On Saturday evening we drove about 20 minutes to the little town of Staunton (pronounced STANton not STAUNTon...I tell ya, these Virginians....). The historic downtown is only about five blocks long, but the real surprise and gem was Staunton Grocery. At the recommendation of our innkeepers, we were excited to try out this farm-to-table restaurant -- something I would hardly expect in a small town like this one.
Our kind innkeeper had told the restaurant we were celebrating our anniversary, and we were met with a yummy amuse-bouche (thanks for the fancy knowledge, Top Chef) and glasses of complimentary sparkling wine to start us off. I ordered the pork loin on a bed of turnips and trumpet mushrooms topped with bacon-maple jam. Yes folks, bacon. maple. jam. I can imagine Paula Deen drooling at the thought of it, as she should, because it was sensational. Chris ordered Maine rockfish on a pea purée (another thing we heard about on Top Chef) and we enjoyed our locally sourced meals with glasses of summer berry sangria. To finish off the night, we ordered brown butter peaches with whipped caramel that tasted like a perfectly toasted marshmallow.
Bravo, Staunton! We were thoroughly impressed, and stuffed. As long as you keep delivering delicious local meals like this, I'm willing to look the other way on this ridiculous name pronunciation thing.
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