The Little Grill!

Readers, I’m sure most of you are familiar with the saying, “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” But, of course, how else are you going to judge it without reading it first? I have applied this outlook to The Little Grill restaurant in downtown Harrisonburg for years because its appearance is all but inviting in my opinion. Today I decided to give it a try.




When I walked into The Little Grill I was kind of surprised by its cleanliness—seeing as how the outside view of the restaurant is a little run down. The restaurant is worker owned and this made the atmosphere quite pleasant because the employees were actually happy to be at work! Our waiter was very speedy to take our drink order and offer suggestions, which I needed because the breakfast menu was rather large. I took his advice, and the same advice a friend had given me a few days prior, on what to order. I ordered a blue monkey pancake, per their recommendation, which was a buttermilk pancake with bananas and blueberries. I also got the monthly special: an orange flaxjacks pancake. This pancake was vegan but so delicious. I loved the hint of orange you could taste in the pancake due to the orange juice being added to the original flaxjacks pancake batter. Contrary to my preconceived notion of the restaurant the two different pancakes were amazing! They were both perfectly cooked to a golden brown and came with butter and honey or syrup. I personally prefer honey.



The entire breakfast was kind of quick; a mere 30 minutes because they were so quick at bringing out our meals. I dragged my cousin out of bed at 8am this morning to join me for breakfast. She also paid for my meal because The Little Grill only accepts cash or checks and I didn’t have cash on me. The whole meal worked out in my favor!

I am a bit excited to try their lunch and dinner offerings. I told my server that I would definitely be back—especially to try the pancake of the month for May!

Home Cooking Not at Home

So for those of you who are on a budget, I’m going to introduce you to some cheap eats. There is a restaurant about two miles from Harrisonburg in Dayton called Thomas House Restaurant. This restaurant serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. Breakfast and lunch are lunch-line style and dinner is a sit down affair. The restaurant doesn’t give dinner menus, but instead there are dry-erase boards in various places throughout the restaurant with the menus that are changed for different times of day. Mennonite waitresses commonly set the scene—bringing the true “country” feel into place. The atmosphere is down-to-earth and the restaurant owner even works in the kitchen. The restaurant has a unique little pond right inside the entrance.



All meals start with a choice of bread—you can get a white or wheat roll, or a corn muffin. I chose a corn muffin which was very sweet, but delicious. For dinner, the most expensive menu item was oysters at $12.00. All menu items come with a choice of two sides from the approximate 15 side choices they offer. I ordered the pork bar-b-que with green beans and scalloped potatoes. The pork was also sweet, tender and super yummy! The green beans were seasoned with ham and scalloped potatoes were jam-packed with cheese. All the food was recognizably homemade and country style.


For a whopping $6.50 I was impressed! I really don’t know of anywhere else in Harrisonburg where you can go eat a homemade meal for less than that. Even Applebee’s charges more for some of their appetizers that are frozen and plopped into a pan. Another cool thing is that it only takes about seven or eight minutes to get your food. All the food is made ahead of time and kept in warmers, but you would never know it by the fresh taste!




Follow Route 42 South right out of Harrisonburg to 222 Main Street in Dayton, VA.

Local Restaurant Since the 1920's!

As the semester at JMU is about to come to an end, students can expect parents to come into town. Loading up and moving out deserves a great meal--and Blue Stone Inn Restaurant is the perfect place to go eat! This restaurant has a cool story, as it has been around since the 1920's. Located right outside of Harrisonburg, it is certainly worth a ten minute drive from JMU.

The menu here offers the best seafood in the area--at least that is the buzz from the locals. I had to try some for myself. I started with some freshly baked rolls and the baked Mushroom Caps stuffed with creamy crab meat appetizer. At $8.00, I actually felt the appetizer was worth every penny and could have ordered another round.

Instead of having a salad with my meal I got a cup of creamy Clam Chowder. The soup had real chunks of clam and a bold seafood flavor—it was quite delicious. I ordered the Shrimp Stuffed with Crabmeat for the main course. These jumbo shrimp came out with an ample serving of crabmeat on top. The seasoning in the entrée enhanced the crabmeat to its fullest flavor. There was real crabmeat in both the appetizer and Shrimp Stuffed with Crabmeat and for the price of the entrée, $21.00, I would expect nothing less. Of course I got to choose two sides to accompany my seafood entrée and chose a baked potato and the vegetable of the day (which changes daily). I did sneak a sample of the NY Strip and Ribeye from others at my table and was very impressed. The steaks here are very tender and juicy.

I didn’t opt in for dessert because I was so full after dinner. Overall, I really liked my meal! I personally appreciate a restaurant with fresh ground pepper for the baked potatoes, but this restaurant didn’t have fresh pepper grinders at the table. The restaurant atmosphere is rather unique as you will find deer heads on the wall and needless to say it is “country.” Even though you don’t find yourself dining at tables draped with linen cloths and a bar with marble countertops, the experience is worthwhile and you definitely get a meal worth your money. Readers, you have to check this place out, and if your parents are coming into town they will definitely enjoy—as mine did!

Let's get it started.....

I was talking to a friend the other day and he mentioned how tired he was of eating out in Harrisonburg because we always go to the same ole' chain restaurants. I got to thinking... there are lots of locally owned restaurants in the area that I have yet to eat in. I have set up this blog to give readers an inside view on unique restaurants in Harrisonburg. In comparison to the already established twincitiesrestaurantblog.com I will only review one dish at each restaurant so as to get a brief feel for what the restaurants have to offer.

Some new restaurant additions that have helped with the transformation of the restaurant scene in downtown Harrisonburg, and are a good place to start a restaurant discovery of your own are Jack Browns and A Bowl of Good. Jack Browns is a beer and burger joint in downtown Harrisonburg with a huge beer selection. There is a daily special for signature burger creations. A Bowl of Good is right outside of downtown Harrisonburg and offers a variety of foods from soups and salads to breakfast and a few entrees. If you are an organic food enthusiast, this is a good place to eat.