Cuisine: What’s come out of the kitchen at Jeff and Barbara Black’s folksy first restaurant can best be described as uneven. But now it’s a different story with Nate Waugaman behind the stove. Gone are the scattered attempts at fusion fare, and in its place are house-made charcuterie (plus a whole lot of excellent Benton’s ham from Kentucky) and rootedly American roasts and fish dishes. Finally, the food has one personality, not 15.
Mood: Driving past strip mall after strip mall, you might miss this creaky, sunshine-yellow Victorian set back in the trees. (Look for the diner-like neon let’s eat sign.) Inside the tiny dining rooms, funky charm abounds, with cheerful young servers and side tables made from antique ovens.
Best for: Lunch or dinner after hitting White Flint Mall; families (although the place can get very loud); satisfying a case of small-town nostalgia.
Best dishes: Charcuterie, including lomo, peppery soppresatta, rustic rabbit pâté, and a wonderful pumpkin marmalade; fried green tomatoes stuffed with goat cheese; artfully presented beet carpaccio over rounds of ashy goat cheese; fried oysters with lemon and chopped egg; grilled trout with brown-butter vinaigrette; rustic vegetable lasagna; in the summer, a fabulous mixed-bean salad with ham.
Insider tips: Don’t be hesitant to make a meal out of the generous appetizers—they tend to outshine the entrées.
Service: ••
Open Monday through Saturday for lunch and dinner, Sunday for dinner. Moderate.
See all of 2010's 100 Best Restaurants
Ann Limpert joined Washingtonian in late 2003. She was previously an editorial assistant at Entertainment Weekly and a cook in New York restaurant kitchens, and she is a graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education. She lives in Petworth.
