Monday, January 13, 2014

Fine Dining in the Shenandoah Valley

Of course everyone has heard of the Inn at Little Washington.  Well, not everyone who has heard of the Inn can afford to eat there, so we are going to talk in this blog about some of the fine restaurants here in Front Royal that offer the quality without the price tag.

Anyone visiting the area from out of town is going to want to visit a restaurant and chain restaurants are all the same everywhere.

The first restaurants we'll review in this blog are Element and Apartment 2g.  Element is a bistro styled restaurant that offers modern American cuisine Tuesday through Saturday and Apartment 2g offers a fixed price dinner every Saturday night along with a Tapas menu the third Thursday of each month. 

David and Stacy Gedney are the chef/owners of Element and Apartment 2g who have worked at the Inn and Little Washington and Restaurant Nora in Washington, DC among several other fine restaurants.  Patrons at either of their two restaurants are treated to big-city quality at small-town prices.  Currently entrees at Element range from $14 to $21 and the Fixed Price dinner is $50 per person.  Of course, these prices do not include beverages, tax or gratuities, but at that, the value is spectacular.

The pan roasted chicken offered at Element may very well be the best chicken dish available anywhere.  I am a particular fan of David's seared scallops and when I visit Element, I have to tell David if I want something different.  When you sit down, you will be offered a dish of Stacy's home made focaccia still warm from the oven and served with olive oil and Balsamic Vinegar.  If you are planning on having their mussels as an appetizer, save the bread to sop up the wonderful sauce from the mussels.  If you can't stand to save the bread, order more.  You can't miss the sauce!

The prixe fixe dinner at Apartment 2g offers the diners a choice of three entrees and then a choice of dessert.  Take your pick.  You can't go wrong with any of them!

Stacy makes all her desserts and they are all outstanding. Her Mexican chocolate cake is not to be missed.  Pair dessert with coffee, espresso, or an aperitif and you can't help but go home happy!

Come back to this blog for more information on some of our other really wonderful restaurants!

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