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The red hen is photographed on Friday, her second night is open after almost two weeks of closure in the middle of the demonstrations. Everything was calm as the dinner service started.
The red hen is photographed Friday, her second night is open after almost two weeks of closure in the middle of the demonstrations. Everything was calm when the dinner service started.
Photo: Photo by Norm Shafer for the Washington Post
LEXINGTON, Virginia – A car slowed down at a junction at the intersection of East Washington and North Randolph streets on Friday night while a woman in the passenger seat was rolling out the window. Wide-eyed, she reached out and took a picture of a building with a rustic look – not one that Confederate General Stonewall Jackson once called home, but a tiny red restaurant on the other side from the street
. most cars would have passed in front of the red hen, probably the least controversial landmark of the two. But it has become famous for two weeks that co-owner Stephanie Wilkinson has asked White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders to leave because of her support for an "inhumane and unethical" administration, sparking a debate on social media. civility, a presidential tweet, protests and counterprotests.
"I'm not a big fan of confrontation," Wilkinson told the Washington Post shortly after the incident. "I have a business, and I want the business successful, it's like the moment of our democracy where people have to make uncomfortable actions and decisions to defend their morals."
Suddenly a lightning rod for quarrels Hen had a hiatus of two weeks. It reopened Thursday at 5 am, shortly after the conservative protesters arrived with placards with slogans such as: "We will win … the Democrats!"
But the next night everyone had faded away. Although traces of controversy remain, the first identity of the red chicken as a simple farmhouse restaurant seems ready to return.
This would probably please managers who refused to comment and asked not to disturb the guests when we had dinner. there for this story – but it's hard not to notice that the restaurant can see a slight rise in the business of attention. A sign on the doors on Thursday and Friday announced that the red hen had been completely booked for the evening and, according to one employee, the same would be true on Saturday.
As general manager Becca Adams swept muddy rainwater from one side patio about 20 minutes before the scheduled opening of the restaurant on Friday, a couple of visitors went approached to see if they could be in a hurry in. No dice. The intimate space can accommodate only 26 people, reflecting the warm feeling of a rural Virginia town with a population of around 7,000 residents.
There was room for a man named Daniel, whose name exclaimed when he crossed the side entrance. The red hen is the kind of common neighborhood with the regulars, another smiles at her waiter and says softly, "We are so happy to be here. His guests murmured in agreement.
The intimate dining room of the Red Hen could very well be part of a modest-sized home, with stairs reminiscent of those of a lively Disney Princess house. A shelf behind the larger table contains cookbooks recognizable by the spine alone, such as Julia Child's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking". An open kitchen, with hanging cast iron pans and a brilliant KitchenAid mixer, contributes to the inviting atmosphere.
All this, despite the presumption of President Donald Trump on Twitter that the "doors and windows" "dirty inside". (It does not appear to be.)
The food falls into the catchall category of new American cuisine, with French influences and a cheese menu. The cheese and cracker aperitif, served on a block of wood, combines a blue and sharp creamy cheddar with acidic additions: candied orange, apple slices and pickles. Most entrees include a form of dairy products as an important flavor, and the dessert menu is full of creamy selections.
Compared to its neighbors, the Red Hen is expensive. Stroll down Main Street, and you will notice that other New American restaurants, such as Southern Inn Restaurant and Bistro On Main, offer a number of dishes under $ 20, while the Red Hen & # 39; s average of about $ 25. The Yelp page of the restaurant would agree, but take that with a grain of salt: Sanders supporters have flooded it with negative reviews
Maybe they charge for it. element of the farm, like fresh products – carrots, greens, onions and others. – appears throughout the cheese tariff. The mushroom fricassee, for example, finds both its mushrooms and lemon balm (which aromatizes a risotto) on the farms.
The food is nice but not too remarkable, making the red chicken a strange place for sudden infamy. Friendly employees seemed cautious the night we visited to avoid political or opinionated language. Perhaps they were so before the Sanders incident: In a country of political tension, it can be difficult not to see everything as reactionary.
Few people were walking along the left side of the restaurant as the evening drew to a close. but most slowed down as they did. A colorful handwritten sign had been placed against a door and at one point four young men paused their noisy conversation to read it. One of them looked curiously into the dining room
That's right, the message could not be clearer: "Eat here wins out on the tweet."
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