Anne Hathaway Cottage Tea Room

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950 W. Beverley St.
Staunton, VA 24401
540-885-8885
www.anne-hathaways-cottage.com

English | $

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It’s like you’ve landed in the English countryside. There is a nice deck for summer seating facing the English garden.

Tea Time

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Everything about the place screams tea. It is nice to be able to purchase and take home the tea you have with dinner.

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For tea we picked a tasty South African Rooibos that came in individual pots.

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They offer a number of salad and sandwich plates that come with an endless pot of your favorite tea. My wife chose this Duo of Salad.

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I picked the special, a Steak and Ale Pie. Large pieces of steak in a rich beef and ale gravy, wrapped in a light savory puff pastry. This traditional pub fare was a real treat.

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For dessert we had a wonderful English Cream Lime Custard with Crystalized Honey and Lavender. The custard was perfect and the taste of lime was not over powering.

Staunton has some great restaurants but for a change of pace don’t overlook Anne Hathaway Cottage Tea Room. The service is excellent, the food and tea are great, and it is a fun experience.

America’s top 10 chain restaurants ranked

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Washington Post critic Tom Sietsema ranks America’s top 10 chain restaurants. Cracker Barrel comes in first place.

Source: America’s top 10 chain restaurants ranked

Eggnog Tres Leches Cake

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I really hate to use the word ‘moist’ to describe anything but what other adjective can I use for an eggnog tres leches cake? It’s not juicy because that’d be disgusting. Or soggy because that just ruins it. It’s certainly light and airy and full of flavor and it has the most incredible texture and honestly?

Source: Eggnog Tres Leches Cake

Brown Sugar Mustard Glazed Ham Recipe

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Brown Sugar Mustard Glazed Ham Recipe Brown Sugar Mustard Glazed Ham i s the perfect juicy centrepiece for your Christmas dinner table! The most perfect sticky glaze is slathered all over this juicy, tender Brown Sugar Mustard Glazed Ham, with crisp edges and an incredible flavour.

Recipe: Brown Sugar Mustard Glazed Ham Recipe

Our Favorite Gifts for the Geek in the Kitchen

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Having trouble figuring out what to get for the geek cook in your life? We’ve got a few suggestions for you right here, from high-output torches and pressure cookers to immersion circulators and kitchen tweezers. Read More

Source: Our Favorite Gifts for the Geek in the Kitchen

Mario Batali Steps Away From Restaurants Amid Sexual Misconduct Allegations

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Mr. Batali made his announcement in a statement after four women accused the chef of groping. He is also stepping aside from ABC’s “The Chew.”

Mission BBQ Opens in Gainesville

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Mission BBQ
13944 Promenade Commons St.
Gainesville, VA 20155
571-535-2503
https://www.mission-bbq.com

BBQ | $

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On Monday December 11th Gainesville, VA becomes home to the newest restaurant in the awesome Mission BBQ chain. For their soft opening they have had one night paying tribute to fire fighters, one night for police, and one night raising money for the USO. The company culture is one of incredible BBQ, top-notch service to customers, and support for veterans and first responders. Their local community support extends to the Warrior Retreat at the Bull Run in Haymarket where they donate complete meals for groups of Warriors going through PTS counseling.

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The décor is all about veterans, military, police, and fire fighters. Department and unit patches adorn the walls as well as photos soldiers from different conflicts.

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The staff is in full training mode but catching on quickly and eager to help.

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In addition to the tea and fountain drinks they offer a wide variety of bottled sodas.

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Their menu includes Brisket, Pulled Pork, Turkey, Pulled Chicken, and Sausage. The BBQ and sides arrive quickly and there is plenty of booth or table seating.

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Rib lovers will appreciate the Bay-B-Back Ribs and St. Louis Style Spare Ribs.

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My favorite is the brisket. My wife ordered the Black Plate Prime Rib special offered at other Mission BBQ locations but not at Gainesville at this time. All of the sides are tasty. My wife loves their green beans while I can’t get past the Mac & Cheese on the menu.

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The Brisket is fantastic. Smoked overnight for 14 to 16 hours you can have it as a sandwich or a platter they call Meat Market. If you order the Brisket it will come lean and on the dryer side. Order it wet and it will be moist from more fat and marbling. There is an assortment of sauces on the tables but as with most good BBQ you don’t need it.

The noise level was surprisingly low for a new build with this size space. The mostly wood décor covered with many patches helps keep the noise level down. Prices are reasonable and a good value for a quality meal. Hours are Mon-Thu: 11am to 9pm, Fri & Sat: 11am to 10pm, and Sun: 11:30am to 8pm.

If you love BBQ you won’t be disappointed.

The Spice Route Indian Kitchen

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The Spice Route
10945 George Mason Cir.
Manassas, VA 20109
571-428-2127
http://thespiceroutes.com/

Indian | $

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The décor is comfortable with white tablecloths and cloth napkins. The owner Gopal Kapoor told me he serves traditional dishes the way he makes them at home. His focus is on flavor, saying most traditional Indian food is not spicy hot. He uses the freshest ingredients he can find to build flavor and savory dishes.

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For our appetizer we chose an Indian street food known as Samosa Chaat. It is chopped samosa with chickpeas, onions, tomatoes, and chutney. Samosa Chaat is a mince meat dish that is spicy, tangy, and sweet. This is a flavorful dish easily shared.

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This was not as spicy as the Samosa Chaat but had a perfect garlic taste, savory but not strong enough to linger beyond the next bite.

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The naan bread was excellent.

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For our entrées I had the Butter Chicken and my wife had the Lamb Bhuna.

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The Butter Chicken was very good on a bed of delicious long grain basmati rice.

The Spice Route is located across the street from the Hylton Performing Arts Center on the George Mason Campus. It is an excellent stop for dinner before a performance. There is plenty of parking, so you can eat and walk across the street. We ate early so noise was not an issue. Service is attentive but not intrusive and the food is an excellent value for your dollar. They are open for lunch and dinner 7 days a week. This is the best Indian food in our area.

Time to Get a Sous Vide

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If you have given even the slightest thought to getting a Sous Vide now is the time. Amazon is running a killer deal for the Anova Sous Vide Immersion Circulator (2nd Gen) WIFI, 900 Watts here. They normally run $199.99 but are $119.00 right now. Pronounced “sue-veed and French for “under seal” it is a cooking technique used by many chefs that is has recently taken hold with home cooks. A Sous Vide is especially useful in taking less expensive cuts of meat and turning them into mouth-watering delights. Wikipedia has an in-depth explanation of Sous Vide if you are new to it. The YouTube channel Sous Vide Everything is an excellent resource.

The Warrior Retreat at Bull Run’s Visiting Chef Program

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Warrior Retreat at Bull Run
16013 Waterfall Rd.
Haymarket, VA 20169
866-227-5853
www.willingwarriors.org

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The stress of endless medical appointments, medications, and therapy wears on our Wounded Warriors draining almost every ounce of energy from them. Many plan and wait a month or more to come to the retreat for its promise of rest and relaxation. The drive from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center to the retreat seems to take forever. In the final miles and as they turn into the driveway and see the retreat for the first-time thoughts of hospitals and therapy fade away.

They have seen the web page, read the brochure, and heard great things about the retreat from their Guest Stay Coordinator, but the best is yet to come. Most do not understand how hard retreat staff and volunteers work to give them the gift of memories of good times and normalcy. Memories of their first massage, their first helicopter ride, their first symphony concert, a professional photo shoot to capture the joy of a stress-free stay at the retreat as a family. One of the most memorable events of their stay is Visiting Chef Night on Sunday. Diner is prepared by world class chefs from around the region who volunteer to come to the retreat and prepare extraordinary meals for the families. Most families describe it as the best food they have eaten.

DSC_0010(L to R) PO2 Sierra Tyler, USN and FS1 Jason T. Rohrs, Coast Guard – Enlisted Aides/Chefs to General Joseph Dunford, the 19th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff with retreat Executive Event Chef Ken Gardner, Sous Chef Jim Cole, and a Warrior’s son.

In our mission to make the family’s stay special we created the Visiting Chef Program to introduce families to the restorative properties of fine food. We also believe it offers chefs a way to give back doing the thing they love and that they will quickly learn what many SOWW volunteers know, working with Wounded Warriors and their families is an extraordinarily rewarding experience.

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Today we have 49 volunteer chefs from some of the finest restaurants. Besides restaurant and catering chefs, top military chefs have joined the program. They include FS1 Jason T. Rohrs, USCG Chef to General Joseph Dunford, the 19th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, CS1 Patrick Parigi, USN Chef to the Commander, Naval Reactors/Propulsion, CSC (SW) Matthew P. Susienka, USN Executive Chef to the Commander Naval Service Training Command, MSgt. Jennifer L Medeiros, USAF Chef to the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and MSgt. Sarah L Morgan, USAF Chef to the Air Force Chief of Staff.

The success of the Visiting Chef Program is due to three chefs who contribute selflessly. Volunteer Staff Sous Chef Jim Cole is there assisting the visiting chef almost every Sunday. Volunteer Executive Event Chef Ken Gardner is the Lead Chef on every SOWW event and serves as a back-up Sous Chef. And Chef Benedict Zappone who has prepared meals for Warriors ten times. He comes out on dates where no other chef is available, like Mother’s Day and Christmas Day.

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The Visiting Chef Program is much more than exceptional food. For countless families, it is an introduction to farm-to-table cuisine they are not likely to experience on their own. Many cannot afford dining at the chefs’ restaurants. Most of our Warrior guests suffer from PTS and have not been to a restaurant in years. The noise and commotion of a busy restaurant can overwhelm them. The Visiting Chef Program brings that personalized 5-star dining experience to them at the retreat.

My Daddy My Hero Dessert Plate

Many Warriors and family members of all ages don an apron and love the opportunity to help and learn from the chef. The Visiting Chef Program strives to create fond memories that last a lifetime for the families. One of my favorite dinners was for the late Sergeant Scott Adkins who lost his battle with cancer not long after his family stayed at the retreat. The chef taught his daughters how to write with raspberry dessert sauce. I’ll never forget the smile that came to Sergeant Adkins face when his daughter put down his dessert and the plate read “My Daddy My Hero.” It’s not only the families receiving warm memories.