DINING: Volt is James Beard award–winner Bryan Voltaggio’s
signature restaurant. But the Top Chef runner-up also runs the more
casual Family Meal, a modern diner in a former car dealership.
LODGING: 10 Clarke is a five-room B&B in a turreted downtown
Victorian serving to-die-for breakfasts.
DON’T MISS: The Community Bridge trompe l’oeil mural at Carroll
Creek Park. The structure has been painstakingly painted to resemble
an ivy-covered stone bridge. While there, stroll the linear park with its
shops, restaurants and breweries.
WINCHESTER, VA
Distance from downtown D.C.
75 miles
Situated at the northern mouth of the Shenandoah Valley, the town
changed hands so often during the Civil War — 70-plus times — it
was known as the shuttlecock of the Confederacy. The mood is
considerably calmer these days. But its well-preserved Old Town, a
two-block pedestrian mall lined with buildings dating to the 1700s,
is a lively spot chockablock with al fresco dining venues. Three craft
breweries are on or near the mall. (Sample them all during the
open-air Hop Blossom Craft Beer Festival on June 8.) In spring, the
town celebrates its agricultural roots with the Shenandoah Apple
Blossom Festival (April 26–May 5).
DINING: Bonnie Blue Southern Market & Bakery, in a 1920s’ gas
station, serves barbecue, fried oysters and other Southern fare. It’s
open for breakfast and lunch daily, and dinner on Fridays. Sweet
NOLA’s Southern Food Lounge specializes in New Orleans-style dishes
with a Shenandoah Valley twist.
LODGING: The historic, 90-room George Washington Hotel, now a
Wyndham Grand, has been splendidly restored and sports a Roman-style
pool and a jazz bar. The Inn at Vaucluse Spring, in nearby Stephens City,
boasts elegant manor house rooms and cottages.
DON’T MISS: Patsy Cline Historic House, Winchester’s angel-voiced
native daughter spent her teen years in the small white frame house,
now a museum charting her career.
Frederick
Credit: Jeff Boyd
SPRING 2019 63 FLYWASHINGTON.COM