

Not a earth-friendly or healthful menu, and hopeless for a Vegan! When are restaurant owners going to wake up to the fact that meat-eating is destroying our earth? It takes 10lb of grain to produce 1lb of steak! I’d love to see restaurants offering more conscientious menus - for the sake of us all!

Posted by: Maureen Spagnolo, May 25, 2009 08:43:26 AM

is it just me, or is this basically the same menu he had runnning at cafe st ex? hype machine in full effect for sure, let’s hope they can figure out how to stay open

Posted by: the guy, May 23, 2009 01:37:24 PM

Don’t put bacon on everything, please! There are ways of making things taste good without bacon.

Posted by: Sam, May 20, 2009 02:23:17 PM

Need more vegetarian entrees

Posted by: gwen franks, May 20, 2009 10:12:10 AM

As a Virginian from the Piedmont, I would suggest that those of you who do not understand why "southern" is local or that grits & collards are out of place, might need to take a road trip an hour south of GP. You will find that the menu above is indeed the food of the Blue Ridge given the high-end treatment.

Posted by: Frank , May 20, 2009 09:48:48 AM

Great prices, can’t wait to see the wine list...hopefully there will be some organic and no sulfites added choices.

Posted by: Devin, May 20, 2009 09:00:59 AM

Here here! I also live in GP and find myself either cooking or eating at Whole Foods because those are the two healthiest options. When are restauranteurs going to realize that their customers want to eat well WHILE going out for dinner? We would eat out three times a week if it wasn’t so bad for us! Rethink your menu a little bit Blue Ridge! More veggies! Can’t wait to try it!

Posted by: Alice, May 20, 2009 08:59:54 AM

We live in GP and are so excited for Blue Ridge to open, it looks like a ton of work has gone into making it perfect! I do wish there were some healthier choices on that menu... I find I always end up ordering a salad when I go out and was hoping for more non-fried vegetarian options. It is confusing that the menu is so southern considering the restaurant is all about being local. It would be nice if they put a healthy twist on the southern theme. GP is crying out for high end healthy!! Looking forward to the opening! It will be a nice place to have a good glass of wine at least.

Posted by: Peter and Jennifer, May 20, 2009 08:56:14 AM

Very Confusing menu. The name of the restaurant is blue ridge, not low country. What do grits, collards and fried green tomatoes have to do with Shenandoah and the great smoky mountains. Blue Ridge?

Posted by: Joanne C, May 19, 2009 08:51:56 PM

Wow! Kudo’s Barton! Can’t wait to taste the fare at Blue Ridge. You’ve been missed since your absence from Hook. In this time of economic crisis and hardship, the prices seem really affordable for chic comfort food with a "sustainable" conscience...

Posted by: Pascale Lemaire, May 19, 2009 03:45:25 PM

Wow it looks like Vidalia’s restaurant week menu!!!!!!!!!

Hope they can live up to all the hype.

Posted by: Bill, May 19, 2009 12:45:19 PM

What’s on the Menu at Blue Ridge?

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