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
