Thorton River Grille (VA - Sperryville)

On a recent field trip to Sperryville, VA, I stopped into the Thornton River Grille for lunch.

Normally I grab a sandwich at Sunnyside Farms or try to hold out for some Bar-B-Que on the way back up Route 29, but I was swayed by how enthusiastic some of the locals were about Thornton River Grille.

The restaurant sits at the end of a row of buildings that date back to the early 1800s and have all been completely restored in the past three years. The dining room itself is a simple arrangement, with a dozen of so tables arranged in front of an open kitchen and another few seats at a bar just right of the grill.

This simple veneer completely belies the fantastic food that comes out of that kitchen.

On this Saturday afternoon, we ordered a hamburger and the spicy chicken salad.

The burger is amongst the best around. The Thornton River Grill butchers its own meat and the freshness is very apparent in the quality of the burger. We ordered it rare and it arrived red in the center, soaking the bottom bun with jus as we ate.

The burger was topped with sun dried tomato, avocado and jack cheese. The sun dried tomato is a stroke of genius. Used in lieu of ketchup, the sun dried tomato delivers a potent, concentrated tomato essence without altering the overall consistency or mouth feel of the burger. To get that much tomato flavor with ketchup, you would have to dip the burger in the stuff between bites.

The spicy chicken salad consisted of a blackened chicken breast topped with pepper jack cheese and apple wood smoked bacon with a side of salsa, riding atop an extraordinarily fresh bed of mixed greens tossed in a spicy ranch dressing. This isn't the salad your cardiologist approved, but it is terrific nonetheless.

The warmth of the chicken and melted cheese is tempered by the coolness of salsa, the heat of the blackening seasoning and pepper jack is tempered by the ranch dressing and the dish finishes cleanly courtesy of the bitterness of the arugula mixed in with the greens. The bacon is a completely gratuitous, but welcome addition to the dish.

The Thornton River Grill deserves a spot in your starting rotation as you head out this fall to enjoy the foliage, hike Old Rag and pick apples.