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Local Gourmet
Grandale Farm
Ever taste the warmth of a summer sunset? It tastes a lot like a meal at Grandale Farm Restaurant ... mild and relaxing. After a brief six-month hiatus, this elegant, cozy restaurant reopened for business on July 9.
Off the beaten path on 14001 Harper’s Ferry Road just north of Hillsboro, you’ll find this country oasis on the edge of the mountains, where owner and head Chef Author Clark Jr. creates farm-fresh masterpieces. It’s understandable why Grandale draws customers from Washington, D.C., and Vienna. With a degree from the Culinary Institute of America, Clark shines from miles away.
“My goal is to bring the restaurant to the farm,” Clark says.
Back in 2005, Clark opened the restaurant on Dr. Thomas Orme’s fresh fruit and vegetable farm. With Orme’s fresh produce and an available building, Clark cooked up a menu he likes to call “American-Contemporary Fusion Cuisine.”
The small dining area features a fireplace on the inside and an inviting back patio with a view of Breaux Vineyards. Fresh flowers top the white linen tablecloths, and soft music accompanies lunch and dinner.
New to Grandale this year is a banquet hall that holds up to 90 guests. Designed for receptions, parties or business meetings, it’s already a success, Clark says.
A few distinct ingredients here and there, like fresh herbs and spiced nuts, and sauces made by reduction rather than flour, have flair unique to Clark’s dishes. The flavors are subtle and comforting but complete-tasting.
For starters, try the seared scallops with a mildly sweet tomato butter sauce and pepporcini accompanied by a glass of Italian Campanile pinot grigio. Dining room manager Chris Walker says the heirloom tomatoes are “reduced to their essence.”
Next, try a salad of baby spinach with smoked Virginia trout, soft Gorgonzola cheese, spiced and toasted almonds (a mixture of cinnamon, nutmeg, chili pepper and olive oil), and merlot vinaigrette atop sliced grapefruit, while sipping a French Croix Senaillet St. Veran chardonnay.
A dinner of veal chop and asparagus over eggplant ratatouille and black olive oil (it's toasted in a pan before serving) is accompanied by a basket of homemade bread and a glass of French Les Perrieres Bourgogne (a pinot noir, dry-earthy wine). Wine is sold by the bottle or glass.
For dessert, choose among a slice of tart lemon cheesecake with honey plum sauce, or chocolate decadence with a berry coulis, or a cordial – Fonseca 20-year Tawny Porto from Portugal. Local pastry chef and fellow CIA graduate Catherine Williams comes in every week to put together these fresh desserts for Clark.
For some refreshingly different cuisine and a taste of the farmers market, Grandale Farm offers a break from the hubbub of fine dining in the city and replaces it with fine dining in a relaxing cool mountain breeze.
Salads and appetizers range from $8 to $10, and entrees from $10 to $32.
Open for lunch from noon to 4 p.m. and dinner from 5 to 9:30 p.m. every Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Clark and his staff also offer catering. For more information, visit www.grandalefarm.com .
Rebekah Pizana is a student at Patrick Henry College. She can be reached at gourmetwriter@gmail.com .
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