This is my next go to spot when I'm in the area after a fishing or hunting trip.
My wife is not a Virginia ham fan, nor is she a fan of biscuits, but she raved about the ham and biscuit sammy (which is different from the regular ham sandwich you can order.) If you are new to Virginia ham, be aware this is a dry cured ham that is still plenty salty even after a long soak and boil. Sliced thin, the salty ham brings out the sweet flavor of fresh tomato and onion on a solid slice of white bread. You can also top with several choices of cheese. My wife asked for Swiss which I think would be a good choice for this kind of ham. I had mine with American cheese which I liked, but also added salt. Compared to Northern VA/DC area, the sandwiches here are very reasonably priced.
The ham and biscuits which you can by singly or in packs of 6 or a dozen are not what I think of for ham and biscuits. It is not a regular, crumbly baking powder biscuit. It's more like a heavy, yeast risen dinner roll with a glossy, well-browned top that is a perfect foil to the thin slices of salty ham. The biscuits by the way can also be purchesed a few blocks away at Knackal's Bakery. I don't know where the sandwich bread came from.
The potato salad goes well with the kind of salty porkiness in the sandwich - big chunks of potato very lightly dressed. Not sure what style to call it. I think the dressing had a little mustard in it as it was yellowish in color.
As someone else had mentioned... The chicken Salad here is great! I was skeptical - how great can a Chicken salad be? It was terrific! I ordered plain without any toppings on white bread and split it with my wife. She enjoyed it as well. The chicken is more of a shredded texture - not chunked as most chicken salad is made. Really creamy and savory. I think it would also go well served on crackers or cold macaroni.
If we were here on a Sunday, I'd order a few extra sandwiches to pack for lunch during the week.
If you want to give Virginia ham a try without committing to buying a whole ham, they sell vaccuum sealed packages of ham steaks and fatty "side meat" bacon for just a few dollars. I tried the side meat last night. It has a tangy taste to it and is very salty. Being asian and from New Jersey, I could describe the taste as imilar to Jersey style pork roll, or a fatty Chinese Lup Cheong sausage or other chinese cured meat.
It would be perfect for a bacon and egg sandwich with thick slices of home grown tomatoes. I rendered some of the fat and popped some corn with it the old fashioned way - bacony popcorn with cracked black pepper and sea salt Mmmm.
I think I'll use the rest of the side meat to season a pot of beans, soup or Rhode Island style clam chowder. The future I have for the ham steak is to make a pot of grits and sawmill gravy with some eggs this week. Or maybe braise it with some Coca-Cola and serve with baked potatoes and Broccoli. Or even sliced into thin "match sticks" and steamed on a pot of plain white rice.
Some celebrity chefs are serving Calhoun's Country style ham as if it were proscuito - shaved thin and served with melon or steamed asparagus. Traditional Southerners would be aghast as serving ham "raw". But if it's been cured and hung to dry 6 to 10 months it should be safe to eat in that manner.
The place is a flashback to the 60s and 70s in both style and prices. The staff is friendly, but I can see how they can get overwhelmed when there are crowds. I'll be back! read more
