Oyster duo – WK Hearth

Oyster duo - WK Hearth
Baked with bacon onion jam. Raw with melon granita and lemon. $8
WK Hearth, Purcellville VA

This was gross! The texture and flavor of the raw oyster with the granite made me dry heave a little. The warm oyster was a little better, but I think the quality of the oysters was off in the first place. Not a good dish.

Remarkable Sparkles flight - WK Hearth
Remarkable Sparkles flight. $13
Carte Noire, Charles Organ, Chardonnary, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier, NV, Champagne, France.
Prosa, Meinklang, (Rose) Pinot Noir, 2012, Burgenland, Austria.
Puianello, Lambrusco, NV, Lombardy, Italy.
Mmm, these wines were VERY different from each other and different from the types of sparkling wines that I normally drink. The last one was super sweet but it was still enjoyable to drink. I always like trying new things.

Davis mansion, Morven Park
Davis mansion, Morven Park, Leesburg VA.

Lasagna fresca with shrimp – Olive Garden

Lasagna fresca with shrimp - Olive Garden
Vegetable lasagna, sautéed shrimp, grilled tomatoes with sun-dried tomato sauce. Served with soup. $14.79
Olive Garden, Martinsburg WV

Omg! I thought with the words “fresca” and “shrimp” that this dish would be on the lighter side. That didn’t happen! This plate was definitely a gut bomb. There was SO much cheese in the lasagna and the sun-dried tomato sauce (which I’m assuming was inside the lasagna) was overpowered by the additional cheesy cream sauce dumped on top. The spots of pesto were cute for color but just added another layer of richness to this heavy dish. Not really what I wanted when I ordered this from their seasonal fresca menu.

Morven Park grounds
Morven Park grounds, Leesburg VA.

White asparagus – Volt

White asparagus - Volt
House bay seasoning, poached brown butter custard. Tasting menu $95
Volt, Frederick MD

This was a freebie dish from the kitchen (ooh, I love freebies!). The asparagus had a different texture that I hadn’t tried before. I’ve had white asparagus before, but not prepared in this way. I liked the bay seasoning and the custard! The flowers were a pretty touch too.

Shenandoah National Park
Shenandoah National Park, VA.

Chicken strips combo – Roy Rogers

Chicken strips combo - Roy Rogers
3 pieces, mashed potatoes, regular soda. $6.19
Roy Rogers, Ranson WV

Mmm, I liked these chicken strips. The breading was tasty and it wasn’t greasy. The mashed potatoes and gravy were tasty, and I also liked their bbq dipping sauce. This was my first time at a Roy Rogers and I’ll say that it was pretty good.

Davis mansion, Morven Park
Davis mansion, Morven Park, Leesburg VA.

Pizza and wings lunch buffet – Pizza City II

Pepperoni pizza and buffalo wings - Pizza City II
Pepperoni pizza and buffalo wings.
Pizza City II, Ranson WV

Ugh, both the pizza and wings weren’t very good, but the lunch buffet price was super cheap and it was unlimited food so what can I say? I ate these two plates worth of food and that was it. I wanted to save some calories for better quality food later. 🙂 I did like that they had a few flavors of wings to choose from though.

Supreme pizza and assorted wings - Pizza City II
Supreme pizza and assorted wings.

Charles Town Races
Charles Town Races.

Baby back ribs – Carolina Kitchen

Baby back ribs - Carolina Kitchen
Grilled bbq pork ribs with baked beans, homemade coleslaw and Cajun fries. Full rack $25
Carolina Kitchen, Washington DC

These ribs were decent. They were pretty salty, but I still liked that they lathered on the bbq sauce. They also weren’t as tender and smoky as I wanted. The fries weren’t crispy, but the beans were tasty.

Cornbread - Carolina Kitchen
Cornbread. Complimentary
These were dripping with butter, therefore delicious!

Vaquero sculpture, National Portrait Gallery
Vaquero sculpture, National Portrait Gallery.