Trip from Cumberland, Md to Williamsburg, Va.

[BBQ-Dinerman]

I'm going to be traveling from Cumberland, Md. to Williamsburg, Va. and staying in the Williamsburg area in early August. I would like some suggestions on where to eat that is good, cheap, and where the locals go in Williamsburg and on the way too? Please no chain restaurants they all seem to be the same.

Thanks

[Gifted Gourmet]

The Trellis website with menus and info

Surrey House Restaurant

Aberdeen Barn

The Polo Club Restaurant and Tavern

When you check out the menus at these places, you will see the selections and various prices. None of them are "chains" and are all locally owned. Enjoy your stay there because it is a lovely area!

The entire list .... look over and see what works for you

Edited July 18, 2004 by Gifted Gourmet (log)

[VaNC]

When I was in grad school there, granted this was a WHILE ago, here are the places we hung out for good cheap food.

Cheese Shop -GREAT sandwiches with that "secret sauce" that a friend that worked there even would not give away. A great hidden gem right off DOG street.

College Delly - a college sub hangout.

The Old Chickahominy House. Kinda like a real version of Cracker Barrel Virginia style - But the food, at least used to be good. A limited menu of virginia staples, such as ham biscuits, brunswick stew and, yum, warm buttermilk pie for dessert. Not expensive, but it was where my parents and other family used to want to go when they came to visit and I was glad to go.

Chowinings Tavern - on DOG street in CW. This tavern serves only pub food and pretty iffy pub food at that, but go for the beer and the gambols. Eat peanuts, throw the shells on the floor and listen to colonial music played by guys in colonial garb. Kinda fun. In grad school, they used to sing bawdy songs, had booths and beer winches to mess with you and teach you how to play tavern games, but it has been somewhat remade to be more "family friendly" but is still fun.

King's Arms - was historically the best of the taverns. I don't know if it is still true. If you want to do one of the nice tavern dinners, go to CW website and get reservations. CHownings will not require them.

Surrey House -is this place still there? I just remember going there for a date and eating peanut soup. If you want to enjoy the trip (it is across the river from Jamestown in Surrey, VA.) you should put a bottle of red and two glasses under the seat of your car for the ferry ride over and back! Worked with me...............................

Edited July 20, 2004 by VaNC (log)

[s'kat]

Skip the Trellis, and head across the street to the Fat Canary. Great food, and it is connected to the Cheese Shop, where you can get killer sandwiches during the day.

A. Caroll's is another good bet for dinner.

Florimonte's is an Italian deli that has the best pizza in the area. My husband says the subs are excellent, as well.

[Minister of Drink]

Hi. I will be in Williamsburg this weekend & was told to go to the Blue Talon Bistro on Prince George Street. Has anyone heard of/been to this establishment???

[s'kat]

I've not personally been there, but have heard good things about it from my server at the Fat Canary the other night.

[maf]

It may be too late for you to care, but Pierce's Pitt (yes, 2 p's) BBQ on the I-64 access road West of Williamsburg (near the Lightfoot exit) is worth a stop, especially if BBQ is part of your name.

[s'kat]

It's funny... I so often here people say this, and it would certainly seem that Pierce's is a local institution. It's charming to hear about how it grew from just a tiny storefront, where patrons ate in the parking lot, to the full-sized restaurant that sits next to 64 today.

I ate there once, shortly after moving to the area, and wasn't that impressed. I keep meaning to try it again, in case it was just an 'off' day. It just didn't strike me as the sort of place that local legends spring up 'round. JMO.

[VaNC]

I understand your comment. I went to grad school in the 'Burg in the early 80's and we ate at Pierce's often. It was just a window in a parking lot and some picnic tables outside. Fit that grad school poverty requirement of being good, filling, cheap and different. Although I was raised in VA (now living in NC) I favor the NC BBQ to the VA red sauce, but it was pretty good nonetheless. Went back a couple of years ago and it was all indoors and looked like a fast food restaurant. The food was really pretty bad. But it was much more crowded than I ever remember it being in grad school. Whodathunkit...............................

[s'kat]

My husband and I stopped by the Blue Talon for their first lunch shift yesterday. It was quite a limited lunch menu (to be expanded by month's end), with a French-bistro slant. I peeked at the normal dinner menu, and it has all the typical goodies: French Onion Soup, charcuterie, pot-au-feu, etc.

Our service was acceptable, dealing quite well with the throngs of touritsts visiting the Art show just out the front door. The wine list is modest, and well-in-tune with the menu selections.

Our food was out to the table surprisingly quickly. I ordered the French onion soup, and my husband got the platter of charcuterie. We split some frites.

The French onion soup was absolutely incredible! I gave my husband a taste, and he flagged down the waiter to order his own bowl. The charcuterie plate was much, much smaller than anticipated, but everything on it was peak. The frites, well, they were forgettable, but that was really of no consequence.

As it is, I can't wait to return for dinner... some time very soon.

[s'kat]

I finally had dinner at the Blue Talon last night, and it was as good as lunch led me to believe it would be.

I was with my entire family, and I was only able to photograph mine and my husband's plates. We started with French onion soup for him (which he dug into before I could photograph, but I'm sure you can imagine how it looked), and a goat cheese, bacon and leek tart for me:

The soup was as consistently good as last time. The tart was explosively good, the perfect balance of puff pastry, crispy pork, and creamy cheese. There were also mussels and calamari being passed around. The mussels were forgettable; the calamari was breaded a bit thickly for my taste, but everyone else seemed to quite enjoy it.

Each day of the week hosts a different special entree, and Thursday's happened to be coq au vin. My aunt ordered that; I got the roasted chicken with herbs, and a simple green salad. My husband went for the pork bellies.

The pork bellies came out steaming in a small, cast-iron pot, and definately had a stew-like quality. They sat on a moist bed of lentils, carrots and potatoes:

My roasted chicken and pommes frites. Note the little cup full of fatty goodness on the plate:

My husband didn't seem to be enjoying his meal, and my sample bite confirmed why; it was infused with a gentle, dusky shot of cumin, one of his least-favourite spices. My chicken was perfectly roasted, and moist; the frites were scads better than our last visit, too. We switched plates, and were very happy.

No picture of my Aunt's coq au vin, but she said it was some of the best she's ever had. Considering she has been touring through France, I imagine it must have been quite good.

We were stuffed, but still feeling celebratory, so we ordered dessert. Unfortunately, our service began to slow down just as we were finishing dinner, and we waited quite some time before the waiter came back to clear plates and get our orders. It was the only mis-step in a night of otherwise impeccable service.

I went with the classic tart tatin, a very nice rendition. The apples rested upon a pillowy mound of pastry, perfectly etched with caramel:

My grandparents got a sorbet plate. I didn't hear what kind they were, and neither did they, as they're a bit hard of hearing, and the noise level was a bit much. Still, they scraped every last icy bit off the plate:

My husband got the best dessert on the table, the giner peach crumble with saigon cinammon ice cream. It was good on so many levels.

Also making the rounds across the table were a tiny little pear galette, and the ice cream specia of the evening, banana-chocolate-cashew.

It was a very enjoyable experience, and I felt that the most of the offerings were quite reasonably priced. It's also nice to go out someplace and eat food that isn't artfully towered up; give me half a chicken any day!

Can't wait to return!