FOODE: A Culinary Adventure in Downtown Fredericksburg

By MARINA BONANNO

Tired of eating on campus? Are you looking for something new and exciting to tingle your taste buds? Then head downtown to FOODE at 1006 C Caroline St. for a culinary adventure you don’t want to miss. FOODE opened a little over a year ago thanks to two best friends: Beth Black and FOODE chef Joy Crump.

According to the restaurant’s website, Crump, a graduate of the Art Institute of Atlanta, “specializes in researching and preparing locally grown, sustainable foods.
Black has key communications skills as a previous, “Emmy Award Winning and Edward R. Murrow Award Winning Producer and Executive Producer at one of the top Fox stations in the country, WAGA, Fox 5 Atlanta.”

Together, the two have created a locally supported, quality restaurant that lives up to their motto: gourmet for the rest of us. FOODE will keep you coming back with new weekly dishes, unique flavor combinations and freshness that can’t be found anywhere else in Fredericksburg.

The source of their ever-changing weekly menu is whatever their distributors have available at the time.

Many of their distributors are in our own backyard: Blenheim Organic Gardens in Westmoreland VA, Glenburnie Farm Produce Co. in Western Spotsylvania County. VA, and Mount Vernon Farm in Sperryville. VA.

If you’re not convinced yet, ask Phoebe McDermott, a sophomore at the University of Mary Washington, who recalls her first dining experience at FOODE.

“I remember I had to wait for my side of green beans because the farmer hadn’t brought them yet, the food is that fresh,” McDermott said.

Alongside locally grown and sustainable foods, the FOODE menu takes inspiration from what’s going on nationally.

For example, April is national grilled cheese month, so FOODE will feature a new and unique grilled cheese every week. This week the menu offers a Carnitas Grilled Cheese with slow-roasted, all natural pork carnitas, crushed black beans, melted jack, chopped tomatoes and a side of roasted poblano potato salad.

And if that grilled cheese doesn’t have your mouth watering, Scott Hadinger, a supervisor at FOODE, suggests a burger.

“I love our burgers. They change every week and are made from organic grass fed beef,” Hadinger said.

In addition to great food and amazing service, the servers at FOODE are there to make your experience great from the moment you walk down the alleyway until your plate is clean and trust me, it will be.

FOODE offers community tables, local artwork, and a “no-tip” policy that Hadinger says supports the restaurant’s concept.

“We’re all about people getting good food at a good price,” Hadinger said.

And what more could you want? Amazing, quality freshness and a memorable dining experience, for a price we college kids can afford.