A few miles north of Charlottesville, Va, on the road toward Shenandoah National Park, sits Ruckersville. On the west side of the highway, Route 29, also known as Seminole Trail, among some antique shops, the Blue Ridge Cafe & Catering Co., waits behind window boxes of artificial flowers that line its porch—which has two gliders for those who need to sit a spell before or after eating.
It’s a very local spot, busy but with no tourists except us and a couple at lunch with their real estate broker. The menu isn’t "country cookin,’" but a large step above. Still, our lunch happiness came mostly from some very Virginia-style victuals.
A cup of crab soup, brothy rather than creamy, was packed with crab flavor, crab and some vegetables. Just a little bit of pop to the seasoning made it perfect. A chicken dish whose name escapes us, was a breast of chicken, grilled, with provolone cheese on a slice of boneless, ordinary-looking ham. But it was Virginia country ham, so smoky the first bite made the taste buds yell "barbecue!" before they realized what was really going on. Our other entree was a nice spinach salad with a warm dressing that would have done honor to a German potato salad.
It was dessert that brought things to a gasping halt. Mixed berry cobbler came in a shallow oval gratin pan. No cake batter. No pie crust. Two large biscuits had been baked atop the bubbling fruit, an old cobbler style we’ve only read about. The berries, including black-, blue- and rasp-, were lightly thickened. We declined ice cream, heeded the cute little waitress’ advice that it was enough for two, and left smiling.
By the way, don’t let the dinner entree prices fool you; they include a side and a salad. Lunch is less, of course. And if you don’t believe this is country, they open for dinner at 4 p.m.
Blue Ridge Cafe & Catering Co.
83115 Seminole Trail
Ruckersville, VA
434-985-3633
Lunch Mon.-Sat., Dinner nightly, Brunch Sunday
Credit cards: All major
Wheelchair access: Poor
Smoking: Yes
Entrees: $12-$20