Another home run...southern style. Welcome to Blue Ridge.

I had some free time and I was close to G-town, so I stopped in at Blue Ridge for brunch. This is the latest venture from Eli Hengst, in conjunction with Jared Rager and Barton Seaver.

You never know who you'll run into around there, so I wasn't surprised to see Nycci Nellis and her husband David up on the deck having a cocktail.

Her blog has a few more readers than mine, but I'm not jealous...

Anyhow, on to the restaurant:

Some shabby/sheik stuff, lots of wood, great patio/terrace/deck.

There is a fountain and a nice Chinese Maple in the middle of the patio. It was a very nice day and there were a few families enjoying the food and the weather.

The staff uniforms are jeans and plaid flannel. Interesting choice.

The wine list has a great selection at reasonable prices. They were assembled by Brian of Redwood fame. Nice selection of bubbly!

The food was tasty. I had the biscuits and gravy with poached eggs. The gravy had a hint of smoke and everything was done correctly. The hash browns were a nice touch in that they had some veggies in them other than peppers and onion.

All in all, a pleasant experience. Check it out if you have a chance. Tell Eli I sent you.
Brunch Menu

Slacker makes a post....Yeha!

I know I've been remiss. I apologize, but I've been busy attending fabulous events, dinners, lunches, and pool pot lucks. The pictures below are from the RAMMY Awards last Sunday evening. You probably read about it in the Style Section of the Post, but you've got to be there to appreciate it. All of your best friends in one hotel with an open bar for six hours....Zoiks Scoob! This is Chef Wil Going of Chef Geoff's with a new foodie friend of mine, Dona.

Bertran, Executive Chef at 2941 et moi'.

This guy is a stud! Chef Jose Andres of ThinkFoodGroup. Best wishes for continued success Jose.

Dave Moran. Area Manager (forgive me if I have the title wrong Dave) for Clydes Gallery Place and Old Ebbitt Grill. You can't find a nicer, more competent guy. He is a class act.

Natural born killers. These guys both work with me and they mean business!

Jeff and Barbara Black of BlackSalt, Black's Garrett Park, Addie's, and Black's. Great concepts and great folks to work with.

Phyllis Richman! Former food critic of The Washington Post.

Thanks for reading folks...more food stuff to come, I promise!