The Weekly Whisk - 6/12/19

Musings from a foodie…

I recently had the wonderful opportunity to visit the “Northern Neck” of Virginia.  It’s a specific rural area of the state where a peninsula juts out into the Chesapeake Bay.  And, while you can sort of see the lights of DC and Baltimore late at night with the lights bouncing on the upper stratosphere, you are definitely in rural America. It’s a charming area and in particular, the town Irvington, Virginia is where you’ll find the Hope and Glory Inn [ * * * * ]. The owners are Peggy and Dudley Patterson – and, Dudley does exactly what Peggy asks him to do!  Each room in the bed and breakfast is like a small cabin with a small living room, a sitting area, as well as sleeping space.  And, the crème de la crème of the place is Meserata, the cook.  She hails from Addis, Ethiopia and she was exceptionally accommodating to all the culinary needs of our small group.  Peggy and Dudley are lucky to have her as part of their team. Besides, even though Dudley is a nice guy, I’m not sure he would cook as well. 

We started the evening with local roasted oysters with pesto sauce accompanied with soft bread mixed with thyme and tobacco (yes, you got it although I could not taste it). After lots of talkin’, discussin’, and assumin’ we moved on to the main course of rock fish and blue crab.  The fish was cooked to perfection and accompanied with lentils and peas. Meserata noted that the sauce had “Ethiopian spices” but she demurred and smiled when I asked which ones.  For starch there was a potato scallop.  Not to be forgotten were the carrots with dill – in a traditional French style, brussels sprouts with red pepper; and, asparagus steamed and braised with butter.  To top off the evening, Meserata prepared a crème brulee with fresh blackberries and, it was over the top wonderful!!!  As important as the meal was the presentation which was wonderful as well.  It’s truly an undiscovered foodie place and, after the meal, you can simply retire to your room for a nap!  I highly recommend it.  Call ahead and make reservations if you’re not staying there and, even if you are staying there, call ahead to make sure Meserata will be tending the culinary delights of the customers that evening.  After all, you probably don’t want Dudley to step in :-)   Enjoy…  Call ahead and check it out: Hope & Glory Inn – 65 Tavern Road – Irvington, VA 22480 – (804) 438-6053 – This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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