Christopher Atkinson

I came here with my team after work one day. We were saying goodbye to a team member who was going on to a new opportunity. The environment was very warm and welcoming. And very cool at the same time. It seemed like a place you could just hangout at for a long time. We had a party of like 10+, and the place was very readily able to accommodate us. Very appreciative of that.

Service was great. She handled our large crowd like a champ. And we were all pretty mature people, so we didn't even present that much of a problem for her anyway, I like to think.

To start with, I ordered a Square NY Knish. I had no idea what it was, but I had heard the work in movies and such, so I was like, why not? I like new things. And it was actually very good! It was a large square of crispy fried mashed potatoes. Basically. I'm sure there were onions and other spices involved, because this thing was absolutely delectable. I would get it again.

For my main event, I had the Classic Reuben (Half pound of corned beef grilled with house-made Russian, Swiss, and sauerkraut), because I'm not sure I've ever had one. This was my first, but definitely not my last! A generous amount of meat, a heaping helping of all the other stuff, and bread that somehow was able to stand up to all of it. Very delicious.

A note on the composition. The ratio of meat to other stuff is important. I've had some meaty sandwiches before where all the sauce and crunchy stuff was skimped on, and it was just too dry. As much as you want the meat to be the star, you have to balance out everything. Pickles did a great job! Just make sure you get a side of fries so all of the drippings can drip onto them, making them even more delicious.

Overall, wow, this place was quite the surprise for me, and it was only like 10 minutes away from work! There were a lot of other things on the menu I want to try, so I will definitely have to come back!

I came to a nearby Inn for my birthday dinner last year, and I stayed in a quaint little Bnb in nearby Culpepper. The next day, I started my long journey back home, and it included a stop downtown for a nice breakfast. There were a few options, but overall, the Country Café looked like our best bet. So we parked in the very rustic and fun parking lot, and headed on in.

Stepping into this place, there was an instant vibe of everyone in the room being regulars and had been going there for many years. There were pictures of people and newspaper clippings and all sorts of small town stuff all over the wall that I loved. It made me real homesick for my small hometown. So even though we were outsiders, I felt right at home, and our super friendly server helped us with amazing service was start to finish.

Looking at the menu, it was small and simple, my favorite. Do a few things perfectly rather than many things poorly. Browsing the menu, I only ever had the one option, the Country Boy Breakfast (The way grandma fixed it! 3 eggs any style served with 2 bacon and 2 sausage, fried potatoes with gravy on top and a biscuit).

Usually, normal breakfast items don't fill me up, but boy howdy this one did. Well-scrambled eggs, skin-on potatoes, a well-peppered gravy, and sausage And bacon. So good. I enjoyed this a lot.

I also got to sample some sort of apple cobbler French toast. It's not on their regular menu, it was a special they had going, and it was also good! This was quantity and quality! I love the skinny toast French toast, because it's soaked and cooked all the way through. And they certainly gave us enough apples on top. A good breakfast dish.

Overall, I am a huge fan of this place. I don't know if I will ever come back, but I can guarantee, if I ever Am near Culpepper again in the AM, I will be making a special effort to return.

I came to DC over the summer in order to see the sights and sample the food. So many cuisines to choose from, DC is truly a melting pot of food. I found it similar to London, in that manner. Maybe all national capitals are that way? Either way, Indian is one of my favorites, so I found an allegedly amazing Indian restaurant for lunch, made my reservations, and came in to see.

Right away, you're blasted with luxury. There are shiny things all over the ways and curtains of glimmering glass beads separating the tables from one another. Stark, white tablecloths, I felt like I was in a 1940's hunting club, or something like that. I felt instantly warm and comfortable, and I was greeted by our lovable server. Super nice fellow. And he was quick to make recommendations, which I love when I'm trying to try new things.

Of course, I started off with a mango lassi. Pound-for-pound, one of the best drinks on planet Earth. It was nice and cold and thick and mangoey. Lovely.
We ordered like three apps, and then we split a main entrée.

We started off with the Sweet Potato Samosa (Phyllo pastry/ cranberry chutney). Elevated samosas, tied up like perfect little presents. Never seen anything like it before. Creamy sweet potato within the perfectly crisp phyllo, balanced against the barely tart cranberry chutney underneath. Lots of fun, and lots of flavor!

For the life of me, I can't remember what the other two apps were. It's been too long. I am sorry. But I do remember they were things I hadn't had before, shots in the dark, and that they were delicious, so the moral of the story here is that no matter what you order, it'll probably be five star food!

I also can't find our entrée... Embarrassing. But I actually think this is a good thing. Because if I can't find it, that means their menu rotates and is seasonal and fresh! It was lamb, though, a whole shank in the middle of some curry. That lamb fell right off the bone, it was deep in flavor, but not spicy, and it was a good ol' time eating the meat and the curry with the carbs from the jasmine rice and the naan.

Honestly one of the best meals I had the whole time I was in town. Nothing wrong with this place at all, and if I ever come back to DC, I will probably come back.

I came to DC over the summer for some sightseeing and some general celebration of my birthday. I ranked all of the restaurants in town using an algorithm/decision-making-tree that I came up with. And The Dabney popped up as one of the premier must-go places. So I made my reservations and showed up on time and got seated in the very beautiful main dining area.

We had the perfect view of the open kitchen right next us, so we got to watch the well-oiled machine the entire time. So many tables going through course after course, a guy with a dry erase board keeping track of all the moving pieces, all the meats seemingly being cooked with only wood and fire. Really great stuff.

And the service? Come on. We had multiple people that waited on us, each being their own cog in the machine of the service presentation. We never wanted for anything. And the conversation was very pleasant and seemed authentic. Right down to the very end of the night to when one of the hosts checked on us to see how we were getting back in the pouring rain.

So anyway, I can't talk about all of the courses served in the well orchestrated show that we went through, but I will give some thoughts and notes.

I love how this place, and many other places, are highlighting and celebrating local ingredients. Where our food comes from is very cool to know, and I'm glad that they are supporting local, small businesses rather than buying a pack of 1,000 frozen oysters from another country.

The second snack of the night really hit that point with lamb from the Shenandoah area stuffed into a mint leaf that came from Kentucky. Very nice.

I also liked how the courses got progressively bigger in size, from the snacks to the actual courses, to the main event.

Fried squash blossom. Enough said. There's no vessel more fun to eat something from.

One of the courses had us take a fried corn tortilla and smash it to make our own tortilla chips to eat the rest of the dish with. That was fun!

And of course, the main event. From a local farm, we got Autumn Olive Farm Pork served in a few different ways. It was all laid out to us at once and then we got free range of the feast. The Sorghum Butter they gave us for that Cornbread was insane out of this world delicious. And the Scrapple they put that Caviar on top of? Wow. It was all just so fun and delicious.

We finished off with three dessert courses, all good.

I feel like I've said a lot, but also a lot of nothing. The bottom line is that the place is very good. They select high quality, local ingredients, and present them in a beautiful, delicious way. The only thing is that a place like this needs to send you home with some post-dinner munchies. That's all that was missing. Not sure if I'll ever be back, but will certainly recommend this place to everyone I know who heads to DC.

Came to DC this past summer to see the sights and eat the food. Several little birdies told me that this a must-see for lunch. It seemed quirky and delicious and it was in a convenient location, so I had to check it out. The ambiance was very interesting. It seemed like a post-modern hipster vibe, almost like I was in a Dr. Seuss novel. I liked it.

We got seated, our server was very nice. And got to looking at the menu. I liked that the menu wasn't too big. It had a few items that they wanted to specialize in, and there were a variety of choices to satisfy everyone's food preferences.

I ended up getting the Double Cheeseburger & Fries (Lettuce | Tomato | Caramelized Onion | Pickle | American Cheese | Sesame-Seed Bun | Sexy Sauce). Nice sized patties, very juicy and beefy. All the good veggies that accent a traditional burger. Loved the sesame seeds, not sure why, but you eat with your eyes first. Overall just really good.

I also got to try the Fried Chicken Sandwich & Fries (Sweet & Spicy Slaw | Garlic Aioli | Sesame-Seed Bun). Dear Lord, this thing was a monster. Such a beautifully thicc chicken cutlet that was breaded to crispy perfection. The sweet, the spicy, the garlic, I think that this might be the best lunch item I tried the whole time I was in DC. A+

I'm not sure what I got for dessert, it's been so long, I'm so behind in my reviews, but I remember it was delicious. And look at that presentation. This place dresses their food up to the nines.

Overall, big success, loved the vibes, loved the food. Would return.