Food

100 Best Restaurants 2010: Patowmack Farm

No. 37: Patowmack Farm

Cuisine: “Farm to table” is given fresh meaning at this country restaurant, where much of what’s served is grown on the surrounding farm. During dinner, chef Christopher Edwards sometimes can be seen outdoors snipping herbs to finish his produce-driven plates.

Mood: The dining room, a glass conservatory perched in the Potomac River Valley, commands a glorious sweep of mountains—and sunsets. By night, candelabras flicker inside and tiny white lights line the rafters.

Best for: A romantic brunch or dinner while it’s still light out—that way you can work up an appetite with a stroll on the farm’s half-mile woodland trail and take in the view.

Best dishes: Chèvre-and-herb crepe with roasted beets and a drizzle of aged balsamic vinegar; deconstructed croque madame with soft-cooked farm egg, dry-cured ham, and béchamel on a buttery house-made brioche cube; meaty beef short rib with spaghetti squash and chanterelles; seared diver scallops with carrot tagliatelle, black truffle, and Madeira jus; caramel-coffee soufflé with toffee ice cream and crystallized herbs.

Insider tips: Service is solicitous, with servers waxing enthusiastic about every dish. More-informal—and less-expensive—Sunday suppers are sometimes offered.

Service: ••½

Open Thursday and Friday for dinner, Saturday for brunch and dinner, Sunday for brunch. Very expensive.

See all of 2010's 100 Best Restaurants

Ann Limpert
Executive Food Editor/Critic

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.