HAPPY SUNDAY EVERYONE - LUNCH AT THE HAWK AND GRIFFIN - 9/24/24

Okay, so I like to say in the beginning of my restaurant posts, far and few between they may be, that the Hawk and Griffin is closed on Tuesdays. This is just in case I get any visitors who live not so far away and who would like to go there after reading this. Their days and times can be found here.

I am starting off today with the lunch we had at our British-style pub/restaurant in Vienna, Virginia. As mentioned at the end of my post here, our son had had car issues and we loaned him ours for a couple of days. When he brought it back we drove over to the Hawk and Griffin where he treated us to a wonderful lunch. These are the photos we took.

We passed by the Snug. According to this link, a "snug was a small private room or area, typically with access to the bar and a frosted glass window above head height. Customers in the snug paid a higher price for beer and nobody could look in and see the drinkers. 

Not only did wealthy visitors use these rooms, but also patrons who preferred not to be seen in the public bar. Ladies often enjoyed a private drink in the snug in a time when many frowned on women visiting a pub. The local police officer might nip in for a quiet pint, the parish priest for his evening whisky, or sweethearts for a secret rendezvous. 

Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) have surveyed the 50,000 pubs in Britain and they believe that there are very few pubs that still have classic snugs. These are on a historic interiors list in order that they can be preserved." This is a small part of what I read, the rest goes on to tell you all about pubs.

 And look who is heading to the snug? You might have noticed him in the window above us in the second photo.

We were seated at a booth just across from the bar.

We didn't think about it but we arrived about a hour after the main lunch hour, and apart from someone sitting at the bar, and two ladies in the booth behind us, that was it for customers.

We ordered Scotch Eggs as an appetizer. Scotch Eggs were originally called Scotties and when I was a child we occasionally had them for tea. They made great picnic food for our Sunday drives in the countryside. I was very surprised to learn that they were originally covered in fish paste, not sausage meat. The write-up said they were invented in 1738 by a London department store called Fortnum and Mason of Picadilly. The first printed recipe that could be found was in Maria Rundell's "A New System of Domestic Cookery, published in 1809. There's a little more to the story here. Ours were very good and came with a mustard dipping sauce. I found a YouTube recipe for making Scotch Eggs at this link.

We all ordered the Fish and Chips, which were also excellent.Mine came with Mushy Peas. The boys didn't order this, not their cup of tea, but I grew up with them so there you go, and with Fish and Chips they go hand-in-hand. Another memory from childhood, my sister and I were always set the task of walking to our local 'chippy' - fish and chip shop - to buy the Friday meal of Fish and Chips, carefully wrapped up in parchment-like white paper pockets, and wrapped in sheets of newspaper. It's a sweet memory now.  We were allowed to snitch a couple of chips on the way home, but not more than one or two each my Mum would tell us. I am not sure if this is still the case, but we could also get bangers (sausages) that were battered, and also thick slices of potato, also battered, called Scallops. The last time we had fried Fish and Chips was when Gregg and I came here a year ago. We cook a more healthier version now at home, says I wistfully, smiling as I say this, not a batter crumb in sight! You can guess how much of a treat this was, yes even the mushy peas. The thought of pureed peas does not do anything for my two dears and fair enough, it would be a boring old world if we all liked the same thing. I seem to remember Mum telling me that many times and I seem to be saying it more and more these days.For dessert it was Sticky Toffee Pudding. Brad and I ordered one each and I took mine home for later that night. "Sticky toffee pudding is known as sticky date pudding in Australia and New Zealand (any of our Australian and New Zeland friends out there, is this right?) It is a British dessert consisting of a moist sponge cake made with finely chopped dates covered in a toffee sauce and often served with a vanilla custard or vanilla ice-cream. It is considered a British classic by various culinary experts. Traditionally we served all our sponge-like desserts and pies with what we called English Custard, or Creme Anglais as the French say, and there's a recipe here.The information on this iconic dessert was found here and is as follows: "The origins of a sticky toffee pudding are disputed. Owners of several pubs, including the Gait Inn, Millington, East Riding of Yorkshire laid claim in 1907, and the Udny Arms Hotel in Newburgh, Aberdeenshire claimed to have invented it in the1960s. The pudding was popularized in the 1970s by Francis Coulson and Robert Lee, who developed and served it at the Sharrow Bay Country House Hotel in Cumbria. The food critic Simon Hopkinson said Coulson told him he received the recipe from a Patricia Martin of Claughton in Lancashire, and that Martin had received it from Canadian Airforce Officers who lodged at her hotel during the Second World War. A take home version to heat, either in the oven or microwave, was developed in 1989 by the owners of the Village Shop in Cartmel, Cumbria. Their dish became popular and by the late 1990s was being sold in supermarkets across the UK. The dish is now widely available from multiple manufacturers to bake at home." And there you go, now we know. I have added links all through this post which will take you to more information on various topics, various places. I do this because I often go there myself. I enjoy going back and having my refresher remember-ers. 

Caught son mid-bite! Sorry son!

The next few photos are of the menu. You can enlarge to get better detail in all these photos.

Almost forgot our drinks. Gregg had his usual, a coca-cola. Brad had a beer and I a cider. The last time I had one of these was also the last time we were at the Hawk and Griffin. It was delicious, very refreshing.

The last few photos are of this and that.

I can highly recommend this place for a fun meal, the staff are friendly and the food is excellent. If you find yourself in the area their address is 435 Maple Avenue W., Vienna, VA 22180, and their phone number is 703 261 6707. Their website is at this link. I get nothing for this free advertising. I just like to sing the praises of places I have been to and have, as in this case, been before.  It was also a wonderful time with my family and I look forward to the next gathering when our sweet daughter-in-law can join us.

Thanks for looking and as always, I hope your day is a great one.