The New York Times released its annual list of the 50 best places to dine in America. Only one Virginia restaurant made the cut: Maude & the Bear, a seasonal New American restaurant in Staunton.
Two Washington, DC, restaurants were also included on the NYT list: Kwame Onwuachi’s Dōgon at The Salamander DC and modern Levantine restaurant La’ Shukran.
About Maude & the Bear
Maude & the Bear is an inn and restaurant set in a 1926 Montgomery Ward kit home in the Shenandoah Valley. Opened in April 2024, it was created by chef-owner Ian Boden and his wife, Leslie. The name takes inspiration from the couple’s daughter’s middle name, Maude, and their son’s nickname, Bear. The pair also runs The Shack, also in Staunton.
In 2025, Maude & the Bear was nominated for Best New Restaurant by the James Beard Foundation.
Maude & the Bear serves tasting menus of four to eight courses. The tasting menus rotate seasonally, with an interest in regional ingredients. According to Maude & the Bear’s website, “Chef Boden’s menus pay homage to his own family roots as well as those of his wife and partner Leslie’s rural upbringing and of their travels together.”
New York Times food critic Eric Asimov wrote that, “Mr. Boden’s food demonstrates a deep understanding of how to merge exceptional seasonal ingredients into dishes of novel complexity.” The article noted dishes such as ramp focaccia with schmaltz and a rutabaga salad; ramp agnolotti with butterbeans, leeks, and morels; and a dry-aged rib-eye with hickory nuts.
Prices run from $90 for a four-course menu to $300 for the Kitchen Table seating, which can range from 12 to 20 courses. The first-come, first-served bar and lounge offers the tasting menu, as well as a la carte options.
In addition to the restaurant, Maude & the Bear has an inn with three suites — each named after one of Aesop’s fables — with a multi-course breakfast available only to guests.
Feature image by Stephanie Whitehall
