Restaurant critics don’t often get to eat what we want when we want it. Our desires almost always come second to the job at hand. Often, we simply adapt and enjoy the food on the plate before us. But there are very lucky times that the two intersect and what’s on that plate is what we were already craving.
When the bowl pictured above arrived at my table at Hunter’s Head Tavern, I remarked with gratitude, “This is exactly how I would eat every day if I lived in the country and had a well-stocked garden.” I was talking about the Ayrshire Farm Crispy Pork Bowl, enough of an attraction at the restaurant that it was featured on the roadside sign the day I was there.
The beauty of Hunter’s Head, of course, is that Ayrshire Farm owns the restaurant, so it’s not just the pork, but also everything from the beef in the enviable burger to the tandoori chicken on the dinner menu that comes from just up the road. The greens? Also sparklingly fresh.
The result is a combination of foods that feel healthy, even if it’s topped with pork fried to the airy crispness of spun sugar. But it is almost a virtuous meal. The salad of baby spinach, grilled broccoli, and bulgur is bathed in a light lemon-garlic vinaigrette that tastes like the sunny season. And yes, a bit of natural fat can be a good thing. Just ask the Weston A. Price Foundation.
Maybe when I retire someday, I will eat farm-fresh salads every day. Until then, I’m grateful for the occasional jaunt to Hunter’s Head. 9048 John S. Mosby Hwy., Upperville
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